Donnell

Defendants appeal from a judgment which grants to plaintiffs a non-exclusive easement for road purposes over defendants’ land and enjoins interference with the road and which awards plaintiffs compensatory damages of $4,000 and punitive damages of $5,000. For convenience, the parties are called Donnell and Bisso respectively although there is joint ownership of property on each side, and the single names are used although some of the acts described herein were done by agents acting under orders of one or another of the parties.

General Facts

Donnell owns two parcels of land, Parcel One, a quarry to the west of a railroad right of way and to the west of the Bisso ranch, and the other, a ranch on which hay is grown which is to the northeast of the Bisso ranch, and which is called Parcel Three. Prior to most if not all of the events narrated herein, the hay from Parcel Three was transported on a road going to the north, and Bisso was not affected by the traffic. During winter storms of 1966-1967 the northerly road was destroyed. There were, however, means of access from a highway to the west of Parcel One (State Highway 121) to Parcel Three. These means were: 1) a road…