Moores

Appellants William M. and Tona E. Moores brought this action for declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming that they had an easement over property owned by respondent William D. Walsh. Following a court trial, judgment was entered in favor of respondent. We affirm.

I.

Background

In 1993, appellants purchased a 40-acre parcel of unimproved land (the Moores parcel) in Mendocino County from the Regents of the University of California (The Regents), pursuant to a public bidding process, for the purpose of logging the timber on the property. Bid documents provided by The Regents regarding the Moores parcel provided that “there may not currently be any legal surface access to the Property.” Respondent William Walsh owns property on three sides of the Moores parcel, to the north, west, and south (the Walsh parcel). Other private parties own the property to the east of the Moores parcel. Part of the Walsh parcel is between the Moores parcel and Highway One. Appellants claim an easement to cross over the Walsh parcel to Highway One for all purposes, including logging. There was no evidence that prior owners of the Moores parcel ever claimed such an easement.

Evidence was…