Rancho Carlton Properties, LLC v. Radnor CA2/5

FACTS

Creation of Easement

In 1965, Wallace Van Allen Jones owned a large property in the Hollywood Hills improved with a single-family house. In the backyard on the west side, a walkway connected the house to a barbecue area wedged into the hillside. In the backyard on the east side, stone steps led up to a small stone patio. Prior to September of that year, Jones subdivided the property into multiple lots. As a result, the house is located on Lot 20 and has a street address 6387 Bryn Mawr Drive. To the west is Lot 19. North of these are Lots 93 and 94. The new property lines bisected the improvements in the backyard. Part of the walkway and the barbecue ended up on the eastern corner of Lot 19. A small sliver of the barbecue area was on Lot 93. A portion of the steps on the east side of the yard were now located on Lot 94, which led up to the patio now located on Lots 93 and 94. In September 1965, Jones sold the house on Lot 20 to Radnor’s predecessor-in-interest along with a handful of easement rights that allow the owner of the dominant estate (Lot 20) to keep using portions of the surrounding properties (Lots 19,

3 93, and 94) for the existing backyard improvements.1 The…