Utah Code 57-13c-104. Commencement of civil action

(1)	To obtain an order to relocate an easement under this chapter, a servient estate owner shall commence a civil action.

Need help reviewing a real estate contract?
Have it reviewed by a lawyer, get answers to your questions and move forward with confidence.
Connect with a lawyer now

Terms Used In Utah Code 57-13c-104

Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
Conservation easement: means a nonpossessory property interest created for one or more of the following conservation purposes:

(a)	retaining or protecting the natural, scenic, wildlife, wildlife-habitat, biological, ecological, or open-space values of real property;

(b)	ensuring the availability of real property for agricultural, forest, outdoor-recreational, or open-space uses;

(c)	protecting natural resources, including wetlands, grasslands, and riparian areas;

(d)	maintaining or enhancing air or water quality;

(e)	preserving the historical, architectural, archeological, paleontological, or cultural aspects of real property; or

(f)

any other purpose under Chapter 18, Land Conservation Easement Act. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Document: means every instrument in writing, including every conveyance, affecting, purporting to affect, describing, or otherwise concerning any right, title, or interest in real property, except wills and leases for a term not exceeding one year. See Utah Code 57-1-1

Dominant estate: means an estate or interest in real property benefitted by an appurtenant easement. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Easement: means a nonpossessory property interest that:

(a)	provides a right to enter, use, or enjoy real property owned by or in the possession of another; and

(b)

imposes on the owner or possessor a duty not to interfere with the entry, use, or enjoyment permitted by the instrument creating the easement or, in the case of an easement not established by express grant or reservation, the entry, use, or enjoyment authorized by law. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Easement holder: means :

(a)	in the case of an appurtenant easement, the dominant estate owner; or

(b)

in the case of an easement in gross, a public-entity easement, a public-utility easement, a conservation easement, or a negative easement, the grantee of the easement or a successor. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Lessee of record: means a person holding a lessee's interest under a recorded lease or memorandum of lease. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Negative easement: means a nonpossessory property interest whose primary purpose is to impose on a servient estate owner a duty not to engage in a specified use of the estate. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Person: means an individual, an estate, a business or a nonprofit entity, a public corporation, a government or governmental subdivision, an agency, or an instrumentality, or other legal entity. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Public-utility easement: includes :

(i)	an easement benefitting an intrastate utility, an interstate utility, or a utility cooperative;

(ii)	a protected utility easement as defined in Section 54-3-27; and

(iii)

a public utility easement as defined in Section 54-3-27. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Security-interest holder of record: means a person holding an interest in real property created by a recorded security instrument. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

Servient estate: means an estate or interest in real property that is burdened by an easement. See Utah Code 57-13c-101

State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5

Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.

(2)

(a)

Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a servient estate owner that commences a civil action under Subsection (1) shall serve a summons and complaint on:

(i)	the easement holder whose easement is the subject of the relocation;

(ii)	a security-interest holder of record of an interest in the servient estate or dominant estate;

(iii)

a lessee of record of an interest in the dominant estate; and

(iv)	any other owner of a recorded real-property interest if the relocation would encroach on an area of the servient estate or dominant estate burdened by the interest.

(b)

A servient estate owner is not required to serve a summons and complaint under Subsection (2)(a) on the owner of a recorded real-property interest in oil, gas, or minerals in the dominant estate unless:

(i)	the real-property interest includes an easement to facilitate oil, gas, or mineral development; or

(ii)	the owner is a lessee of record of a real-property interest in oil, gas, or minerals in the dominant estate.

(3)

A complaint under this section shall state:

(a)	the intent of the servient estate owner to seek the relocation;

(b)	the nature, extent, and anticipated dates of commencement and completion of the proposed relocation;

(c)	the current and proposed locations of the easement;

(d)	the reason the easement is eligible for relocation under Section 57-13c-102;

(e)	the reason the proposed relocation satisfies the conditions for relocation under Section 57-13c-103; and

(f)	that the servient estate owner has made a reasonable attempt to notify the holders of any public-utility easement, conservation easement, or negative easement on the servient estate or dominant estate of the proposed relocation.

(4)

(a)

At any time before the court renders a final order in an action under Subsection (1), a person served under Subsection (2)(a)(ii), (iii), or (iv) may file a document, in recordable form, that waives the person’s rights to contest or obtain relief in connection with the relocation or subordinates the person’s interests to the relocation.

(b)	On filing of the document, the court may order that the person is not required to answer or participate further in the action.

Enacted by Chapter 305, 2022 General Session

Previous section

Next section

Chapter 13c Contents