Which statement correctly distinguishes an appurtenant easement from an easement in gross?

Which statement correctly distinguishes an appurtenant easement from an easement in gross?

• A. Appurtenant easements run with the land and benefit a specific parcel.
• B. Appurtenant easements benefit a person or entity not tied to a parcel.
• C. In gross easements run with the land and benefit a specific parcel.
• D. In gross easements require adjacent property ownership.

Answer: (A)

Appurtenant easements are tied to land, not to a person. They involve two parcels: a dominant estate that benefits from the easement and a servient estate that bears the burden. Because the benefit attaches to the property itself, the easement passes with the land when ownership changes, continuing to benefit the same parcel regardless of who owns it. Easements in gross, by contrast, benefit a person or a business rather than a parcel of land and do not attach to any specific piece of property. They are personal to the holder (though some commercial gross easements can be transferable), so they don’t automatically run with the land. So the statement that appurtenant easements run with the land and benefit a specific parcel captures the essential difference.

Appurtenant easements are tied to land, not to a person. They involve two parcels: a dominant estate that benefits from the easement and a servient estate that bears the burden. Because the benefit attaches to the property itself, the easement passes with the land when ownership changes, continuing to benefit the same parcel regardless of who owns it.

Easements in gross, by contrast, benefit a person or a business rather than a parcel of land and do not attach to any specific piece of property. They are personal to the holder (though some commercial gross easements can be transferable), so they don’t automatically run with the land.

So the statement that appurtenant easements run with the land and benefit a specific parcel captures the essential difference.