Giovino v. Wyler

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
No. 97-1679
FRED GIOVINO, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs, Appellees,
v.
GEOFFREY D. WYLER,
Defendant, Appellant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
[Hon. Morton A. Brody, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Torruella, Chief Judge,
Selya and Stahl, Circuit Judges.
Geoffrey D. Wyler on brief pro se.
Edmond J. Bearor, John W. McCarthy and Rudman & Winchell on brief
for appellees.
February 5, 1998
Per Curiam. We have carefully reviewed the record in
this case, including the briefs of the parties and the
findings of fact and conclusions of law of the district
court. We affirm.
We find no error in the district court determination
that the 1986 deed conveying land from IP Timberlands
Operating Company, Ltd. [IPTO] to International Paper [IP]
reserved to IPTO a right to travel over the so-called "outer
road." Similarly, the court did not err in determining that
the deeds of the other plaintiffs also endowed them with a
right to travel over this road.
Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 33, 201-A has no effect on
this issues in this case. By its plain language, section
201-A pertains neither to the creation or the extinction of
an easement but only to whether an unrecorded deed provides
"actual notice" of an easement to subsequent purchasers.
Since the 1986 deed between IPTO and IP was duly recorded,
pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 33, 201, the deed
itself gave constructive notice of the easement to subsequent
purchasers like Wyler. See Westman v. Armitage, 215 A.2d
919, 922 (Me. 1966) (recordation is "constructive notice . .
to after purchasers under the same grantor") (citing cases).
Finally, the district court did not commit clear error
in finding that IPTO's improvements to the outer road
constituted reasonable maintenance.
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Affirmed.
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