Legal Definitions - discontinuous servitude

A discontinuous servitude is a legal right that allows one landowner (known as the "dominant estate") to use or restrict the use of a neighboring property (the "servient estate"), but only when the right is actively exercised by a person. Unlike a continuous servitude, which operates constantly without human intervention (such as a sewer line running under a property or a permanent restriction on building height), a discontinuous servitude requires a specific human act each time it is used.

Here are some examples illustrating a discontinuous servitude:

• Right of Way for Access: Imagine a property owner, Ms. Chen, whose land is situated behind her neighbor, Mr. Davis. Ms. Chen has a legal right, a discontinuous servitude, to drive her car across a specific part of Mr. Davis's driveway to reach the public road. This right is discontinuous because it only comes into effect when Ms. Chen actually drives her car across the driveway. It doesn't operate constantly or automatically; it requires her specific action each time she wishes to use it.

• Right to Draw Water: Consider a historical agreement where Mr. Evans, who owns a small cottage, has the right to fetch water from a well located on Ms. Foster's adjacent property. This arrangement is a discontinuous servitude. Mr. Evans must physically walk to Ms. Foster's well, lower a bucket, and draw water whenever he needs it. The servitude is not continuously active; it requires his personal intervention and action for each instance of its use.

• Right to Harvest Timber: Suppose a farmer, Mr. Garcia, has a legal right to periodically enter his neighbor Ms. Hernandez's wooded land to cut and collect fallen timber for firewood. This is a discontinuous servitude. Mr. Garcia must actively go onto Ms. Hernandez's property with tools, identify suitable timber, cut it, and transport it away. The right is exercised only when he performs these specific actions, rather than operating without his direct involvement.