Borek Cranberry Marsh, Inc. v. Jackson County
Wisconsin Supreme Court · 2010-07-21 · cited 26×
The case concerned a dispute over whether sand removal rights granted in a 1977 easement from Jackson County to Carl Nemitz were transferable along with the adjacent cranberry marsh property. Nemitz conveyed the land and easement rights to the Boreks, who later transferred them to Borek Cranberry Marsh, Inc. (BCM); when BCM sought to exercise the sand removal rights decades later, the County argued they were personal to Nemitz and non-transferable because the deed used "heirs and assigns" language only for the separate water flowage rights. The circuit court granted summary judgment to the County, but the court of appeals reversed, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed that decision. The Court held that Wis. Stat. § 706.10(3) creates a presumption that every conveyance of a land interest transfers full title unless the deed contains express language or a necessary implication to the contrary, and no such limitation appeared here for the sand removal rights. The case was remanded for entry of summary judgment in BCM's favor.
