MONTECITO, Calif. - TelAve -- The Second Appellate District Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court's decision that property owners adjacent to Montecito Country Club must remove hardscaping and landscaping they installed without permission on an easement owned by the Country Club and restore the property to its previous condition. (Montecito Country Club, LLC vs. Kevin C. Root, et. al., 2^nd Civ. No B341762, March 6, 2026.)

The Appellate Court agreed that the defendants, Kevin and Jeannette Root, did not receive permission from the Country Club's principal owner, Ty Warner, to relandscape and build on the easement.

"The decision is important not just for the equity served in this particular case, but also because the Court opined on the split of authority on the standard of proof required to establish a prescriptive easement, and found that the correct standard is preponderance of the evidence," says Leila Noël, partner with Cappello & Noël LLP, the firm representing Montecito Country Club. Co-counsel was firm associate Richard Lloyd.

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According to Noël, the homeowners disregarded the warnings that they could not alter or build on the easement, but the Roots did so anyway. They removed an existing hedgerow and landscaping, installed a new hedge on the property line, and installed a fence and retaining wall backfilled with large amounts of soil near the property line, all of which prevented the Club from accessing its easement area.

"The defendants now have lost twice in court," says Noël. "It's time for them to remove the encroaching hardscaping and landscaping, and restore the property to its previous condition."

To read the ruling, click here (https://cappellonoel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Montecito-Appeals-Ruling.pdf).