Willard v. First Church of Christ, Scientist, 7 Cal. 3d 473, 498 P.2d 531, 102 Cal. Rptr. 739 (Cal. 1972)
Willard v. First Church of Christ, Scientist is a landmark California Supreme Court decision that modernized servitudes law by rejecting a rigid common-law formalism—the so-called "reservation to a stranger to the deed" rule.
May a grantor, in a deed conveying land to a grantee, validly reserve an easement for the benefit of a third party who is not a party to the deed, such that the grantee takes title subject to that easement?
In California, a deed may validly create or reserve an easement in favor of a third party not a party to the conveyance when the grantor's intent to do so is clear from the instrument, and the grantee takes subject to the easement if the grantee has notice (actual, record, or inquiry). The archaic common-law rule that a reservation in favor of a stranger to the deed is void is rejected. Courts will effectuate the parties' intent consistent with modern recording practices and policies favoring free and efficient alienability of land.
Yes. A grantor may reserve an easement in a deed for the benefit of a third party, and the grantee takes title subject to it when the reservation and the parties' intent are clear and the grantee has notice. The California Supreme Court reversed the judgment quieting title in Willard and upheld the church's easement.
Willard is a staple of Property law because it modernizes servitudes doctrine and shifts focus from technical formalism to the parties' intent and the realities of recorded conveyances. It teaches that deed language can create enforceable servitudes benefitting nonparties when notice exists, anticipates Restatement (Third) of Property (Servitudes) trends, and provides a versatile platform for analyzing easement creation, recording/notice, drafting practices, and equitable considerations. Practically, it warns drafters and exam-takers alike to read deeds closely and to analyze notice and policy alongside black-letter doctrine.