Full Gospel Fellowship v. Bruce Stockwell

The trial court enjoined the defendants from interfering with access to the plaintiff's church through the use of a gravel road on the defendants' property, concluding that there was an implied grant of an easement. We affirm. We state the facts which the trial Judge could have found in support of the judgment. In 1981 Bernie Ragsdale and Dollie Ragsdale, husband and wife, were the owners of a 13.29 acre tract adjoining State Highway 154 in Monroe County, Missouri. In that year they conveyed a parcel of 1.70 acres in the southeast corner of that tract to the plaintiff, which undertook the construction of a church. At the time of the conveyance there was a gravel roadway providing access to Highway 154. The deed did not mention an easement, but Bernie Ragsdale advised the then pastor that members and guests of the church could use the roadway as they needed it. The roadway has been used for access to the church up to the present time, most recently under the restrictions of a temporary injunction.