Easements: maintenance: arbitration.

Existing law requires the owner of any easement in the nature of a private right-of-way, or of any land to which such an easement is attached, to maintain the easement in repair, and if the easement is owned by more than one person, requires the costs of repair to be shared by each owner pursuant to the terms of an agreement entered into by the parties for that purpose. Existing law provides that if any owner who is a party to an agreement refuses to perform or fails after demand in writing to pay the owner's proportion of the cost, an action for specific performance or contribution may be brought against that owner, as specified. Absent an agreement, existing law apportions the costs proportionately to the use made of the easement by each owner, and authorizes any owner of the easement, or land to which the easement is attached, to apply to a court, as specified, for the appointment of an impartial arbitrator to apportion the cost. This bill, instead, would authorize an owner of the easement, or land to which the easement is attached, to bring an action against any other owner who refuses or fails after demand in writing to pay that owner's share of the cost of maintenance, or for specific performance or contribution. The bill would authorize an action to be brought before, during, or after performance of the maintenance work. The bill would require the action to be filed in superior court, unless the action may be brought in small claims court. The bill would, notwithstanding specified provisions of law, require all actions filed in superior court to be subject to judicial arbitration, as specified. The bill would provide that neither a small claims judgment nor a superior court judgment shall affect apportionment of any future costs that are not requested in the action, unless provided in the judgment. The bill would require that, in the absence of an agreement addressing the maintenance of the easement, any action described above be brought in the county in which the easement is located.