Court disputes over easements created for transmission lines and other utilities are a relatively recent phenomenon that has become even more prevalent in the last 20 years. Many of these conflicts involve easements that are not appurtenant to any particular tract, commonly known as “easements in gross.”

Private easements created for access to specific tracts of land are generally presumed to be appurtenant easements unless expressly identified to the contrary. By contrast, public or quasi-public utility easements are more likely to be categorized as easements in gross. The difference between the two categories is described in the New Jersey decision Weber v. Dockray, 2 N.J. Super. 492 (1949): The distinction between the two, of course, is that an easement appurtenant requires a dominant tenement to which it is appurtenant, whereas an easement in gross belongs to its owner independently of his ownership or possession of any specific land.