A judge, the Gorham town manager and several lawyers braved ticks and mud Monday to walk out to an overgrown airstrip in an attemp to settle a longstanding dispute between two Gorham landowners.
The dispute centers around whether the airstrip illegally blocks an abandoned road and access to land owned by Rusty Knoll Holdings Inc.
The Hon. Thomas E. Delahanty II will hear final arguments at 2 p.m. today, June 29, in Portland in a case brought by plaintiffs, Allyn and Alysan Caruso, identified in court documents as C & C Family, LLC, who are seeking to overturn a 2002 decision by the Gorham Town Council.
The two defendants, the town of Gorham and the Rust family, identified in court documents as Rusty Knoll Holdings Inc., are hoping the court will support the earlier decision that required the Carusos to remove the airstrip so that the Rust family could maintain access to its land.
The Rust family owns a large dairy farm in Gorham. Part of the family’s land – roughly 50 acres – is separated from the rest of the land by the Little River. The family’s only access to that land is an old abandoned town road, known as Rust Road, that runs across the Carusos’ land. Bill Rust, the father of Allan Rust, declined to comment on the case.
The Carusos, who own Maine Aviation, bought their 175-acre parcel in Gorham in 2000. Alysan Caruso is the daughter of the late dairyman Norman Martin of Fort Hill Road. Allyn Caruso said they plan to build a home on their land and want to use the airstrip to land a private plane there.
Alysan Caruso and her lawyer, John Wall, declined comment on the case because it is still in litigation.
In 2002, the Town Council determined that the airstrip blocked a public easement on an abandoned town road, Rust Road. In a letter in May of 2002, the council ordered the Carusos to remove the obstruction within 30 days.
The Carusos appealed the ruling of the Town Council to the court.
That appeal has just come to trial in recent weeks. Delahanty said he didn’t know when he would have a decision in the case.
Ron Schneider, an attorney for Rusty Knoll Holdings, said the case centers on whether the public retains an easement for the road and whether the airstrip blocks it. He said when the road was abandoned would be key in determining the case.
If the road had been abandoned before 1965, a public easement would not be retained, according to Schneider. He said if the town abandoned the road after 1965, there would be a public easement, according to state statue.
“Our argument is that it was a town road and abandoned after 1965,” Schneider said.
The plaintiff contends in court documents that the road hadn’t been maintained by the town for cars since 1935. They claim it was abandoned at least 30 years before 1965.
Nine people, including Delahanty, walked the site. Others included Gorham Town Manager David Cole, the three lawyers, Allan Rust, the Carusos, and her sister, Ardyth Green.
The walk began at the intersection of the Rust and Fort Hill roads. It crossed the airstrip about one half-mile in. The walk continued to the other side of the Little River, near the old Files homestead, and Rusty Knoll Farm.
The group crossed the river on a temporary bridge built of utility poles. Allan Rust said his family bought the bridge from the town in the late 1990s to keep it open for recreational use by a snowmobile club.
Those on the walk Monday had to stop several times to pluck ticks from their clothing. “I hope you’re enjoying your tick walk,” Alysan Caruso said.
Delahanty, who traded his usual courtroom attire for khaki pants and boots Monday, said the walk was different but not unusual for him. He said he once used snowshoes to reach a site involved in a Franklin County case.
“I’ll see you in court,” Delahanty told the group, as it dispersed.
Judge Thomas Delahanty leads lawyers for the Rust and Caruso family as well as the town of Gorham on a site walk near an airstrip in Gorham Monday.Send questions/comments to the editors.
