4th Circuit: Rogers v. River Hills- Extrinsic Evidence cannot be Used to Supplement Property Description

Summary: The District Court determined that the contract relating to the easement did not sufficiently describe the portion or parcel of the servient estate to be affected by the easement. On appeal, Rogers argued that the property description was sufficient because River Hills owned only one parcel of land at the time the writing was executed. The Court of Appeals rejected this as such information was available only by reference to evidence extrinsic to the writing. Commentary: While not a bankruptcy case, this would support the position that Deeds of Trust and other documents related to land which contain defects as to property description cannot be remedied through extrinsic evidence. For a copy of the opinion, please see: Rogers v. River Hills- Extrinsic Evidence cannot be Used to Supplement Property Description.pdf