A legal right of way is granted by a deed to property and is commonly called “a deeded right of way.” A court reviewing a person’s lawsuit to extinguish a deeded right of way will look closely at the wording of the clause in the deed granting the right of way and consider the intention of the parties at the time of the grant. For example, if the right of way is perpetual, it is highly unlikely that a court will extinguish it. If the clause in the deed is silent as to duration, it will be open to the court to consider extinguishing the right of way depending upon other factors.
A factor of considerable importance in cases of extinguishment is whether there is a suitable and convenient alternative access route available to the user of the right of way. Offering such an alternative may defeat an argument that extinguishing the right of way will harm the user of it. Other factors to consider are whether the right of way has become obsolete by reason of changes in the character of the land or the neighbourhood and whether the right of way was for a specific limited purpose, which has been accomplished.