What type of easement is no longer valid when the dominant tenement and servient tenement merge?

When two properties are involved in an easement, the concepts of dominant tenement and servient tenement come into play. The dominant tenement benefits from the easement, while the servient tenement is burdened by it. If the owners of the dominant and servient tenements become the same person—essentially merging the properties—then the easement is extinguished. This is because the easement is no longer necessary; the owner has full control over both lots and does not need a separate right of use.

Easements in gross are unique in that they benefit a specific individual or entity rather than a parcel of land. Because they are tied to a person or entity rather than a property, when the dominant tenement is merged with the servient tenement, there is no longer a need for that personal benefit, and the easement becomes invalid.

In contrast, easements by necessity and implication serve specific needs when properties are severed and cannot be fulfilled once the properties merge. Prescriptive easements arise from the open use of someone's property over time, but they also cease when the properties become one entity under the same ownership. However, the key aspect that distinguishes easements in gross is their personal or individual nature, making