SANTA CRUZ — A local judge on Wednesday gave himself until mid-December to pen a draft opinion in a rural Aptos land-access dispute involving folk/rock luminary Jackson Browne.
Browne’s neighbors, Christopher Wheeler and Sarah Claus, are suing the singer-songwriter for preventing their use of Browne’s driveway, alleging an easement on the access road is the only way the couple can build their home, not far from the Forest of Nisene Marks.
In turn, Browne counter-sued the couple, seeking an order preventing Wheeler and Claus from using his driveway as a fire access road or which violates Santa Cruz County standards, and recompense for court costs.
Browne’s lawyers have argued that the driveway’s shared access is limited to the lower portion of the road, which does not reach the Wheeler/Claus ridgeline property, and that the couple has rights to a separate logging road, instead. Were Browne’s driveway to be considered a formal access road, his attorney argued, it would not meet county and fire district building code standards due to its narrow width, steep grade and turning radius.
The civil case was filed in May 2019, seeking a judge’s order to permanently prevent Browne from blocking access to the driveway and to cover the lawsuit’s legal fees. Ahead of this month’s trial, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timothy Volkmann ordered the case to be held as a bench trial, meaning he will decide the case’s outcome, rather than calling on a jury do so. In the wake of closing arguments Wednesday, Volkmann said he planned to issue a statement of decision by Dec. 12, followed by a proposed judgment and then a final judgment. Both sides will be permitted to weigh in with additional court filings on Volkmann’s draft decisions.
The politically involved Browne, 74, was born in Germany and grew up in Southern California. His hits include “The Pretender,” “Running on Empty,” “Lawyers in Love,” and “Doctor My Eyes.” He has owned the Aptos property since 1982.
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