I'm not sure how it works in your state, but in MS an easement can't be denied to a landowner needing access. I don't believe it even goes before a judge here, I believe a hearing before the board of supervisors is all it takes. Someone can't be kept from accessing their property. Most of them are settled as gentlemen's agreements, but a few have to go before the board who will record the easement.
KY is similar. I had a landlocked landowner to the south of me that claimed he had a gentleman's agreement with the previous owner and wanted to make it permanent with me. When I deferred, he claimed a right to it. I investigated and found his forebears had been given an easement on another property and allowed it to lapse because it involved driving over a ford in the nearby creek. I told him to take it up with that landowner.
The way it was finally resolved was that I heard some adjoining property was going to auction on the nearby ridge and put a bug in his ear. He ended up buying 5 acres and now has permanent access.
