Both the plaintiff and defendant lose
I was reviewing an adverse possession case where both parties lost. The plaintiff lost because they squatted from 1958 to now. They testified they did not have title to the land. “The requirement of good faith claim of right prevents mere squatters, who know they do not have title to land and know there is no basis to claim an interest in the land, from benefiting from adverse possession.”
The defendant lost because they received a quit claim deed from a RR that did not own it. It was interesting that the only owner of record that the plaintiff could trace was the original owner in 1882. They had their attorney file an affidavit of possession which the court said was worthless as it did not include the description of the land possessed. The court said the only party action could be brought against were the heirs or assigns of the 1882 patent. I’d say the big loser is the defendant. The squatter is still squatting. Their loss are fees paid for a trial court and appeals court trial. The defendant discovered he has a worthless deed to the piece in question plus a much larger area the the RR sold to him when they only had a reversion easement.
I wonder if the plaintiff might actually be the assign they seek from 1882 after all is said and done. That was not part of the case. It might be they are occupying their own land. The defendant forced the issue by asking the plaintiff to vacate in 2005.
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