GO THROUGH NOTES AND HIGHTLIGHT!!!
HIGHLIGHTED PARTS OF NOTES SHOULD GO IN OUTLINE!!!
Chapter 3: ADVERSE POSSESSION
§ 3.1 INTRODUCTION
5 Criteria for adverse possession
1. actual: present occupation; use AND control. Improvements fit into this category. Usually marks that show boundaries, i.e. fences. Requires physical evidence.
2. open and notorious: acts which the public would recognize
3. exclusive: has control; must have the possessor’s permission to enter property
4. continuous: used regularly as a typical owner would. Not stopping/leaving for an extended period of time
5. hostile and under a claim of right: not getting the permission the the true o wner. Can essentially be an act of theft, or have a good faith claim of right or color of title w/ the possessor honestly believing the peroperty is his.
The purpose of these requirements is to put the true owner on notice of the hostile nature of the possession of that he bay take steps to vindicate his rights by legal action.
Policies:
to punish the real owner for sitting on his rights
reward the possessor for using land in a socially beneficial way
Utilitarian/English: give land to people who use it
American: develop the wilderness; usually exploits the land and encourages people to do this
Adverse possession also defines property lines
§ 3.2 THE ACTUAL, OPEN, CONTINUOUS AND EXLUSIVE REQUIREMENTS
JARVIS v. GILLESPIE (p. 195)
Notes and Questions
1. Actual Possession
a. Possessor’s activities must be consistent with that of a reasonable owner of that land
b. Some statutes might require certain activities like paying the taxes.
2. Open and Notorious
a. Statute of limitations can not run until the true owner has notice of another person’s possession of their property.
3. …
4. Statute of Limitations
a. Possessor must be in possession for the entire statute of limitations period
b. No substantial interruption in possession
c. Possession can be tacked between two possessors
i. Taking is permitted when two possessors are in privity of each other; the se
portant factor is that the possessor won’t back down à HOSTILITY!!! Hostility means that the possessor must purposefully take possession of the land knowing or ignorant of the boundaries, thus rewarding the wrongdoer instead of the person who was honest, even though they were incorrect.
Connecticut Rule: possession is hostile even though the possessor did not subjectively intend to claim title to what he did not own. It is like the Maine Doctrine except it is not require that you not back down. Intention does not matter. As long as you claim the land it does not matter what your intent was. Any possessor, whether honest or not, is affected the same.
Iowa Doctrine: Color of title OR claim of right w/ good faith. THE POSSESSOR MUST HAVE GOOD FAITH!!! The honest person (possessor) is being rewarded.
CARPENTER v. RUPERTO (p. 223)
