John, I once won such a case on summary judgment, by being just a little better prepared than the other guy.
Neither side wanted to budge, so it looked like we were going to an expensive trial. The other lawyer was a reasonable guy, so I called him and said, "Ya know, the survey is what it is, and the dates are what they are- about the only issue of fact is how your client used the disputed property. How about you get an affidavit from him on his use of it, and if we can agree with it, we'll try to do this on summary judgment?" He did, and fell into the trap- the affidavit detailed how he mowed the grass up the to same point every time, religiously, all summer, for the past upteen years. He was careful to recite facts that established all the factors, or so he thought.
What the other guy didn't realize is that there is case law in Washington that says mowing lawn grass isn't sufficient use to support an adverse possession claim- it has to be some productive use, like a garden, cattle grazing, crops, etc.
I did the SJ motion, submitted and agreed to his clients affidavit as proof of the use, and cited the killer case- It was too late for his client to change his story, so I won, and we've laughed about it a few times over the years.
Note that this would not have worked in Nancy's case, because she has a fence involved. A separate doctrine of Mutual Acquiescence to a physical boundary (such as a fence, a road, stream, etc.) says that if both parties treat such a physical feature as the mutual boundary for 10 years, either by word or by action, it becomes the boundary. And mowing up to it would be enough- treating it as the boundary is a different thing than productive use.
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Today's Featured Article - Sunday Drives - by Cowboy. Summer was finally upon us here in Northern Maine. We have two types of industry up here, one being "Forestry" (Wood Products) and the other "Farming" (Potatoes). There is no shortage of farm tractors and equipment around here! I have been restoring old Farm Tractors for the past 6 years, and have found it easier and less expensive to hit all the auctions and purchase whole tractors for parts needed. My wife who works at a local school, and only has weekends and summers off, while on t
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