Sean Sullivan, a partner of Dillon & Sullivan, Attorneys at Law, and chair of the Real Estate Litigation Department was quoted in Cape Cod Times regarding a disagreement over a strip of land between two properties has led one landowner to appeal a decision by the Bourne Conservation Commission.
Attorney Sean Sullivan represented the defendants in this matter.
The Plaintiff filed a complaint in what is the first of two lawsuits in Barnstable Superior Court, alleging ownership of the strip of land through adverse possession, or alternatively, alleging the existence of a prescriptive easement over the strip.
In response, the Defendant filed a motion to dismiss that lawsuit. In that motion, the Defendant argues that use of the land must be enough to give the owner notice that the possession satisfies the open and notorious requirements, according to a memorandum filed in court by attorney Sean Sullivan on behalf of Defendant. The Defendant had permission to use the strip only with the permission of the previous owner, Sullivan said in the memo.
In addition, the Palanzas have not made permanent improvements to the land, which is another adverse possession requirement, according to Sullivan. The 20-year requirement is also not met because Palanza took over the maintenance of the gravel driveway in 2004 when his family’s property was deeded over to him, making it a period of at most 11 years, Sullivan said in the memo.
Read the full article here
Please contact our Real Estate Litigation department for more information on Adverse Possession and Prescriptive Easement litigation. (781) 452-9302