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CHURCH ADVERSELY POSSESSED?

j0409495.jpgIn West Middlebury Baptist Church v. Koester , after Kevin Koester built a fence around a parcel of land believed to be his, the West Middlebury Baptist Church filed suit to determine who was the property's true owner.

The Church and Koester owned adjacent properties in West Middlebury, linked by a 1.19 acre "pie-shaped" parcel of land which the church claimed ownership.

An 1832 deed, which conveyed the property to the Church, described the northern boundary which the Church believed included the 1.19 acres, while Koester's deed made no reference to the area. Interestingly, when both parties employed surveyors, the mutual conclusion was that the 1.19 acres belonged to Koester and in 1999 he fenced-in the parcel.

When the Wyoming County Supreme Court found Koester to be the property's rightful owner, the Church appealed to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department.

The AD4 was of the opinion that the Church had acquired title to the property by way of "adverse possession" since it had open and exclusive use of the property for parking and treated it as its lawn for a 10 year period, had maintained two horse sheds on the property for nearly a century (prior to 1995 or 1996), and cultivated the area by "mowing, raking, and clearing." * 

Was that a miracle or what?

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To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: West Middlebury Baptist Church v. Koester   

* As a result of the recent statutory amendments to the law, mere "mowing, raking, and clearing" no longer cuts it.

For additional posts on this topic, please use this link: Adverse Possession

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