In County of Suffolk Div. of Real Prop. Acquisition & Mgt. v. Kandler , Suffolk County filed suit against Frank and Deborah Kandler to secure possession of a piece of property the couple was occupying.
The parcel, which was formerly owned by the Kandlers, was conveyed to the County after a tax sale. The Kandlers claimed that the County's suit was untimely in that they had adversely possessed the property and were legally entitled to remain in possession.
Finding a 20-year limitations period applied, the Suffolk County District Court disagreed and awarded possession to the County. On appeal, the Appellate Term, Second Department, upheld the District Court's decision (but for other reasons).
While a 10-year period was applicable to the dispute, the Kandlers' needed to prove they adversely possessed the property for a consecutive 10 year period. Such a claim failed because over the course of that decade (in 1998) the couple offered to buy the property from the County, and (in 1999) filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the sale of the property back to them -- acts which acknowledged the County's ownership interest in the premises.
There was no score there.
To download a copy of the Appellate Term's decision, please use this link: County of Suffolk Div. of Real Prop. Acquisition & Mgt. v. Kandler