In 1804 Wash. Ave. Corp. v. Lindhe , tenant Peter Lindhe claimed an ownership entitlement to the rear year of a building owned by 1804 Washington Avenue Corp. In Lindhe's case, however, neither the New York County Civil Court nor the Appellate Term, First Department, was buying any of it.
In the absence of the governing legal elements, Lindhe's adverse-possession claim couldn't withstand scrutiny. Here's how the AT1 put it:
Appellant failed to establish adverse possession and/or prescriptive easement with respect to the rear yard of the building premises, there being no showing that his entry into or use of the outdoor area was hostile or under claim of right .... The record conclusively demonstrates that appellant's use of the rear yard was, at best, by license revocable at petitioner's will, and not through any tenancy interest.
After all, who wouldn't want something for nothing?
For a copy of the Appellate Term's decision, please use this link: 1804 Wash. Ave. Corp. v. Lindhe
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For our other posts on this topic, please use this link: Adverse Possession