Adverse Possession

893 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Andrews v. Barton
  974 So. 2d 1144· Fla. 3d DCA· 2008-02-13 ·cited 2×
  In this boundary dispute between neighboring property owners on Stock Island, the appellate court reversed a jury verdict awarding damages to the plaintiff because the trial court improperly excluded a tax assessor's map that was relevant to the location of the disputed property
• Mullins v. Colbert
  898 So. 2d 1149· Fla. 5th DCA· 2005-04-01 ·cited 2×
  This case involves a dispute over property title where the appellant acquired a tax deed, but the property was also subject to an incorrect double assessment. The court affirmed the voiding of the tax deed due to the double assessment but reversed the dismissal of the appellant's
• Friday Hudlow Limbert v. Nickerson
  770 So. 2d 223· Fla. 3d DCA· 2000-10-25 ·cited 2×
  This case involves a dispute over a property boundary and an easement between adjoining landowners. The appellate court reversed a summary judgment, finding that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding the elements of boundary by acquiescence and agreement, and the ease
• W.N. Keene v. Tommy Jackson and his wife
  732 So. 2d 1138· Fla. 1st DCA· 1999-03-12 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a common law way of necessity should not be granted when the property has waterway access, even if that access is less convenient than a land route.
• Swann v. Seton
  629 So. 2d 935· Fla. 5th DCA· 1993-12-10 ·cited 2×
  Eula Swann appealed a judgment awarding neighboring property to William and G. Jewel Seton through adverse possession. The court reversed, holding that adverse possession by color of title under Florida Statute 95.16 requires the disputed property to be actually described in the
• McCONE v. Butts
  616 So. 2d 535· Fla. 5th DCA· 1993-03-26 ·cited 2×
  McCone heirs appealed a summary judgment that quieted Butts' title to disputed property in Putnam County and established a common law way of necessity. The appellate court vacated the judgment, finding that summary judgment was premature because material factual disputes existed
• The Catawba Indian Tribe of S.C. v. The United States
  982 F.2d 1564· Fed. Cir.· 1993-01-06 ·cited 2×
• Jewell Robbins v. Amoco Prod. Co.
  952 F.2d 901· 5th Cir.· 1992-02-07 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the 1911 Deed conveyed only four specific tracts and that the plaintiff failed to establish a chain of title to three of them, and that claims against one defendant were discharged in bankruptcy and against another were barred by limitations.
• Pueblo OF Santa ANA v. Baca
  844 F.2d 708· 10th Cir.· 1988-03-25 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a Spanish adjudication of a land boundary dispute was more reliable than a later United States survey, and that Santa Ana acquired title by adverse possession.
• Adams v. T.A. Adams, Jr.
  512 So. 2d 1150· Fla. 1st DCA· 1987-09-24 ·cited 2×
  Harold J. Adams and Lovedia Buresh appealed the trial court's judgment in favor of defendants in an action to quiet title to 60 acres of property. The court reversed, holding that the defendants' acquisition of a tax deed through a third party was invalid as to co-tenants and tha
• Moraitis v. Galluzzo
  511 So. 2d 427· Fla. 4th DCA· 1987-08-12 ·cited 2×
  The trial court erred in failing to award the appellant credit for the imputed rental value of the premises due to ouster, and in its awards and denials of attorney's fees and expenses.
• Crigger v. Fla. Power Corp.
  509 So. 2d 1322· Fla. 5th DCA· 1987-07-16 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the date of taking for the power company's use of the Criggers' seven-eighths interest was August 21, 1979, and affirmed the extent of the taking as a 100-foot wide easement.
• Ophelia M. Franklin v. Gibbs
  507 So. 2d 690· Fla. 1st DCA· 1987-05-14 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the appellees failed to establish title to the disputed strip of land by either adverse possession with color of title or by boundary by acquiescence.
• Herring v. United States
  781 F.2d 119· 8th Cir.· 1986-01-03 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney's fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) to Herring, who was considered a prevailing party despite not obtaining title.
• Summers v. McOWEN
  478 So. 2d 397· Fla. 1st DCA· 1985-10-30 ·cited 2×
  In a boundary dispute over real property in Alachua County, Florida, the court reversed a judgment for the plaintiff based on an ejectment suit, holding that the defendant established that the surveyor's declaration of a lost corner was not properly supported and that an oblitera
• Dennison v. Topeka Chambers Indus. Dev. Corp.
  724 F.2d 869· 10th Cir.· 1984-01-04 ·cited 2×
  The court held that Congressional legislation in 1860 and 1862 removed the alienation restrictions imposed by the 1825 Treaty, and that any remaining claims were extinguished by a 1968 Private Law.
• Weis v. Hovnanian Fla., Inc.
  436 So. 2d 258· Fla. 4th DCA· 1983-07-20 ·cited 2×
  The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's grant of a prescriptive easement for animal husbandry purposes because the easement was exclusive in nature, effectively granting title to the property rather than a mere easement. The court held that exclusive possesso
• Fernandez Co. v. Birtley
  435 So. 2d 280· Fla. 5th DCA· 1983-06-23 ·cited 2×
  Fernandez Co. appeals a judgment dismissing its negligence claim against abstract companies for omitting deeds from abstracts it relied upon when purchasing land. The court held that abstracters owe a duty of care to non-privity third parties who foreseeably rely on abstracts, an
• Quail Hollow Farms, Inc. v. Young
  426 So. 2d 1143· Fla. 1st DCA· 1983-02-08 ·cited 2×
• George H. Laurendine and his wife v. Howard Markham and his wife
  408 So. 2d 839· Fla. 1st DCA· 1982-01-21 ·cited 2×
• AL MAR Corp., Inc. v. VAN DE Kerckhove
  403 So. 2d 1128· Fla. 4th DCA· 1981-09-23 ·cited 2×
  Al Mar Corporation, a trailer park owner, appeals a judgment upholding dedicated easements for private drives through the park and finding an easement by prescription had been acquired. The court affirmed the finding that the dedicated easements had not terminated but reversed th
• Humphrey v. The C. G. Jung Educ. Ctr. OF Houston
  624 F.2d 637· 5th Cir.· 1980-08-21 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the Texas three-year statute of limitations does not apply to a right of entry for condition broken because the holder of such a right does not possess 'title' or 'color of title' as defined by the statute.
• Energy Transp. Sys., Inc. v. Union Pac. R.R. Co.
  606 F.2d 934· 10th Cir.· 1979-10-04 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a railroad's right-of-way grant under the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 conveyed only a right-of-way, not the underlying servient estate, unless the grant was under Section 3 for odd-numbered sections, in which case the railroad acquired a fee interes
• COX v. Game
  373 So. 2d 364· Fla. 2d DCA· 1979-06-15 ·cited 2×
  The court held that platting property and paying taxes are insufficient to establish adverse possession without sufficient acts of physical control over the disputed property.
• King v. United States
  585 F.2d 1213· 4th Cir.· 1978-10-30 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the District Court erred in dismissing the action as untimely without first determining specific factual issues regarding title overlap and actual dominion over disputed lands.
• Houston v. United States Gypsum Co.
  580 F.2d 815· 5th Cir.· 1978-09-22 ·cited 2×
  The court held that lengthwise accretions to an island extending beyond the lateral boundary of the coterminous riparian owner are not owned by the island owner, adhering to Mississippi law.
• Fla. Ranchettes, Inc. v. Hull
  331 So. 2d 348· Fla. 1st DCA· 1976-04-14 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a fence line, established by a predecessor in title and relied upon by the plaintiff for significant construction, constituted a boundary by acquiescence, binding on subsequent purchasers.
• Cent. Christian Church OF Bradenton v. Sch. Bd. OF Manatee Cnty.
  314 So. 2d 598· Fla. 2d DCA· 1975-05-30 ·cited 2×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a judgment that dismissed a church's claim to real property on standing grounds. The church, as successor to a general legatee under a 1928 property deed with a reversion clause, had standing to challenge the School Board's adverse po
• Carter v. Blanche B. Klugh
  310 So. 2d 358· Fla. 3d DCA· 1975-03-18 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the plaintiff sustained her burden of proving adverse possession under color of title, entitling her to fee simple title.
• Lesel Ernestine Race and Mary Race Harris v. Moseley
  308 So. 2d 137· Fla. 2d DCA· 1975-02-19 ·cited 2×
  Two daughters of a deceased homestead owner sought to partition their remainder interests in family property, but the trial court quieted title in the defendant based on an order of administration unnecessary and adverse possession. The appellate court reversed, holding that an o
• FOX v. Boyer
  307 So. 2d 239· Fla. 4th DCA· 1975-01-31 ·cited 2×
• United States v. Adria Smith Stanton
  495 F.2d 515· 5th Cir.· 1974-06-10 ·cited 2×
  The United States is the absolute owner of the entire 77-acre tract, as its possession and recorded deeds met the requirements for adverse possession under Texas law.
• Oma Belle DAY v. Hickel
  481 F.2d 473· 9th Cir.· 1973-04-10 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a claimant's mistaken belief about boundaries does not satisfy the good faith requirement for a color-of-title claim when the patent boundaries were clearly marked and there was no evidence of actual occupancy of the disputed land.
• Meyer v. Neil F. LAW, Jr.
  265 So. 2d 737· Fla. 2d DCA· 1972-08-23 ·cited 2×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal held that a property owner who erects a fence enclosing adjacent land may acquire title to that land through adverse possession under Florida's seven-year rule, even when the fence is erected after the owner takes title to the adjoining proper
• Rko-Stanley Warner Theatres, Inc. v. Mellon Nat'l Bank & Tr. Co.
  436 F.2d 1297· 3d Cir.· 1970-12-29 ·cited 2×
  An easement by prescription can be acquired in a public sidewalk against the abutting fee owner, provided the use falls outside the scope of the public easement. However, prescriptive rights cannot be acquired against a municipality.
• Deverick v. Bailey
  224 So. 2d 361· Fla. 2d DCA· 1969-06-27 ·cited 2×
  Mabel Deverick and Ida Ridge appealed a final judgment against them in a quiet title action brought by the three Bailey brothers over Gulf front property on Sanibel Island. The trial court, after a bench trial, found that Deverick and Ridge failed to establish title by adverse po
• S. Bell Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Lloyd
  32 Fla. Supp. 151· Duval Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1969-04-10 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the telephone company acquired a prescriptive easement for its facilities and that the defendants' title was subject to this easement, as evidenced by visible occupation and statutory provisions.
• Hamilton C. Forman v. Ward
  219 So. 2d 68· Fla. 1st DCA· 1969-02-20 ·cited 2×
  In this quiet title action, the court affirmed a judgment awarding fee simple ownership to the executor of Gladys Lane's estate based on adverse possession without color of title. The court held that a legal description in the 1953 tax return referencing a recorded deed by book a
• Grove City Realty Corp. v. Cole
  208 So. 2d 275· Fla. 2d DCA· 1968-03-22 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict that appellees acquired title by adverse possession.
• Sanchez v. Taylor
  377 F.2d 733· 10th Cir.· 1967-05-17 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the defendants acquired no rights in the plaintiff's land by virtue of Mexican law, grant, dedication, or common prescription, and that individual claims of prescription or adverse possession also failed.
• Ola Bynum v. The Liberty Nat'l Bank & Tr. Co. OF Okla. City
  338 F.2d 412· 10th Cir.· 1964-11-24 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the appellants failed to prove title to the disputed tracts by adverse possession or accretion, and that a flood-induced channel shift constitutes avulsion, not accretion, thus not affecting title.
• Gimbel Bros., Inc. v. Markette Corp. & Don Tesauro
  307 F.2d 91· 3d Cir.· 1962-07-13 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a party wall's use as a curtain wall, protecting buildings from elements and fire, is sufficient to maintain its status as a party wall under Pennsylvania law, even if it does not provide structural support.
• A. R. Stewart and wife v. Vartan Gadarian
  141 So. 2d 289· Fla. 1st DCA· 1962-05-22 ·cited 2×
  A tax deed is void if notice of application is not published in substantial compliance with statutory requirements, leading to reversal of a decree quieting title in the tax deed holder.
• Voyd Garner v. Sid Larkin
  132 So. 2d 298· Fla. 2d DCA· 1961-08-16 ·cited 2×
  In this ejectment action, the court held that the defendant's tax deed was void because the plaintiff had paid all taxes on the property before the tax sale that generated the defendant's title, and a tax sale conducted when taxes have been prepaid confers no valid title on the p
• Cliett v. Hammonds
  286 F.2d 471· 5th Cir.· 1961-01-13 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the motion for relief from judgment, based on allegations of fraud inducing prior judgments, was properly dismissed on its merits.
• Lykes Bros., Inc. v. Moriat Gary McCONNEL
  115 So. 2d 606· Fla. 2d DCA· 1959-11-18 ·cited 2×
  Lykes Bros. appeals a decree quieting title to subsurface minerals in the McConnel heirs despite Lykes' 19 years of adverse possession of the surface. The court upholds the lower court's application of estoppel, finding that Lykes cannot claim subsurface minerals when it took pos
• Mrs. E. P. Blanton v. Mrs. Maggie Moody
  265 F.2d 533· 5th Cir.· 1959-04-16 ·cited 2×
  A widow's possession of her deceased husband's land, initially permissive as natural guardian of minor children, cannot ripen into prescriptive title without actual notice to the children that she is holding adversely.
• Drawdy Inv. Co. v. Leonard
  77 So. 2d 855· Fla.· 1955-02-11 ·cited 2×
  Drawdy Investment Company appealed the dismissal of a bill of complaint seeking to quiet title to 9,960 acres based on adverse possession without color of title. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal, finding that the amended bill raised identical issues already decide
• Atl. Land & Improvement Co. v. Davis
  70 So. 2d 910· Fla.· 1954-03-12 ·cited 2×
  In this quiet title action, the Florida Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment quieting title in the adverse possession claimant (Davis) where the evidence of adverse possession was insufficient under Florida law. The decision reaffirms that adverse possession must be
• Cornell v. Mabe
  206 F.2d 514· 5th Cir.· 1953-08-06 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that a common law marriage requires an intent for the relationship to be permanent, and affirmed the dismissal of the Morgans' limitations defense due to constructive notice.