Adverse Possession

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

• Peterson v. United States
  384 F.2d 664· 8th Cir.· 1967-10-25
  The court held that land formed by accretion to the east bank of the Missouri River belongs to the owners of the bank land, not to the owners of former island lots that had eroded away.
• Kelly v. Valparaiso Realty Co.
  197 So. 2d 35· Fla. 1st DCA· 1967-03-23
  Defendant Kelly appealed a circuit court injunction preventing her from trespassing on and encroaching upon neighboring property owned by Valparaiso Realty Company. The court affirmed the injunction, holding that the defendant could not invoke equitable laches as a defense becaus
• Swearingen v. Britain H. Sanders, Jr.
  193 So. 2d 635· Fla. 1st DCA· 1966-12-29
• Brooks v. Taylor
  190 So. 2d 205· Fla. 1st DCA· 1966-09-22
  In this quiet title action, the court affirmed the lower court's finding that defendants' tax deed was void because the underlying tax sale proceedings were irregular and did not properly describe the plaintiffs' land, and that defendants failed to establish title by adverse poss
• Phleany M. Daniels v. Alico Land Dev. Co.
  189 So. 2d 540· Fla. 2d DCA· 1966-08-24
  Plaintiffs claimed adverse possession of all of Fahkahatchee Island, a 130-140 acre island in Florida. The trial court granted title only to the portion described in a 1918 deed to their ancestor J.P. Daniels and denied their claim to the remaining island. On appeal, plaintiffs c
• Kelley v. City OF Cocoa
  188 So. 2d 71· Fla. 4th DCA· 1966-07-25
  The court held that the appellants' claim to the property was barred by statutes of limitation, rendering their rights unenforceable.
• George B. Schoenrock et ux. v. Ballard
  185 So. 2d 760· Fla. 1st DCA· 1966-04-28
  Homebuyers appealed a judgment dismissing their breach of warranty claim against a property seller, arguing an outstanding mineral right constituted a defect in title. The court affirmed, holding that a 1952 quiet title suit in which the mineral rights holder was made a party def
• Lindsey v. Moyle
  358 F.2d 727· 9th Cir.· 1966-03-14
  A plaintiff in a quiet title action must recover on the strength of their own title, not the weakness of the adversary's title.
• Marathon OIL Co. v. Gail Heath & the Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co.
  358 F.2d 34· 7th Cir.· 1966-03-03
  The court held that the railroad acquired fee simple title to its right of way through condemnation proceedings under an 1852 Illinois statute, and therefore, adjoining landowners could not acquire title to any part of the right of way by adverse possession.
• Sapp v. Redding
  178 So. 2d 204· Fla. 1st DCA· 1965-09-09
  A Florida appellate court reversed the trial court's order dismissing a trespass and timber conversion case after granting the defendant's motion for involuntary dismissal before the plaintiff completed presenting his evidence. The court held that procedural rules and due process
• Stoutamire v. Parramore
  29 Fla. Supp. 177· Leon Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1965-08-02
  This Leon County Circuit Court case resolved a boundary dispute between the Stoutamires and Parramores over a strip of land in Section 15. The court determined that the plaintiffs held superior title to most of the disputed strip based on color of title and adverse possession, bu
• Johnson v. Grady Harrison, Jr.
  164 So. 2d 237· Fla. 2d DCA· 1964-05-22
  The court held that the plaintiffs (appellants) owned the disputed 45-foot strip of land based on the chain of conveyances and subdivision dimensions.
• Jewell Wilson Boyette Liles v. Boyette
  163 So. 2d 52· Fla. 2d DCA· 1964-04-08
  This declaratory decree suit involves a dispute over real property in Pasco County, Florida, between Grace Estelle Boyette (second wife and executrix) and Jewell Wilson Boyette Liles (first wife) and the children of the deceased, concerning ownership rights to two tracts of land
• Mount Zion Methodist Church v. Unknown Heirs AT LAW
  314 F.2d 248· D.C. Cir.· 1963-01-17
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to establish title by adverse possession because the possession was not continuous, exclusive, or notorious.
• Poinsett Lumber & Mfg. Co. v. Hammond
  309 F.2d 718· 4th Cir.· 1962-11-05
  The court dismissed the appeal with prejudice, finding Hammond's arguments for relief from judgment and appeal without merit due to his own delays and failure to present evidence.
• Bailey v. Deverick
  142 So. 2d 775· Fla. 2d DCA· 1962-06-27
  The court reversed a judgment in an ejectment action because the trial court erred in allowing each side nine peremptory challenges when their interests were common, thus entitling them to only three each.
• Freeman v. NEW Smyrna Enters., Inc.
  135 So. 2d 452· Fla. 1st DCA· 1961-12-12
  Freeman, a mortgagee who paid property taxes to protect his mortgage interest, appeals a quiet title decree denying him any lien for those payments. The court holds that Freeman is entitled to an equitable lien for taxes paid before the 1955 statute of limitations amendment, but
• Jenkins v. Peters
  288 F.2d 401· D.C. Cir.· 1961-03-09
  The court held that the defendants acquired title by adverse possession and that the plaintiffs were barred by laches from asserting their claim.
• ST. JOE Paper Co. v. Gulf Mosouito Control Dist. & Grier C. Barnhart
  125 So. 2d 895· Fla. 1st DCA· 1961-01-19
  St. Joe Paper Company sought to recover a disputed one-acre parcel of land from George Cowgill, claiming the parcel lay within its property (NW¼ of Section 21) while Cowgill contended it lay in his property (SW¼). The core dispute turned on locating the east-west center line of t
• Johnsen v. Mrs. C. Phelps Crosby
  288 F.2d 374· D.C. Cir.· 1960-12-15
• Tideway Corp. v. State Rd. Dep't of Fla.
  118 So. 2d 595· Fla. 3d DCA· 1960-03-03
  This case concerns whether a 15-foot strip of land, used by the public for over 30 years as part of a street, is compensable in an eminent domain proceeding when the public authority claims to have acquired surface rights by prescription. The court held that the strip was uncompe
• Town OF Ninety SIX v. S. Ry. Co.
  267 F.2d 579· 4th Cir.· 1959-06-08
  The court held that the evidence was legally sufficient to support the jury's verdict that the railroad had not entered into an agreement limiting its right-of-way, and that the trial court correctly excluded inadmissible hearsay evidence.
• Tampa Mortg. & Title Co. v. Smythe
  109 So. 2d 202· Fla. 2d DCA· 1959-02-27
  Tampa Mortgage & Title Company appeals a quiet title decree favoring G. P. Smythe. The court upheld Smythe's claim to Government Lot 2, finding he had proven adverse possession under Florida law despite the property being low, marshy tidal flats, because cattle had grazed there s
• Siesta Props., Inc. v. Hart
  13 Fla. Supp. 156· Sarasota Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1958-08-13
  Siesta Properties claimed title to beach land formed in front of defendants' properties on Siesta Key, Florida, arguing the land was soil from Casey Key that was washed away by the 1926 hurricane (avulsion) and thus remained its property. The court rejected this theory, holding t
• Karvonen v. Dyer
  261 F.2d 671· 9th Cir.· 1958-08-11
  The court held that the appellant failed to establish adverse possession under either the ten-year or seven-year statute because the deed did not provide color of title to the disputed property and the ten-year period had not expired.
• McCONNEL v. Wempner
  13 Fla. Supp. 62· Glades Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1958-08-06
  This title dispute case involved competing claims to oil, gas, and sulphur rights underlying Florida land. The court granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs (heirs of the original owner), finding that the defendant Lykes Bros., Inc. was estopped from claiming title to the min
• Treadwell v. Wisdom
  13 Fla. Supp. 59· Glades Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1958-08-06
  The court held that the defendant is estopped from asserting title to the reserved minerals because they accepted the deed with knowledge of the reservation and their possession of the surface was not adverse to the plaintiffs' mineral rights.
• Boyd v. Evans Props., Inc.
  104 So. 2d 109· Fla. 2d DCA· 1958-06-20
  In a quiet title dispute over land in Florida, the court affirmed in part and reversed in part a decree granting Evans Properties adverse possession rights. The appellate court confirmed that Evans Properties validly held title to land west of Lake Tarpon but reversed the decree
• Sumter Cnty. v. Brown
  102 So. 2d 303· Fla. 2d DCA· 1958-04-16
  Sumter County appealed a dismissal of its amended complaint seeking to remove obstructions from a public road. The court reversed, holding that the county established a prescriptive right to the road through more than 20 years of continuous, uninterrupted, and adverse use and mai
• Foremost Props., Inc. v. Gladman
  100 So. 2d 669· Fla. 1st DCA· 1958-02-04
  Foremost Properties appealed a quiet title judgment rendered in favor of Gladman. The court reversed, holding that a tax deed from the State of Florida dated 1895 should have been admitted into evidence under Florida's statute of limitations for deeds of record for twenty years o
• Presley v. Thomas
  99 So. 2d 875· Fla. 1st DCA· 1958-01-21
  In this ejectment action, the court reversed a summary judgment for the property owners, holding that questions of the defendant's actual possession and the property's location were factual disputes that must be resolved by a jury, not by summary judgment.
• Dupuis v. Cent. & S. Fla. Flood Control Dist.
  12 Fla. Supp. 76· Dade Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1958-01-20
  A landowner sought to enjoin a flood control district from claiming a 130-foot right of way across his property based on a 1910 deed reservation. The court held that the reservation was not assignable to the district and that the district was estopped from enforcing a 47-year-old
• Miami Beach First Nat'l Bank v. Clark
  12 Fla. Supp. 22· Monroe Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1957-11-22
  This declaratory judgment action concerns whether real property in Monroe County, Florida constitutes the homestead of Harold A. Clark's estate. The court held that the property, consisting of a mainland portion and Coral Key, qualifies as homestead because Clark maintained a bon
• Anderson v. Shellhammer
  248 F.2d 46· 5th Cir.· 1957-08-27
  The court held that a tax sale is valid even if subsequent documents like the order of sale, notice, return, and deed fail to mention the heirs of the original owner, provided the heirs were properly made parties and served in the original foreclosure suit.
• Kruger & Birch, Inc. v. DU Boyce
  241 F.2d 849· 3d Cir.· 1957-03-07
  A call for a natural monument in a survey prevails over a conflicting call for course and distance, and prior judgments on boundary lines are binding.
• Robert H. Stephens and wife v. Lizzie Stephens
  94 So. 2d 366· Fla.· 1957-03-06
  The court held that the wife of the original grantee could not unilaterally convey title to the property, and thus her deed to the sister-in-law was invalid.
• The Pekin Wood Prods. Co. v. Afflick
  228 F.2d 816· 8th Cir.· 1956-01-10
  The appellant was convicted of breaking and entering a dwelling with intent to commit grand larceny, and the appellate court considered the reliability of an accomplice's testimony and the defendant's possession of stolen property.
• United States v. Belle View Apts.
  217 F.2d 636· 4th Cir.· 1954-12-09
  The court held that the government's condemnation proceedings did not extinguish the reserved easement for ingress and egress, and the government's actions did not constitute adverse possession.
• Carlson v. C. & C. Coal Co.
  218 F.2d 384· 6th Cir.· 1954-12-07
  The court held that the defendant's adverse possession under color of title for the statutory period divested the plaintiffs of any title they may have had.
• Roberts v. Johnson
  7 Fla. Supp. 2· Palm Beach Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1954-11-25
  Roberts' children sought to establish title to homestead property they inherited from their father Mingo Roberts, asserting their right to possession after their stepmother's death. The court held the property was validly homestead property and that the children were entitled to
• Salina Scott v. Emanuel
  215 F.2d 411· 10th Cir.· 1954-08-23
  The court held that the plaintiff's claim to an interest in the land was barred by adverse possession, as the defendant and his predecessors had openly claimed and possessed the land adversely for over fifteen years.
• Berning v. Thomas
  5 Fla. Supp. 108· Dade Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1954-03-15
  Neighboring property owners disputed the boundary line between their adjoining lots in a subdivided tract. The court dismissed both the plaintiffs' action to quiet title and the defendants' counterclaim, finding insufficient evidence of adverse possession by either party and conc
• Welch v. Iserman
  4 Fla. Supp. 131· Sumter Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1953-10-08
  The court held that plaintiffs, asserting private rights to subdivision streets never officially accepted or used by the public, failed to establish an entitlement to have the streets opened.
• Gauthier v. Fonalledas
  204 F.2d 480· 1st Cir.· 1953-05-22
  The court held that the defendants acquired title to the properties through extraordinary prescription, barring the plaintiff's claims.
• Powell Lumber Co. v. Dickerson
  203 F.2d 189· 5th Cir.· 1953-04-03
  The court held that the trial court's findings regarding the location of the land tract and the defendants' adverse possession were not clearly erroneous and supported the judgment.
• Heiselt Const. Co. v. Morrison-Knudsen Co., Inc.
  176 F.2d 207· 10th Cir.· 1949-06-29
  The court held that the defendant's actions created a landlord-tenant relationship, entitling the plaintiff to rental for the entire tract, and that the building, initially becoming the plaintiff's property, could be removed as a trade fixture.
• Cone v. W. Va. Pulp & Paper Co.
  170 F.2d 770· 4th Cir.· 1948-11-09
  The court held that the plaintiff's evidence was insufficient to establish title or possession for a trespass claim, and the district court correctly entered judgment notwithstanding the jury's verdict.
• Carley v. Lawrence
  170 F.2d 381· 7th Cir.· 1948-10-22
  A prescriptive easement for support in a party wall is not extinguished by the destruction of one building if the easement arose from an implied grant of necessity and the remaining wall can still provide support.
• United States v. Williams
  164 F.2d 989· 5th Cir.· 1947-12-11
  The dissenting judge believes the trial court erred in holding the administrator's deed void solely because the prior administratrix's discharge had not been set aside, arguing Georgia law permits administration of dower property after the widow's death.
• Christiansen v. Christiansen
  159 F.2d 366· 5th Cir.· 1947-01-22
  The majority opinion holds that title to the absentee's share vested conditionally, preventing adverse possession claims against him until actual notice of hostile holding.