Warehousing Mgmt., LLC v. Haywood Prop., LP
| Docket Number: | 2007-CA-00438-COA Linked Case(s): 2007-CA-00438-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 04-01-2008 Opinion Author: CHANDLER, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Real property - Adverse possession Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - REAL PROPERTY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-13-2007 Appealed from: RANKIN COUNTY CHANCERY COURT Judge: John Grant Disposition: APPELLEES FOUND TO BE OWNERS OF DISPUTED PROPERTY BY ADVERSE POSSESSION Case Number: 54494 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | WAREHOUSING MANAGEMENT, LLC AND R.W. CASTENS |
RICHARD REDFERN |
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| Appellee: | HAYWOOD PROPERTIES, LP, HAYWOOD TRUCKING, INC. AND R. CHARLES HAYWOOD | JOHN ROBERT ELLIOTT, DAVID L. MORROW, BRENDAN CLARK SARTIN |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Real property - Adverse possession |
| Summary of the Facts: | R. Charles Haywood was the owner of Haywood Properties, LP and Haywood Trucking, Inc., which were located on his property. R.W. Castens was the owner of Warehousing Management, LLC, which was located on his property to the south. Haywood owned two acres of real property which was adjacent to Castens’ property to the south. The properties of Haywood and Castens shared a property line that ran east and west. The property line formed the southern border of Haywood’s property, and it formed the northern border of Castens’ property. In 2003, Castens hired Charles Craft to survey the property to determine the boundary lines. According to Craft’s survey, Castens’ boundary line was actually twenty-eight feet north of the line that Castens and Haywood had treated as the boundary. Until that time, Haywood had treated a utility pole as the southwest corner of his property. Haywood filed suit seeking to establish the boundary line at the utility pole. Upon agreement of the parties, the chancery court appointed a surveyor to determine the boundary line. The surveyor’s findings matched those of Craft. Haywood then filed an amended complaint, which asked the chancery court to declare him to be the owner of the disputed parcel by adverse possession. The chancellor adjudicated Haywood to be the owner of the disputed parcel. Castens appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Castens argues that the chancellor erred in finding that Haywood proved his claim of adverse possession by clear and convincing evidence. The party alleging adverse possession must prove that possession is under claim of ownership; actual or hostile; open, notorious, and visible; continuous and uninterrupted for a period of ten years; exclusive; and peaceful. Each of the previous owners was aware of Haywood’s possession and claim to the property. They admitted their use of the property was only by permission from Haywood. These acts were continuous for twenty-seven years before Castens purchased the adjacent property. Haywood was under a mistaken belief that the property was included in his deed, and he acted accordingly. The evidence is clear that from the time Haywood purchased his property, he believed that he was the owner of the disputed twenty-eight feet. The use of the land by Haywood was not intermittent, and any use by the prior owners of Castens’ property was only with permission from Haywood. There was no evidence that there was any interruption to Haywood’s use of the property from the time he purchased his property in 1971 until the court ordered Haywood and Castens to keep off the property pending resolution of the dispute. Thus, the record contains substantial evidence in support of each of the elements of adverse possession. |
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