You are here: / / COTENANT ACQUIRED THE OTHER COTENANT’S INTEREST BY ADVERSE POSSE...

COTENANT ACQUIRED THE OTHER COTENANT’S INTEREST BY ADVERSE POSSESSION.

The Second Department determined, under the law applicable at the time, a cotenant in possession (Midgley, Jr.) acquired full title to the property (i.e., acquired the cotenant’s interest) by adverse possession:

Midgley, Sr., left his estate, in equal parts, to Midgley, Jr., and a man named Robert E. Sayre, Sr. (hereinafter Sayre, Sr.). Midgley, Jr., claimed that, in 1971, Sayre, Sr., refused to participate in the operation or maintenance of the property and that Midgley, Jr., exclusively possessed and operated the property from that point forward. Midgley, Jr., paid the real estate taxes on the property and leased the property to various farmers and a nursery. All rents from these tenants were paid to Midgley, Jr. Midgley, Jr., farmed the property, growing rye, during the years that he could not find a suitable tenant. Sayre, Sr., died in 2005. In 2009, Midgley, Jr., commenced this action, alleging that he had become the sole lawful owner of the property by adverse possession and, therefore, was entitled to a judgment barring any claim to the property by, among others, the heirs of Sayre, Sr.

Under the law existing at the time title allegedly vested here, in the absence of an overt acknowledgment during the statutory period that ownership rested with another party, actual knowledge of the true owner, or co-owner as is the case here, did not destroy the element of claim of right … . “Where . . . the party claiming adverse possession is a tenant-in-common in exclusive possession, the statutory period required by RPAPL 541 is 20 years of continuous exclusive possession before a cotenant may acquire full title by adverse possession” … . Midgley v Phillips, 2016 NY Slip Op 06688, 2nd Dept 10-12-16

REAL PROPERTY (COTENANT ACQUIRED THE OTHER COTENANT’S INTEREST BY ADVERSE POSSESSION)/ADVERSE POSSESSION (COTENANT ACQUIRED THE OTHER COTENANT’S INTEREST BY ADVERSE POSSESSION)/TENANTS IN COMMON (COTENANT ACQUIRED THE OTHER COTENANT’S INTEREST BY ADVERSE POSSESSION)

You might also like
WHERE DEFENDANT PRESENTS EVIDENCE HE DID NOT RECEIVE NOTICE OF THE COURT CONFERENCES, HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS DEFAULT MUST BE GRANTED AS A MATTER OF LAW (SECOND DEPT).
NEGLIGENT HIRING, TRAINING, SUPERVISION AND RETENTION CAUSES OF ACTION PROPERLY SURVIVED SUMMARY JUDGMENT, SCHOOL EMPLOYEE ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ABUSED A STUDENT, ACTIONS WERE VIABLE EVEN THOUGH THE ABUSE DID NOT OCCUR ON THE SCHOOL GROUNDS (SECOND DEPT).
Failure to Comply With Lease Option Can Be Forgiven if Certain Criteria Met 
PLAINTIFF BICYCLIST STRUCK THE DOOR OF DEFENDANT’S VAN AFTER DEFENDANT HAD OPENED THE DOOR; DEFENDANT RAISED QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER HE HAD OPENED THE DOOR SAFELY AND WHETHER PLAINTIFF WAS COMPARATIVELY NEGLIGENT; PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED AND DEFENDANT’S COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).
FATHER, WHO WAS INCARCERATED, SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRODUCED FOR THE PROCEEDING TO APPOINT A GUARDIAN FOR THE CHILD, NEW HEARING ORDERED (SECOND DEPT). ​
ALTHOUGH KERRY K WAS ORDERED RELEASED UNDER STRICT AND INTENSIVE SUPERVISION AND TREATMENT PURSUANT TO THE FIRST MENTAL HYGIENE LAW CIVIL COMMITMENT TRIAL, AFTER KERRY K’S SUCCESSFUL APPEAL HE WAS PROPERLY ORDERED RE-CONFINED PENDING THE SECOND TRIAL (SECOND DEPT).
NYC TRANSIT AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF AREA AROUND MANHOLE COVERS IN CITY SIDEWALKS, TRANSIT AUTHORITY’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (SECOND DEPT).
FAILURE TO PROHIBIT T-SHIRTS MEMORIALIZING THE VICTIM AND THREE UNPRESERVED INSTANCES OF PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT WERE HARMLESS ERRORS INDIVIDUALLY, BUT THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT REQUIRED A NEW TRIAL.

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER NOT LIABLE IN NEGLIGENCE FOR INJURY TO POLICE OFFICER... NYC TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION’S RULES RE: HYBRID AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE...