Adverse Possession Criteria Explained

The Second Department determined the acquisition of  title to property by adverse possession had been demonstrated.  The court explained the criteria as follows:

…[T]he respondents…, who sought to obtain title to the subject property by adverse possession, were obligated to prove that the possession was hostile and under claim of right, actual, open and notorious, exclusive, and continuous for a period of 10 years … . Further, because the adverse possession claim was not founded upon a written instrument, in order to obtain title to the subject property, the respondents were obligated to establish, in accordance with the law in effect at the time the claim allegedly ripened …, that they ” usually cultivated, improved, or substantially enclosed the land'” … . “Because the acquisition of title by adverse possession is not favored under the law, these elements” had to “be proven by clear and convincing evidence” … . Scalamander Cove LLC v Bachmann, 2014 NY Slip Op 04914, 2nd Dept 7-2-14