Q: Our neighbor after owning her house for 6 years is now contesting a property line. Does she have any standing?
We've lived in our house 20+ years and the fence in question was there when we bought the house. And the survey we had done showed no problem and the 2 previous owners had no problem with the property line
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A: Any adjacent property owner has standing to file suit concerning a boundary dispute. The fenceline is probably the boundary line due to Acquiescence irregardless of deeded legal descriptions. The predecessors in title for both you and the complaining property owner are potential witnesses.
A: Of course she has legal standing. As to the merits, you could hire an attorney to file suit to quiet title and argue adverse possession. "To establish title to a tract of land by adverse possession, a claimant must prove by a preponderance of evidence that his possession of the land was (1) hostile and under a claim of right; (2) actual; (3) open and notorious; (4) exclusive; and (5) continuous for a period of ten years." Flowers v. Roberts, 979 S.W.2d 465, 469 (Mo. Ct. App. E.D. 1998). Adverse possession is a common law principle that allows you to take someone else's real property because you've been doing so for a long time even if you are mistaken about the true boundary line.
Anthony M. Avery agrees with this answer
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