The applicants sought a declaration of ownership and vesting order over a triangular waterfront parcel based on adverse possession.
The claim relied on decades of community use by a local residents’ association that maintained a dock, stored boats, and used the area for recreational access to the river.
The court accepted that the use was open, notorious, peaceful, and continuous for many years and arose from a mutual mistake about the boundary between adjoining lots.
However, the applicants failed to prove that their possession was adverse and exclusive, as the legal owners and their lessees continued to use the land alongside the group.
Because the owners’ possession was never discontinued and no intention to exclude them was established, the elements of adverse possession were not satisfied.
