The appellant, Susan Opal McKay, appealed the dismissal of her claim for adverse possession over an eight-foot wide strip of land adjacent to her property, which is owned by the respondent, Joel Paul Vautour.
The dispute arose after the respondent removed an old paddock fence and replaced it with a fence on the surveyed boundary line.
The appellant argued that the paddock fence established the true boundary and that her predecessors in title had acquired possessory title prior to the land being converted to the land titles system in 2003.
The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's decision, finding that the appellant failed to meet the burden of proof for adverse possession, specifically lacking cogent evidence of open, notorious, constant, continuous, peaceful, and exclusive use with the intention to exclude the true owner for any ten-year period before June 16, 2003.
The court also found that the existence of another wooden fence on the actual boundary line and the ambiguous nature of the paddock fence's purpose undermined the appellant's claim.
The appeal was dismissed with costs awarded to the respondent.