When our clients purchased their seven-acre piece of land in 1993, they had no idea that a nightmare neighbor would move in to claim five acres of their property 25 years later. After making several attempts to settle this matter and avoid the expense of litigation, nightmare neighbor insisted on going to trial. He got his day in court.
Nightmare Neighbor
Nightmare neighbor purchased his property in 2017—the boundary deed was for 15 acres “more or less” by estimation. He wanted to qualify for a “Greenbelt” tax break and thought he had to have exactly 15 acres. It was then that he decided to target my clients to get the extra acreage he needed.
Before our clients hired us, nightmare neighbor tried to intimidate them with threatening letters and tax maps from the property assessor. As soon as we came on board, the Court immediately issued a temporary injunction to keep anyone from messing with the disputed property during the litigation.
The nightmare neighbor refused to settle and made outlandish demands for attorney's fees that he was not entitled to.
Prior to Trial
Prior to trial, our research showed that nightmare neighbor’s boundary deed already qualified him for a “Greenbelt” tax break, and he’d been getting it since he purchased the property.
After a three-day trial, the Court ruled that our clients’ boundary was the right boundary. We prevailed on every issue before the Court, which left the nightmare neighbor paying our clients’ court costs and discretionary costs. Now, not only does the court ruling indicate that nightmare neighbor’s exact acreage is less than 15 acres, but he also lost his “Greenbelt” tax break after our office informed the property assessor that his acreage does not allow him a tax break.
If you have a nightmare neighbor trying to take the land you worked hard for, you need a seasoned property dispute attorney who has experience in litigating boundary disputes.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your options and protect your hard-earned property rights.