A-24-0794, Alan Kortmeyer and Carolyn Kortmeyer (Appellants) v. Alyssa Hendrix and Carey Hendrix; Kach 510, LLC; and C&A Complex Management, LLC, and Glen Haven Subdivision Utility Service, LLC. (Appellees)
Seward County, District Judge Rachel A. Daugherty
Attorney for Appellant: Gina M. Elliott (Morrow, Poppe, Watermeier & Lonowski, P.C.)
Attorney for Appellee: Stephen D. Mossman and Andrew R. Spader (Mattson Ricketts Law Firm, LLP)
Civil Action: Adverse Possession
Action taken by Trial Court: Neighboring landowners, the Kortmeyers and the Hendrixes, disputed the boundary between their adjacent residential lots. In July 2023, the Kortmeyers brought an action against the Hendrixes seeking to quiet title to the disputed property on the theory of adverse possession. The Hendrixes filed a counterclaim seeking to quiet title to the disputed property. A party claiming title through adverse possession must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the adverse possessor has been in (1) actual, (2) continuous, (3) exclusive, (4) notorious, and (5) adverse possession under a claim of ownership for a statutory period of ten (10) consecutive years.
Following a bench trial, the district court found that the Kortmeyers had failed to prove the necessary elements to support their claim of adverse possession. It reasoned that there was credible evidence (1) that the Kortmeyers commenced routine yard maintenance on the disputed property in the fall of 2003 at the earliest and (2) that Kortmeyers began to rent the disputed property by at least October 2009 and as a tenant could not claim adverse possession. The district court also quieted title to the Hendrixes.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: The Kortmeyers assign that the district court erred in finding that they failed to meet their burden to support a claim of adverse possession.