Brown v. Gobble

474 S.E.2d 489 (W.Va. 1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Gobble (D) purchased his property in 1985 and was told that it ran up to and included a fence. The references in their deed read, as though, the two-foot wide tract of land was part of their conveyance. Brown (P) purchased property in 1989 and had a survey done at the time of purchase to determine the extent of their ownership. The survey revealed that a fenced two-foot wide tract of land was part of P’s property. Ps were aware at the time of their purchase that this property belonged to them but did nothing until 1994. In August of 1994, P decided to build a road along the tract in question, and that meant cutting down several of the trees along the tract. D tried to prevent P from doing so by asserting ownership of the tract. P sued D. The trial court ruled that D failed to show by clear and convincing evidence their ownership by way of adverse possession.