Business Law SU14 – Assignment
|Review the South Dakota Supreme Court case, Lewis v. Aslesen , 2001 SD 131, 635 N.W.2d 744 (2001) in the instructional material for this |
|Learning Plan. |
|A. Generally describe the land that was in dispute in this civil action? |
|They were in dispute over ownership of a 16-foot strip of land running in between the residential lots in Canton, South Carolina. |
|B. Upon what legal theory did the trial court grant title to land? |
|The legal theory the trial court granted title to land is called 'adverse possession.' |
|C. What year did the parties to the action purchase their respective residential lots? |
|They purchased their adjoining lots in the yar 1972. |
|D. Briefly describe how Aslesens used the disputed land? |
|The Aslenes used the disputed land for sports, get-together, parking and occasional access to their property. |
|E. Briefly describe how Lewises used the disputed land? |
|Lewises planted three trees roughly along a line in the middle of it and a flower garden on a portion of it. |
|F. What facts must a person show to acquire ownership of land in South Dakota by adverse possession? |
|Planting and maintaining a line of trees on disputed property by those claiming adverse possession constitutes a substantial enclosure of the|
|property under SDCL 15-3-13(1). In addition to planting and maintaining trees, regular mowing of the property constitutes cultivation under |
|SDCL 15-3-13(2). Id. Finally, landscaping is an improvement to land under SDCL 15-3-13(2). Id. Although there was no claim here that the |
|Lewis's garden planted in the disputed strip had been in existence for twenty years, its presence for a substantial part of that time |
|provides additional evidence that the Lewises were laying open claim to the property. As both alternative prongs of SDCL 15-3-13 have been |
|satisfied, the prerequisites for adverse possession have been met. |
|G. What South Dakota statute sets forth the prerequisites for acquiring land in South Dakota by adverse possession? |
|SDCL 15-3-13 |
|H. Describe the facts upon which the court relied in determining that Lewises had acquired title to the land by adverse possession? |
|1. The Lewises established adverse possession up to the line of the trees. |
|I. Where did the court conclude that the boundary should be drawn between the two neighboring lots? |
|The court concluded that the boundary should be drawn at the 87.4-foot line. |
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