[Hootowl99]

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the home owners. A person buys a piece of raw land or land that already has a home on it, it doesn't matter. A person lives on the property for 40 years or 4 months, it doesn't matter. The owner has the responsibility to know where their property lines are.

A small number of states have property laws such that an owner can actually loose title to a property if they do not defend it from incursion. IIRC, two states in this category are (or were) Colorado and Texas.

For example, a neighbor builds a fence that is several feet on your side of the property line. If the owner does not evict the fence from the trespass then the owner can legally loose title to the strip of land.

Another situation I read on involved a homeowner that had several acres of undeveloped raw land towards the back of the parcel. A neighbor (husband and wife lawyers) conspired to acquire title to the undeveloped land by establishing some hiking paths through the undeveloped land. I forgot the details but the plan unraveled during court proceedings and the lawyer-neighbors failed in acquiring title.

[Whyfor]

I remember that case but never heard how it came out. While I was paying attention, Google earth was being suggested to prove the path wasn’t old enough to establish adverse possession.