Posted on 12/25/2005 8:27:45 AM PST by mel
Hey, Mel---see my #60.
I'm confused as to how this effects you directly.
Good luck with "legal paths" in a place as corrupt as Memphis. All I have to go on is your version of the situation, but it sounds like an injustice has been perpetrated. When dealing with political scumbags, it sometimes helps to raise a "safety issue". Would there be a problem for fire trucks? After you have exhausted all "legal paths", you may be left with nothing but your imagination.
Stick your head in the oven.
Ownership of a dedicated public right of way that is vacated goes to the adjacent properties. Of course, this alley was not vacated, was it?
Your rant is missing a central piece of information. Why did she close the alley?
Yes it is hard.
People are selfish and capable of the most amazingly offensive behavior. Sometimes it is intentional, sometimes not.
I am sorry that you were the victim of this bit-- I mean lady.
Try to take things one day at a time -- practically nothing is forever (hint hint)
G
It has been a constant battle, we made calls, and no one would help us.
I was going to put a alley exit, now with only one way out, that will be difficult. There are a lot of utilities, transformers and sewer line in the alley. There are frequently people in the alley doing service on these lines. Now, if someone is in alley, there is no way out
Thanks for the encouragement.
Does this nice lady have anybody between her gate and the street? Wouldn't it be unfortunate if they put a gate up, too?
Excuse me, what do you mean by that...Stick my head in the oven??? What a bizarre statement.
No, it was not vacated at all, people still have exits from their house thru the alley...Some people can't park in front of house and have to go thru alley to park
The lady said her husband died and now she was scared there by herself. She was scared of crime from the alley, yet there is a gap in the alley three feet wide on one end for people to walk thru. I haven't seen many criminals scoping alleys in cars, most of them are walking. She just wanted a private drive. If she was concerned about crime, she would be concerned about the crime from the front street also. It was just a ploy to get a private drive and she said that to people
I appreciate the thoughts and suggestions immensely
Some ideas
You'll need to show the attorney that this is not an initial fight but the continuation in order to get past the time period. Show him a log with dates and actions taken.
Do as much property document retrival as possible yourself instead of paying an attorney to do it.
Check with a local college professor to see if s/he knows of a tactic that you can use. He may be willing to give it out as a class assignment.
Have you checked with emergency services to see if there is a requirement for access that the council ignored?
Will this cause your insurance to rise .... the blocked access to firetrucks and ambulances?
Keep an eye out for trash piling up that could become a fire hazard.
Have you gone to the media?
Have you checked to see if she is the sole person being taxed for the property?
Is there a city access manhole on her property, the alley, that is currently listed as private property.
THe AM can just change it over to another area.
Just use "Report Abuse" on yourself and make the request.
The AMs are all-powerful.
Has anyone actually spoken to her? I am constantly amazed that these things get as far as they do...so many people angry when everything could have been rectified with some good, old-fashioned face to face talking.
First things first.
If you are frustrated and mad, that is an indication that somewhere in the past you have been wrapped up in some thinking and assumptions that haven't come to pass. It's either a temptation, in which we need to remain faithful to God and work with accordingly, or it might be the consequence of our own wrong thinking, wherein we need to turn back on our wrong thinking, return to God and make sure we are first in fellowship with Him on His terms.
Once that is accomplished, let's focus on the governmental systems and insure we are respecting and obeying legitimate authority. We might still get screwed, but if we do, read Heb 11 and thank the Lord for remaining in His plan by His methods and the testing for your advancement in His plan for you.
Now here are some particulars that might assist you.
Assume the authorities will remain obedient to the law and regulatory interests established in your state, county, city/town, and local laws.
Tennessee tends to protect the property rights of the individual fairly well. Numerous other interests may exist. Study the property laws of your state to discern which interests are likely to prevail. Determine legal jurisdiction, county or city, and perform a property search to determine actual ownership of the parcel inquestion and adjacent parcels.
A good lawyer is the best person to consult for legal advice. discussions here are little more if even 'sea'lawyer discussions that might add more confusion than solve problems.
If I were in your shoes, I would venture down to the Country Courthouse, County Clerk or tax assessor/collector and find the plat maps of the properties in the area that might have an interest in this issue. In Tennessee, frequently the owner's interest's prevail, however, there might also be previous agreements, encumbrances, rights of way, associated with the parcel in question.
It isn't uncommon for a township or city or county to have a parcel deeded over to them, if the local zoning/planning ordinances prohibit the owner from rendering any utility/usefulness from that part of the parcel by the owner or if the interests prevailing on the use of the land tend to be public more than private.
Historical ownership might be pertinent, however, it reads as though the municipality owned the strip of land (alley) in question and quit claimed it to the widow, respecting her interests as prevailing.
Look into squatter's rights. Her erection of a gate, if gone unimpeded and performed with hostile intent, might actually have given her more basis to own the land. In some states, regardless of ownership, if a squatter occupies the land, pays the taxes, and defends it with hostile intent for around seven years without eviction, they may have established squatter;s rights and might actually prevail in a court of law as the new official owner of the property.
If she hasn't paid taxes on the parcel in question, there might be some issues of materiality involved, although the erection of a gate indicates she has a material interest already established.
Many states do not allow a landowner to deny access to neighbors, however, Tennessee is well known for historically giving more weight to the individual private property owner's interests than the public interest. (Just look at Hi 40 going from Oak Ridge to Knoxville and consider how awkward it is to travel north to other highways just over the ridge. The lack of continuous cross streets in the Knoxville traffic topology is heavily influenced by that same respect for private property rights.
Even if the property owner must allow access, this doesn't entail the person encroaching upon her land can choose the route. Many states only require access to be made available on one or two sides of the parcel.
Other interests may also prevail. If utilities ran through the street(alley), the utility owner probably had a legal rights of way agreement with the land owner that probably carried over when the property changed ownership. Check with the utility rights-of-way representatives in your area. They might have a common interest, or they may have changed the point of connect of her service to her new property line.
If you trafficked the alley without the issue being previously resolved, it might not be decided, but you might have to bear the burden of proof.
Hope some of this helps. Have a joyous Christmas through faith in Christ.
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