Posted on 11/14/2007 10:26:59 PM PST by beaversmom
A judge has ruled in favor of another judge – now retired – in an unusual "adverse possession" land dispute in pricey Boulder, Colo., giving the retired judge a large part of his neighbor's $1 million parcel of land for a pathway to his backyard.
The recent ruling came from James Klein a judge in Colorado's 20th Judicial District covering Boulder, and was in favor of Richard McLean, who retired from the judiciary in Boulder several years ago.
The loser in the case was Boulder resident Don Kirlin, who is publicizing his situation on the landgrabber.org website. He and his wife Susie owned the land in question for more than two decades, and he appeared recently on the radio talk show hosted by Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman on Denver's KHOW radio.
(Story continues below)
The result of the lawsuit was that Klein awarded to McLean ownership of 34 percent of a residential lot valued at an estimated $800,000-$1 million in a Boulder subdivision based on McLean's allegations he and family had, under the state's "adverse possession" law, used the property for their own uses in a "notorious" fashion and without permission of the owners for more than 18 years.
Amy Waddle, a spokeswoman with Colorado's 20th Judicial District, said, "The judges don't comment on pending cases. I believe they are considering appeal."
On the radio show Kirlin explained his shock when the land on which he's paid taxes of about $16,000 a year, plus $65 per month homeowner association dues, on which he's sprayed for weeds and repaired fences, suddenly was made unusable by Klein's decision.
"This is a foundation … of our country," Kirlin, an airline pilot, said. "You should be able to buy property and own it."
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
And since it appears that this taking was for the purpose of preserving the retired judge’s precious view, I would plant a row of poplars stratigically placed so his precious view would accidentially be blocked. His newly acquired plot of land might get infested with poisen oak too. Right along his newly constructed path.
Apparently not if it interferes with Big Brotehr or his friends and tehir desire to get another freebie from the "hoi polloi."
Possession is 9/10...lol
McLean said he didn’t want to “try the case in the media”
hmm. I wonder, Why Not?
Cases like this remind me why i own a gun.
LOL :)
Nice summation. I think I’ll spare myself of the hollering on the rest of the thread.
I believe violence will occur. His neighbor has been ran out of one neighborhood already. Some of his former neighbors visited him one day. They told him to move if he wanted to live. My friend is getting old, has lived alone for the last 15 years, and is in poor health. I haven’t seen him get very angry yet. I have seen him get highly irritated and have decided I would never try to get him mad.
My friend has to drive past the neighbors every time he goes anywhere. Most of the time the neighbor will be standing by the road and try to stare him down. My friend is carrying a pistol in his truck since the neighbor has been known to carry a concealed revolver.
It concerns me a lot. My friend is being harassed and the LAW does nothing. He is poor and can’t afford to hire a lawyer. I guess the police will get up off their lazy butts when and if someone gets killed.
they have the same type law in MO too
I don't want to turn this into a flame-fest because, frankly, I really don't care about the subject all that much.
I would point out that your sentence below is the one to which I referred when I asked how you came to the conclusion that they ignored their property.
If you ignore the property, as these people seem to have done...
If you didn't attend the trial, didn't examine the evidence or the witnesses, then what makes you say it seems that they ignored their property?
It seems to me you're taking the judges at their word.
OK, I understand. I concede the point. You are correct that I shouldn't have concluded anything. The statement you quote should better say, "If you ignore the property, as the Court seems to have found . . ."
If this is the very same court which is presided over by the friend of the judge, then that's hardly an unbiased opinion.
Agreed.
Did the aggrieved even know the two were buddies before the trial began? (I don't know if they're buddies, but it sure smells that way to me)
You're right, adverse possession cases are fact-driven. I'm not a lawyer, but I had a case something like this that I had to fight pro se (and I did win title to a small sliver of land).
The idea of adverse possession doesn't seem fair, at first glance, to most people. And people are understandably outraged at what looks like favoritism extended by one judge to another.
But after reading the judge's order (linked by beaversmom in post 15) it looks clear to me that the judge based his decision on the facts, the statute law and the cited case law.
Btw, McLean and Smith did win title (not just an easement) to a third of one of the Kirlin's lots.
One more point: While I have sympathy for the Kirlins, I think they've overstated the negative impact of this judgment. On the previous thread, they claimed the judge's decision had rendered their property unbuildable and unsellable, iirc.
That looks like an exaggeration on the part of the Kirlins. They have two lots next to McLean/Smith. If you look at those lots (accessible to the public on Boulder County's land records site) you'll see that the larger lot -- the one they were going to build on anyway-- is untouched by this judgment.
Looks plenty big for a house. The Kirlins can still build, or sell both lots as one.
Property rights in Boulder, CO, is like religious freedom in Saudi Arabia.
Forget Tibet; Free Colorado!!
(I want this as a bumper sticker.)
” Friend starts to put up a fence with “no Trespassing” signs. That night, fence posts and signs are gone.”
Your friend should have called the Sheriff immediately and had the fellow arrested for theft...Have him put up another fence and have a camera running nearby...When the fence disappears he’s got it all on film to give to the sheriff..Maybe the Sheriff won’t stop the mowing but he darned well get involved if there is a theft.
Things don’t always happen the way they should. The local police are bought and paid for. There is a lot of whiskey in a dry County and a lot of dope openly available. The police can’t seem to do anything about that either. ;0)
The Sheriff before this one actually tried to do his job. He was ridiculed behind his back and made to look idiotic. I believe the powers behind the throne made it impossible for him to do the job he was elected to do.
I can see why you are worried. Horrible way for your friend to live out his last years. Someone mentioned putting up a camera—maybe you could help him with that. Encourage him to document all the harrassing too. How can people just get away with this kind of stuff? If you are I tried it, we would have been arrested yesterday. Good luck and prayers to him that it will be worked out peacefully.
The neighbor has told my friend he has been arrested before and doesn’t mind going to jail.
Prayers are the only thing I know that will end this peacefully.
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