“World’s Worst Neighbors.” ...
The empty lot is about 200 yards from the Kirlins’ current home. The couple said they visited it every week when they and their three dogs walked to nearby trails.
The Kirlins said they have paid taxes on the 55-foot-by-80-foot lot for 23 years, sprayed for noxious weeds on it and paid homeowners dues...
When asked what they would do with the land if the judge’s decision is upheld, Susie Kirlin said, “We’re not going there yet.”
“I really do believe in the justice system,” her husband said. “This is so unjust and unfair and unethical.”
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_7556143?source=most_viewed
“It’s stealing with a law license instead of a gun,” said Will Campbell, a Boulder resident and supporter of Susie and Don Kirlin.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7557747?source=rss
Defeating adverse possession
Legal sources say there are ways to protect property:
Diligence: If a landowner finds a pattern of trespassing or an encroachment by a neighbor, he should demand that it stop, then sue, if necessary.
Permission: A landowner who suspects someone of using his property can give that person written permission to do so, removing the opportunity to claim possession is adverse or “hostile.”
Insufficient use: A landowner can stipulate that the person used the property but not enough that a reasonably diligent owner would have noticed and had the opportunity to object. The adverse possession must demonstrate sufficient acts to demonstrate a “claim” of ownership.
Insufficient time: A landowner can show a period in which the other person did not use the property. Adverse possession requires “continuous” use of the property for the legally required period, which is 18 years in Colorado.
Nonexclusive use: The owner or others can prove they have used the land just as much as the person claiming adverse possession.