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Read a newspaper article a while back about something similar in the US.

I don’t remember the exact details, but it was something like this: somebody used an empty lot as a short-cut or something, eventually wearing a path through it, and after continuous use for some period of time (maybe years?), claimed it as his own. And the claim, as I recall, was upheld in the courts.

Maybe somebody with a law background can explain the legal principle involved (or let me know I’m completely off-base in my recollection).

You are not wrong. It is a concept called “adverse possession” whereby if someone holds use of a property for a specified period, often with the knowledge of the owner, the squatter can claim legal ownership.

It's Adverse Possession, but the law differs from state to state - most states have a statute of 15 to 18 years of unimpeded access grants the "user" of the land the right to claim ownership.

It's pretty easy to get around if you file a claim every three years or so with the county clerk that at no time have you allowed anyone use of the land - it restarts that clock.

But it's also complicated. AND expensive.

The laws for adverse possession and eminent domain both vary from state to state... but is it true; the case I recall is in Colorado, and the "claimants" are both lawyers, and they got away with it.

Owners with land they don't visit often are particularly susceptible to the scam.

I’m a lawyer. Yeah, I think I recall what you’re talking about. A Colorado couple stole their neighbor’s property by adverse possession. If someone treats a property as their own, and the true owner doesn’t do anything about it until the statute of limitations has passed, then the law says that the property belongs to the person who is treating as their own. The trial court upheld it in this Colorado couples’ case. I don’t remember if the appeals court did or not. Basically, they set out with the idea that they were going to steal it. If I were the judge, I would not uphold it in that instance. In my opinion, the law should be that you need to actually think the property is your property, but I don’t think that is the law in most states, including Colorado.

These squatters though are way off in left field. The statute of limitations is many years in most states. In Costa Rica, though, it’s only a matter of weeks. That’s what makes me think these squatters are illegals. They apparently are familiar with laws that have very short statutes of limitation, as in Costa Rica, perhaps other Latin American nations.

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=60533

I can’t find anything that shows how it turned out. I suspect that they did not lose their land, or it would have been reported.