SSM Investments v. Siemers

OTIS, Justice.

This action was brought by plaintiff in the Aitkin County District Court to determine adverse claims to a 100-foot strip of land bordering Mille Lacs Lake. The trial court held that plaintiff had failed to establish its claim and the heirs at law of Kenneth and Hazel Siemers own the land in dispute. We reverse.

To establish title by adverse possession, a disseizor must show, by clear and convincing evidence, an actual, open, hostile, continuous, and exclusive possession for the requisite period of time which, under Minn.Stat. § 541.02 (1978), is fifteen years. Ehle v. Prosser,…