Totman v. Malloy

The plaintiffs brought an action to claim title to disputed land by adverse possession. A Land Court judge, applying a presumption of permissive use among family members, held that the plaintiffs had failed to establish the necessary elements of adverse possession. The plaintiffs appealed and we transferred the case to this court on our own motion. We conclude that the Land Court should not have applied such a presumption. We therefore vacate the judgment and remand the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

We accept the judge’s findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous.…