Preble v. Maine Central Railroad
85 Me. 260 · 1893
Facts
In 1848, the defendant railroad established its original four-rod wide location adjacent to land owned by the plaintiff's father. In 1852, the railroad purchased an additional two-rod strip from the plaintiffs, who had acquired the property, and moved a fence to enclose it. Around 1864 or 1866, plaintiff Israel Preble moved this fence two feet further onto his own land. Prior to 1889, the railroad had not needed an accurate survey of the land. In 1889, when enlarging its freight platform, a survey revealed the true boundary was west of the existing fence, showing a triangular piece of land, now under the platform, was part of the land purchased by the railroad in 1852. Israel Preble claims he occupied the land up to the fence, believing it was the true line, and now seeks title to this disputed piece by adverse possession.
Issue
Can a claim of adverse possession be sustained when the occupant, by mistake, occupies land not covered by their deed, believing a fence marks the true line, but has no intention to claim title beyond the actual boundary if it were found to be elsewhere?
Holding
No, the plaintiff's claim of adverse possession cannot be sustained. The court found that the plaintiff's possession was not adverse to the true owner, and judgment was entered for the defendant.
Rule
To acquire title by adverse possession, there must be an absolute intention on the part of the occupant to claim ownership of the land, even if it is later discovered that the occupied land is beyond the true boundary. If an occupant possesses land by mistake, believing a fence to be the true line, but only intends to claim title on the condition that the fence is indeed on the true line, then the possession is not adverse. The intention to claim title must be absolute and not conditional, meaning the occupant intends to claim title to all land within a certain boundary on the face of the earth, regardless of whether it is the correct one.
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