Johnson v. Little Rock Ranch

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This case is about a dispute over the boundary between two adjoining parcels of land in Waterford, in the vicinity of Highway 132 and Tim Bell Road, that ripened into a lawsuit following the sale, in February or March 2012, of one of the parcels. The parcels of land are in a north-south configuration; the northern parcel is accessed from Tim Bell Road, while the southern parcel is accessible from Highway 132. The northern parcel is 677 acres, and the southern parcel is 210 acres. A relatively straight barbed-wire fence, which has existed for over half a century at least (possibly even over a century), physically separates the two parcels. However, the actual property line lies about 50 feet to the north of the fence, such that the fence in fact cuts across a northern segment of the southern parcel. The strip of land between the fence and the actual property line to the north constitutes 3.44 acres, effectively sandwiched between the far larger parcels on either side.1 The northern parcel was sold in 2012 to Little Rock Ranch, LLC (Little Rock Ranch or Little Rock). Prior to the sale, both parcels were owned, for decades, by members of the same…