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Adverse Possession

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Submitted By arthurangelina
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You are working as a paralegal for a firm in Cleveland, Ohio. One of your clients is a sweet old lady named Mildred. While Mildred was organizing her estate plan, she had a survey done on her home and realized that her neighbor, Cliff's picket fence is actually 3 feet on her side of the property line. Mildred does not want to get into a fight, but at the same time, she does not want Cliff to permanently keep the 3 feet of property that belong to her. So, she came to your firm to ask advice.

Mildred has a deed that clearly shows that she received title to the 3 feet in question through a deed executed over 40 years ago. Cliff, of course, will argue that he acquired the 3 feet via adverse possession. Neither Cliff nor Mildred can remember exactly when the fence was put up and neither party can remember what was done with that space before the fence was put up. It is apparent that this case will come down to who has the burden to prove what because it's apparent that neither party can prove much of anything except that Mildred has her deed and all parties agree that the picket fence has been up for several years.

Your supervising attorney asks you to draft an essay, citing relevant Ohio law where applicable, explaining who has the burden to prove what in this case and which party is likely to prevail. Please do so.

Issue- The issue at hand is whether Cliff can prove adverse possession for the 3 feet of land in question under Ohio law against Mildred.
Rule- Wechter v. Franklin, C.A. No. E-78-38, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth Appellate District, Erie County, 1979 Ohio App. LEXIS 10401, August 24, 1979. In this case there were two property owners who were fighting over boundary lines and the title to the boundary line was found to be quieted to the owner who had color of title. The error in the property descriptions did not impair the marketability and the

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