Barrow, et al. v. D&B Valley Associates, L.L.C.
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Timothy and Barbara Barrow purchased property from Herbert and Claire Weida. Before the sale the Weidas obtained permission from the adjoining landowner, Peter Dunn, to use a strip of land between their property and a stone wall on Dunn's property. After the sale the Barrows continued to use the strip of land just as the Weidas had done. The Barrows later filed suit to quiet title to the land they had been using. The Barrows argued they held title through adverse possession or, in the alternative, boundary by acquiescence. The trial justice denied the Barrows' request, concluding that the Barrows failed to prove they had met the requirements for adverse possession and failed to show boundary by acquiescence. The Supreme Court held that because the Weidas had permission from Dunn to use the strip of land, the permissive nature of that use could only become hostile when that permission was withdrawn or when the nature of the use changed. As neither event occurred in this case, the judgment of the trial justice was affirmed.
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