Tuckness v. The Town of Meeteetse
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Forrest “Timber” Tuckness filed a quiet title action against the Town of Meeteetse, claiming adverse possession of Lot 5, a property adjacent to his own. Tuckness had been storing personal items on Lot 5 without permission since 1999. The property was purchased by Vision Quest Estates in 2003, and its president, Steve Christiansen, testified that he gave Tuckness permission to continue using the lot between 2005 and 2007. Tuckness denied this claim. In 2013, Vision Quest sold the lot to the Town of Meeteetse, despite Tuckness's claim of adverse possession. The Town erected a fence and gate on the lot and initiated a forcible entry and detainer action when Tuckness did not remove his property.
The district court ruled in favor of the Town, finding that Tuckness had not met his burden of proof for adverse possession. The court found that Tuckness's use of the lot was actual, exclusive, open, notorious, and continuous from 1999 to 2013. However, the court also found that Christiansen's testimony that he had given Tuckness permission to use the lot was credible, which undermined the 'hostile' element of the adverse possession claim.
In the Supreme Court of Wyoming, the court affirmed the district court's decision. The Supreme Court found that the district court did not err in concluding that Tuckness's adverse possession claim must fail because his use of Lot 5 was not hostile. The court found Christiansen's account of granting Tuckness permission to use Lot 5 credible, and therefore dismissed Tuckness's adverse possession claim with prejudice.
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