美国国家公共电台 NPR--Who owns a piece of land is not a simple answer when it comes to adverse possession

Who owns a piece of land is not a simple answer when it comes to adverse¹ possession

Transcript²

A neighborly squabble over a goat pen illustrates³ how the legal doctrine⁴ of adverse possession operates in the United States.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

If you own something, whether it's your car or some shares of Apple stock, it's easy to think it's yours no matter what. Keith Romer from our Planet Money podcast tells us when it comes to owning land, it's not always so simple.

KEITH ROMER, BYLINE⁵: After Burt Banks agreed to sell two-thirds of an acre of woods, he had inherited an Ocean View, Del., he was presented with a pair of surprises. The first surprise came from his realtor after the prospective⁶ buyer had the land surveyed in 2021.

BURT BANKS: She contacted us and said, uh-oh, you've got a problem. You've got an encroachment⁷.

ROMER: What is an encroachment? Like, what was it?

BANKS: She had a goat fence.

ROMER: Banks lives in Atlanta with his husband. They tried to get the neighbor to move the goat pen and its fence back across the property line. When she didn't, Banks sued her. That is when the second surprise arrived. His neighbor sued him back, arguing that according to a legal doctrine called adverse possession, she should be named his land's rightful owner.

BANKS: We were totally blindsided. We had never considered the possibility that somebody hostilely would try to take your land away.

ROMER: Adverse possession works like this. If someone begins to use your land as though they were the owner and you never explicitly⁸ kick them off or give them permission to stay, in time, that interloper can sue to take legal ownership away from you. Historically, adverse possession was a kind of use-it-or-lose-it thing to make sure potentially productive land wasn't just left sitting idle. These days, it's mostly used to settle minor⁹ boundary disputes.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOAT BLEATING)

ROMER: I asked the youngest interloper why she took this approach.

You're in a lawsuit¹⁰. Any comment?

(SOUNDBITE OF GOAT BREATHING)

ROMER: But Evelyn, the goat, was not forthcoming. Melissa Schrock, the owner of Evelyn and three other goats, says she never knew that Burt Banks owned the wooded lot that separated her house from the next one over.

MELISSA SCHROCK: I always - like, my family had always thought that we kind of shared - like, half of these woods was ours, and then half kind of belonged to that house.

ROMER: Schrock's family moved here in 2001, when she was still in high school. They used Banks' land for storage and a place for their animals. And importantly, they had been doing it for 20 years, long enough to file for adverse possession in Delaware. Schrock decided¹¹ to represent herself in court.

SCHROCK: Like, I read every single adverse possession case that's been heard going back to, like, 18-something in the state of Delaware.

ROMER: After a short trial, the judge ruled that Schrock did not need to move her goat pen, and she would be made the owner of Burt Banks entire lot. Understandably, Banks was not pleased with the ruling.

BANKS: I thought it was insane, just absolutely crazy - unfair.

ROMER: As far as I could tell, though, Evelyn, the goat, approved.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOAT BLEATING)

ROMER: Keith Romer, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOE SUNRISE'S "LALIBELA")

1 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

4 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

7 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

8 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。