Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota
Access right of way and a legal bulley
My neighbor is an attorney and from my view a �legal bully�. He repeatedly threatens to �sue me in district court� over the most trivial of matters.
I have owned my homestead for 25+ years. I have used a path to some adjacent property I own for 17 years. A recent survey showed that a small parcel of that path was owned by another neighbor � about 18� of the path. The attorney neighbor purchased this small path and has now informed me that he will blockade the path.
There are other matters that he is threatening me about. In the final analysis the actual value of these matters is hundreds of dollars � much too small to really argue about. That said, I am tired of being pushed around by this fellow.
Three questions�
Can he really block this path that I have used for 17 years? I thought there was some form of proscriptive use (excuse spelling or term misuse) that said I had usage rights after years of use.
If he actually blocks the path can I remove the obstruction and reopen the path without a protracted set of litigation?
Is there some way to get him labeled as a �legal bully� thus forcing a higher standard for his complaints than the current ongoing barrage of trivial matters he threatens me with?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Access right of way and a legal bulley
The short answers to your questions are yes, no and no. What you have is trouble for which there is no easy way out.
We have a common law legal principal called "adverse possession." The common law time period was 21 years, but I believe the statutes in MN now shorten that to 15 years. So if there is property which you have treated as your exclusive property for 15 years, you might have a prayer.
Trouble is you have to go to court to enforce the right - and there are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes. If would take some time and it would cost some money. Lots of hoops to jump through.
You might also try contacting the city or township in which this land is located. There used to be a law, I assume it is still there, that said that if there was a landlocked parcel of land with no access the township was supposed to condemn a cartway so there would be access. It you could get help from the city or township, that might put the guy in his place.
If you would like to set up a consult with me, we could pull some law books off he shelf and try to get to the bottom of what your options are. I charge $150 for such a consult.
Good luck.
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