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Illegal Use of Right of way

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pabanddab

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Vermont. I recently bought 1 acre of property which is surrounded on one side the main dirt road, another neighbor who doesn't bother me, and a brook, and woods and a nasty neighhbor across the bridge, which is connected to the right of way. There is an easement for the utility people only. There has been deeded a ROW in all the deeds since 1953 from the main road ingress and egress across my property to a nonhomestead piece of land across the brook, fijorded by a walking bridge.
Question. The non-homestead property has been a camp of sorts, no one every living there on a daily basis, and the owners of the acre of land that I bought let "anyone" park on the ROW. I have had two lawyers tell me that a right of way is simply a means of going from point A to B with no stopping in the middle.
Problem: A young couple bought the non-homestead property, (acre) across this bridge, and they feel that because the ROW attaches to his bridge, that he owns the right of way, which by the way, is directly in the middle of my acre. I said he could not park on the right of way no matter what. I don't even have rights to park on the ROW. He parks any kinds of vehicle there he wants including junks, leaking all sorts of stuff. His parking in this ROW makes it so I cannot see the other side of the right of way which is my property.
Issue: I had to summons him to court to keep his junks from parking in the ROW for a pound of reasons not to mention it is unlawful to stop, camp, park, or picnic, plant flowers or whatever on a ROW. He is now claiming that he not only owns the property, but is set out to prove he owns it by claiming that people have parked there for 30 years. This is true. Other people who had owned the land that I now own, probably didn't care who parked where. But the land that he now owns, has never been a homested for at least 22 years, and then and only then did the owner spend a night or two at a time during all of the 22 years. However, the previous owners let ANYONE park ANYWHERE on their property. I they had no right to give access parking to anyone on the ROW any more than I do ) I plan to stop this. I can't find any clear laws about this. I plan to put a new mobile home on my property facing the ROW, I don't want to look at junk cars. I.E. the neighbor is a relative, and and a very nasty fellow at that. He has filed with the courts as a pauper and it was granted. However he draws SSD, lives with a girlfriend and child, for which she gets great benefits in Vermont, and they own two vehicles, which I doubt are legal. I also live on SSD and a small pension and I can't even afford two vehicles. Now he has filed a counter claim, for which I have to pay for. I am going into this pro se. I just see mud on my face and probably will have to sell the property simply because of this ROW and this nasty fellow. He has also added all kinds of other stupid issues that HE has regarding the use of my property. For the first time in 30 years it is clean, clear of clutter, cars, junk, etc. and the dilapitated mobile home there is going to be gone, and it is a beautiful piece of land and I want to keep it. I even offered to buy him out. He refused even tho he has made it clear he would not sell it to that "bitch" meaning me of course. What's a girl gotta do!
 
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BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
what he is trying to do is called adverse possession and it won't fly. YOU own the land, he simply has RIGHTS to use that part of the land to access the land that he owns.

How wide is the ROW as stipulated on your deed?
 

pabanddab

Junior Member
right of way

Vermont

The ROW of way is 10 feet wide. We are posting flags exactly 10 feet wide along the entire ROW immediately. He is a speed demon and spins his tires, etc. He also has threatened me on several occasions. I have reported him, but no one is taking me seriously. I am a widow and live alone. I will answer his counter claim, and hope the judge thinks this is simply a waste of time and throw it out, and make him own up to the laws the rest of us have to.
I am 60-year-old and never a speeding ticket.
 
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pabanddab

Junior Member
right of way

Thanks, will do. I have 20 days to a answer, but will be sending it out on Monday. It would be nice to have this done at mediation, but he is a very nasty fellow as I have said, and I do not believe he could be contained in a room and mind his manners or the court for that matter. I have mentioned this to his attorney also.

He also is living across a brook that borders my property and is living in a non-homestead piece of land. How can this be legal?

I have read in law 101 book that it takes 10 to 21 years to claim the parking rights in this right of way that I speak of. Not sure if this is country wide or just Vermont or what. Anyway I will answer his counterclaim this very day.
Keep up the good work. We already found out about noise ordinances, which are bogus, and need to know about a camera at the end of the bridge which points to my property, (invasion of privacy issues)
 
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