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Prescriptive Right

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COatwitsend

Junior Member
Colorado
We bought a house 6 years ago. It was built in the mid 50s. All the land that encompasses the subdivision was once owned by the same family, who subdivided the land. This family wields great power in our small city. For at least 45 years there was a prescriptive dirt road through the lot next to ours to the easements behind the properties on the block. It was the access for utility and irrigation. The lot was sold, and a house built about Oct 2003. Now there is no utility access to the easement. (The city says each homeowner must provide their own utility access). The neighbor behind us finally found one local attorney who was willing to fight this. She paid the attorney $700 and then was advised of a conflict of interest and lost her money. She had to rip out fully mature landscaping along the side of her house to access her carport/ shop that had used this right of way for over 40 years.
The original survey was also incorrect so they took over about a 12 foot wide strip front to back of what had been "our" lot for 50 years, including the edge of our circle drive. Every lawyer contacted said a prescriptive right for the homeowners on our block was a "done deal", but there is not a lawyer in town who will go up against Mr. Powerful. We were willing to not let this be the hill we died on for the sake of neighborliness, and just bite the bullet, but the new neighbors have been jerks, and haven't built a fence or planted grass and let their big dog run free. I know its been about a year and a half but I've just about reached my limit of biting my tongue. Can something like this be done without a lawyer?
 


COatwitsend

Junior Member
Thanks

We thought of that, but the size of our counties makes this hard. Lawyers in the adjoining counties also practice here, and are then in that same "conflict of interest" category. We would have to bring someone in from over 100 miles away, probably more. We can't afford to be bankrupted. Mr. Big would use his money to drag this out till we died or went to the poorhouse, or his clout to get the city after us for some trumped up thing. He also complicated matters by quickly selling off (I think it was an arranged sale) his other adjoining property to add new people into the mix.

I truly appreciate this forum, because the opportunity to vent my frustration has been great therapy. Three houses on the block are up for sale. We'll probably sell out in the next couple years, once we get the house fixed up. All the nice neighbors are fed up and are just leaving to avoid the meanness. I guess new owners wouldn't be carrying that "stabbed in the back" feeling.
Thanks for listening.
 

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