Agrons v. Strong

282 P.3d 925, 250 Or. App. 641, 2012 WL 2404552, 2012 Ore. App. LEXIS 784
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJune 27, 2012
Docket0401868CV; A143105
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 282 P.3d 925 (Agrons v. Strong) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Agrons v. Strong, 282 P.3d 925, 250 Or. App. 641, 2012 WL 2404552, 2012 Ore. App. LEXIS 784 (Or. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

BREWER, J.

Defendants Brett and Rebecca Strong appeal from a general judgment awarding title to a strip of land enclosed by a fence on their property to plaintiff, an adjacent landowner, on the ground that plaintiff had acquired title to the strip by adverse possession. Defendants raise four assignments of error, all of which depend on a central proposition: that the trial court erred in allowing plaintiff to amend his complaint under ORCP 23 B to state a claim for adverse possession, because (1) that amendment prejudiced defendants, and (2) plaintiff failed to adduce sufficient evidence to support a claim for adverse possession.1 Defendants argue, in the alternative, that, if the trial court properly allowed plaintiff to amend his complaint, the trial court nonetheless erred in awarding plaintiff the disputed strip because plaintiff had failed to prove the elements of common-law adverse possession by clear and convincing evidence. We affirm.

We review the trial court’s ruling on plaintiffs motion to amend the pleading to conform to the evidence for an improper exercise of discretion. Brasch v. Quan, 162 Or App 472, 476, 986 P2d 1183 (1999). Under that standard of review, we will not disturb the trial court’s ruling if, given the facts found by the court, it chose one among a variety of legally correct outcomes. Berg and Berg, 250 Or App 1, 2, 279 P3d 286 (2012).

In 2004, plaintiff filed a complaint seeking a declaration that a fence he had built and maintained was the boundary line between his property and defendants’ property. Such a declaration would result in plaintiff being awarded the portion of the property that is enclosed by the fence. Plaintiff did not identify a discrete legal theory supporting his claim for declaratory relief. Plaintiff later moved for partial summary judgment, and the trial court held a hearing on that motion. In his motion for partial summary judgment, plaintiff advanced, among others, a theory of “boundary by agreement.” The trial court denied that motion, ruling that there were disputed issues of fact and that, at [644]*644that stage of the proceeding, plaintiff was not entitled to a judgment awarding him the disputed property under a theory of boundary by agreement.

At the close of plaintiffs evidence at trial, defendants moved to dismiss the case under ORCP 54 B(2), arguing that plaintiff had failed to prove a claim for boundary by agreement. Plaintiff objected, arguing that he had never limited his claim to only a theory of boundary by agreement. Plaintiff also moved to amend his complaint under ORCP 23 B to conform to the evidence that he asserted established his ownership of the disputed strip by adverse possession. The trial court took both motions under advisement, and defendants presented their evidence. After defendants rested, the trial court asked the parties for written closing arguments. The trial court issued its letter opinion on January 30, 2007, and it made the following findings of fact:

“Plaintiff is the fee owner of certain real property * * * further described in the complaint filed herein. Defendants Strong are husband and wife. They are the fee owners of real property located immediately adjacent to [plaintiffs property]. The parcels lay such that plaintiff s south boundary forms the north boundary of defendants’ property.
“Both parties [mesne] chain of title originate from a common grantor, Ronald and Eunice Layton.
“Plaintiff acquired his parcel in 1973. When he acquired the parcel, the boundary of plaintiffs parcel was separated from the north boundary of the adjoining parcel by a wire fence. Shortly after acquiring the property, plaintiff replaced the original fence with a wooden post and rail fence built to contain his horses. Plaintiff replaced the rotted and original posts with cemented posts in approximately the same location as the original posts.
“Plaintiff believed the fence was the actual dividing line between his parcel and the parcel owned by defendants’ predecessors in title. [A 1978 survey commissioned by defendants’ predecessor, Rank,] disclosed the fence misplacement. There is no evidence in the record that plaintiff was aware of this survey or that [Rank] complained about the location of the fence. No information was brought to plaintiff to cause him to believe that there may be a problem with the location of the fence until approximately 10 [645]*645years ago when Mr. Larry Peacore contacted plaintiff to advise him that he (Mr. Peacore) had built a fence on property adjoining plaintiffs fence and that plaintiffs fence line appeared to be askew.
“Plaintiff took no action to investigate the actual location of the property line. Then, sometime in the fall of 2002, the defendant purchased his parcel. Prior to closing, he commissioned a survey by Jerry Barrett, a registered professional surveyor. Mr. Barrett located two prior surveys; a 1965 survey and a June 1978 survey. The earlier survey did not disclose a fence line. The pins were set in 1965. Mr. Barrett’s survey disclosed plaintiffs fence line deviated from those pins up to 23.6 feet on the west end of the fence line encroaching onto defendant’s property. The deviation from the line runs approximately 280 feet, varying from a few inches up to 23.6 feet. Repairs and post replacements either by plaintiff or his contractors since 1978 have caused minor shifts in the fence location.
“No predecessor in interest of defendant’s property disputed the location of the fence until defendant contacted plaintiff in the fall of 2002. Sometime prior to defendant’s closing date in December, 2002, defendant * * * contacted plaintiff to advise him of the fence deviation. Plaintiff responded by stating the fence marked the boundary and that he would not change it. This litigation ensued.”

The trial court also denied defendants’ ORCP 54 B(2) motion and granted plaintiffs ORCP 23 B motion, explaining:

“The court can find no prejudice to the defendant if the court allows the amendment. The claims of boundary by agreement and adverse possession are so closely related that evidence on one would also be applicable to the other. Defendant should not have been surprised or prejudiced in the presentation of his case. Because the court is of the opinion the need to resolve this dispute requires the issues to be decided on the merits, the court will allow the plaintiffs amendment to conform to the evidence of adverse possession.”

The court then found that plaintiff had proved his claim for adverse possession by clear and convincing evidence:

[646]*646“The court is convinced that plaintiffs use of the disputed area for a horse corral, including erecting and maintaining a fence satisfies the element of actual, open and notorious possession as well as demonstrates plaintiffs exclusive use of the disputed area.
“The time element (10 years) is satisfied. Plaintiffs credible testimony that beginning in 1973 he believed the fence line was the true southern boundary is a reasonable and honest belief based upon plaintiffs observation that the original fence was present when he took possession in 1973. There were no challenges to his ownership of the disputed area until defendant contacted him in the fall of 2002.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
282 P.3d 925, 250 Or. App. 641, 2012 WL 2404552, 2012 Ore. App. LEXIS 784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/agrons-v-strong-orctapp-2012.