As a Tennessee real estate litigation attorney, I read with interest a recent case by the Tennessee Court of Appeals: Randall W. Summers v. Jimmy Stubblefield, No. 13208 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 17, 2015). The case involved a dispute (for more than 20 years) by two adjacent landowners. One land owner moved to set boundaries to the two parcels and the Defendant put forth the defense set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. 28-2-110:
Any person having any claim to real estate or land of any kind, or to any legal or equitable interest therein, the same having been subject to assessment for state and county taxes, who and those through whom such person claims have failed to have the same assessed and to pay any state and county taxes thereon for a period of more than twenty (20) years, shall be forever barred from bringing any action in law or in equity to recover the same, or to recover any rents or profits therefrom in any of the courts of this state.
The proof showed that the plaintiff had paid taxes on a 20 acre assessment, far from the 125 acres he claimed to own. Therefore, the plaintiff was unable to file a claim against the defendant seeking title to the property.
However, the twist in this case is that the defendant filed a counter-claim against the plaintiff seeking ownership to the land in question. The above-cited statute does not prevent a person from defending an action filed against him for ownership of the property. The defendant tried to use theories of adverse possession and payment of taxes to claim the land. Defendant failed.
In Tennessee, an adverse possessor with “assurance of title” is presumed to be the legal owner of real property when he has paid taxes on the property for 20 years. The opinion cleared explained that tax maps cannot be used to establish boundary lines of assurance of title in Tennessee. State ex rel Summers v. Whetsell, 2006 WL 1408403, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 22, 2006).
The defendant claimed to own the property in question, but defendant could not identify a deed or specific instrument of record that gave him title to Jackson Place. He could only point to statements he had heard from relatives over the years. There were no deeds; there were no writings. While defendant did refer to a tax map as proof of ownership, as noted above, in Tennessee a tax map cannot be used to establish a boundary line.
Defendant also sought to claim title by actual common law adverse possession. Proving Tennessee adverse possession is difficult as it requires a showing by clear and convincing evidence (a higher than normal standard). The use of the property must be (1) exclusive, (2) adverse, (3) continuous, (4) open, and (5) notorious for twenty years. In this case the only proof was that the defendant cut wood, painted a fence, and asked hunters to leave. This was insufficient.
If you are in need of a lawyer to help with a Tennessee case involving adverse possession or property disputes in general, please contact me at (901) 527-2125 or E-mail Me.