Adverse Possession Bill to Be Considered on Second Reading in House Monday

HB 1148, the bill that would make substantial changes to Colorado's law of adverse possession, will be taken up in the House on second reading Mon., Feb. 11.

The bill, sponsored by Reps. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, and Rob Witwer, R-Evergreen, would make it much more difficult for a person to obtain title to another person's land under the doctrine of adverse possession.

A controversial Boulder case in 2007 drew attention to a perceived need to update the law of adverse possession in the state.

Adverse Possession Reform Bill Goes to House Floor

The bill aimed at toughening requirements to obtain title to land through the ancient doctrine of "adverse possession," a process that stirred controversy in Boulder last year, is on the way to consideration by the House after a committee approved it Wednesday.

HB 1148, which has broad bipartisan support, was inspired by the case of a Boulder couple who lost part of a parcel of land they planned to use for a retirement home to a former state judge and his politically active wife. The Boulder County district court that entered the order transferred ownership of the land from Don and Susie Kirlin to Richard McLean and Edith Stevens.

Colorado law has long held that a person can obtain title to another person's land if they occupy it continuously and openly for at least 18 years.

The bill would put in place a requirement that plaintiffs seeking a court order transferring title under the adverse possession doctrine prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that they believed in good faith that they owned the land and would authorize judges to require claimants to pay for the land in question.

The committee heard testimony from the Kirlins.

Bill sponsor Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Evergreen, said that Colorado might have the most permissive adverse possession law in the country. He said that his bill would update the state's law to make it consistent with that in place in a number of other states.

The bill now goes to the House floor. HB 1148 is also sponsored by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder.

Adverse Possession Overhaul Introduced

A bill that would make it harder for people to win a court order awarding ownership of land belonging to others has been introduced in the legislature.

HB 1148, sponsored by Reps. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, and Rob Witwer, R-Evergreen, and Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, arises from a controversy over a successful "adverse possession" claim by former Boulder County judge Richard McLean and his wife.

In that case a landowner lost 1,400 square feet of land after McLean and Edith Stevens successfully convinced a state court that they had regularly used the land for 25 years without protest from Don and Susie Kirlin and prior owners.

The bill would change existing law to make clear that adverse possession plaintiffs must demonstrate a "good faith" belief in their ownership of the land and prove their claim by "clear and convincing evidence" instead of the "preponderance of the evidence."

The bill has drawn 32 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, including Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, Assistant Minority Leader David Balmer, R-Centennial, and Majority Caucus Chair Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, and 17 co-sponsors in the Senate, including 10 Republicans and Democrats Betty Boyd of Lakewood, Bob Bacon of Fort Collins, Dan Gibbs of Silverthorne, Chris Romer of Denver, Paula Sandoval of Denver, and Suzanne Williams of Aurora.