• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Marina's Neighbor Files Suit

Posted on: Friday, 28 October 2005, 15:01 CDT

By Rachel Webb, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.

Oct. 27--The owner of a popular Missouri River marina is facing a lawsuit that could jeopardize his mobile home, campground and parking area in a long-running dispute with a neighbor over property lines.

Crowley's Cove Farm LLC filed a lawsuit in Boone County Circuit Court against Mike Cooper on Aug. 31, demanding that he remove his mobile home from the Crowley property and pay $25,000 in damages.

The dispute concerns a third of an acre along the Missouri River and has lasted almost since Cooper bought the property in the late 1970s. The Crowley family owns vacant land directly north of Cooper's Landing.

"What's so valuable about this little corner of property that he's willing to spend lots of money" to sue "when they haven't done anything with their section?" Cooper said.

Cooper and William Crowley Sr. bought their riverfront tracts from the University of Missouri in the late 1970s. At the time, the landowners agreed to divide the property along a small, spring-fed creek, Cooper said.

Papers to finalize the deal, prepared by the Crowleys' attorney, showed the property line south of the creek on what Cooper believed to be his property, but Crowley promised to fix the error after papers were signed, Cooper said.

Cooper signed and moved his mobile home to the northern portion of what he believed to be his property. Shortly thereafter, the Crowleys asked Cooper to move his mobile home, arguing that it was their property. Cooper said he was reluctant to pay to move the home such a short distance.

Cooper's mobile home encroaches 29 feet onto the property owned by Crowley's Cove Farm LLC, according to the lawsuit.

Boone County building officials have told Cooper he would have to destroy the structure and replace it with a double-wide home if he wants to move it, Cooper said.

Cooper's Landing would also lose several parking spaces and a campground often used by scouting and church groups, Cooper said.

David Knight, an attorney for William Crowley Jr., said Tuesday that his client had asked him not to comment on the case. Contacted again yesterday, Knight said he was no longer Crowley's attorney. Crowley did not return messages left at his Texas home.

Cooper believes he should have a claim to the land under the doctrine of adverse possession. Under Missouri law, a person can claim adverse possession if they have been using land without permission for more than 10 years.

Adverse possession usually occurs when boundaries of adjacent properties are unclear, said Wilson Freyermuth, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Law.

The original property owner must take legal or physical action to remove the other person from their property to "stop the clock" and retain their claim to the land, said Freyermuth, who is unfamiliar with and uninvolved in Cooper's case.

"There could be lots of communication and disagreements between the parties, but what the law effectively does is force the true owner to take legal steps to protect claim of title," Freyermuth said.

Crowley's Cove Farm LLC, formed by Crowley in May, owns at least 169 acres north of Cooper's Landing and across Smith Hatchery Road, according to Boone County property records.

The neighbors have had disagreements in the past. Crowley wrote in a 2002 letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that he worried about Cooper's proposal for a commercial boat dock.

Sewage pumps and gasoline run-off from a commercial boat dock could contaminate the water, Crowley said. He also complained of loud music and alcohol consumption at the business, saying a commercial dock could worsen the situation.

"I wonder if a commercial boat dock might not be used for commerce in controlled substances and firearms," Crowley wrote.

Cooper's attorney, Mick Wilson, included the letter in his response to the lawsuit.

-----

To see more of the Columbia Daily Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbiatribune.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Columbia Daily Tribune

More News in this Category