East 13th Street Homesteaders' Coalition v. Lower East Side Coalition Housing Development
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
646 N.Y.S.2d 324 (1996)
Occupants of several East 13th Street housing units (plaintiffs) sought a preliminary injunction against New York City (defendant) to block eviction, claiming title by adverse possession based on ten years of continuous occupation as a cohesive coalition. The city presented evidence that some units were vacant at various points during that decade, that the city had sealed the buildings multiple times, and that incoming and outgoing occupants often had no contact with one another, though the trial court still granted the injunction.
Whether, to establish title by adverse possession, a plaintiff must show by clear and convincing evidence that for a statutorily defined period, he actually possessed the property, and that the possession was open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, hostile, and under claim of right.