Ewing v. Burnet

James Ewing (plaintiff) inherited title to a vacant Cincinnati lot in 1824. Jacob Burnet (defendant), who lived across the street, had claimed ownership of the lot since 1803: he dug and sold sand and gravel from it, granted or denied others permission to dig there, leased it out for digging, and paid property taxes on it from 1810 to 1834. Ewing sued in ejectment; the applicable statute required such actions to be brought within 21 years of when the claim accrued, and the jury found Burnet had acquired the lot by adverse possession. Ewing appealed to the Supreme Court.