Fischer v. Grinsbergs
Supreme Court of Nebraska
252 N.W.2d 619 (1977)
In 1945, the owners of two adjacent lots built a shared driveway crossing both properties, leading to each owner's garage; it is unknown whether either original owner gave permission for the arrangement, but both lots' owners used the driveway uninterrupted until 1975. By then, Viola Fischer (plaintiff) and the Grinsbergs (defendants) owned the two lots; a 1972 survey revealed the exact property boundary, and in 1975 the Grinsbergs built a fence along that boundary, cutting off Fischer's access to her garage. Fischer sued, but the trial court found the Grinsbergs were entitled to build the fence because no prescriptive easement existed.
Whether a use may be found adverse and under a claim of right when no evidence is presented showing how the use of the property originally began.