Lawrence v. Town of Concord

Helen Burke Frazier inherited property subject to a condition that it would pass to the Town of Concord (defendant) if she died without issue, which happened in 1965; her husband Joseph Frazier then rented out the property for years, and his 1997 will devised it to Albert Lawrence (plaintiff), who claimed Frazier had acquired title through adverse possession. When the town took the property by eminent domain, it refused to pay Lawrence damages, asserting it had held title since Helen's death; the trial court granted the town summary judgment, finding no adverse possession because the town lacked notice it owned the property, meaning Frazier's possession could not have been notorious and adverse, and the court of appeals affirmed before Lawrence appealed further.