Mugaas v. Smith
Supreme Court of Washington
9 A.L.R.2d 846 (1949)
Mugaas (plaintiff) sued Smith (defendant) to quiet title to a strip of land Mugaas claimed by adverse possession, based on the historical location of a fence line that had since disappeared before Smith purchased the property; although no record of Mugaas's claim existed in the public record, Smith had actual knowledge of the adverse-possession claim before he built structures encroaching on the disputed land. The trial court ruled for Mugaas, and Smith appealed, arguing Washington's recording statute should protect him as a bona fide purchaser.
Whether, under Washington law, a claim of adverse possession is binding upon a bona fide purchaser even in the absence of publicly recorded notice of the claim.