Bill to Alter Adverse Possesion Spurred by Boulder Case

Colo. ‘land grab’ bill advances Bill to alter adverse possesion spurred by Boulder case

By Heath Urie Thursday, February 7, 2008

DENVER -- A proposal that seeks to change a controversial land law is one step closer to becoming a reality following unanimous approval Wednesday by the Colorado House Judiciary Committee.

Dozens of Colorado lawmakers have attached their names to House Bill 1148, which would overhaul the law of "adverse possession" in response to a south Boulder land case.

Current state law allows trespassers to claim land after using it openly and continuously for at least 18 years.

The bill seeks to modify the law to require that an adverse possessor believe in "good faith" that the land is actually his or her own. It also would raise the burden of proof in an adverse- possession case and give judges the power to make adverse possessors pay for any land they are awarded.

The 11-member panel of state representatives agreed Wednesday to move the bill to the full House of Representatives for consideration after listening to impassioned speeches by Boulder residents Don and Susie Kirlin.

The Kirlins lost about 34 percent of their vacant lot on Hardscrabble Drive late last year after their neighbors, Richard McLean and Edith Stevens, sued them for the plot.

Don Kirlin became teary-eyed during his testimony about the case, which garnered national attention after McLean, a former district court judge, and Stevens, an attorney, were awarded the Kirlins' land.

"That was going to be our retirement," Don Kirlin said about the disputed land, where he and his wife planned to build their dream home. "Because of this law, they were able to take it."

Susie Kirlin told the committee she didn't expect changes to the law to help her family.

"We realize this legislation probably won't help us in the long run," she said, "but anything we can do to try and help other people, we want to do."

The Kirlins have filed an appeal in their case.

State Reps. Rob Witwer, R-Evergreen, Claire Levy, D-Boulder, and Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, are co-sponsors of the proposed legislation. Witwer told the committee Wednesday night that adverse possession has its place in settling property disputes, but sometimes it can have unintended consequences.

"The problem is the law has become susceptible to abuse," Witwer testified. "It may be the case that Colorado is the easiest state in the nation for someone to take someone else's land."

Witwer said the bill would bring Colorado land-use law in line with that of states such as Iowa, Georgia, Oregon and Hawaii.

"We've come to expect our laws reward good behavior and punish bad behavior," Witwer said. "What happened to Don and Susie Kirlin was an injustice."

Neither McLean nor Stevens attended the hearing.

Hearings for a second and third reading of the bill on the House floor have not yet been scheduled but could happen as early as today.