Man is forced to turn over deed to $125,000 parcel in Delaware to neighbor who erected GOAT PEN on property and then successfully claimed squatter rights when he tried to sell it
- Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial adviser, inherited a piece of land in Ocean View, Delaware, from his father.
- Banks wanted to sell part of the property in 2021, but learned that her neighbor Melissa Schrock had been herding her goats on the property.
- Last month, a judge ruled that Schrock had been on the property for more than 20 years and so did squatters’ rights: Banks was forced to turn over the land.
A judge in Delaware ordered a businessman to turn over a $125,000 parcel of land to his neighbor after she kept her goats on the land for more than 20 years and claimed squatter rights.
Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial adviser, inherited vacant land in Ocean View, Delaware, from his father Ralph.
In 2021, Banks and her husband, David Barrett, decided they wanted to sell the land, which sits empty and undeveloped.
But she discovered that about two-thirds of an acre was being used by her neighbor Melissa Schrock, who had erected a pen for her goats on the land.
“It’s always been my backyard since I was a little kid,” Schrock said.
Burton Banks (left) wanted to sell the land, but discovered that his neighbor Melissa Schrock was claiming squatter rights, thanks to a goat pen she erected on the plot.
The home of Schrock, who grazed his goats on his neighbor’s land and won squatter rights
Schrock’s house in Ocean View, Delaware
Banks took her to court to try to get the land back, but Schrock claimed squatters’ rights.
Explaining her counterclaim, Schrock said, “It’s always been my backyard since I was a kid.”
Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz ruled in February in favor of Schrock, noting that Banks lived primarily in Atlanta and “only occasionally” visited the Delaware site.
Karsnitz felt that Schrock reached the threshold in demonstrating his 20-year occupation, de online informed.
If a resident can show that they have occupied a parcel for 20 years, they can claim ownership, which Schrock successfully did.
Another neighbor’s parcel also trespassed on Banks’ property. That anonymous resident agreed to move the animal enclosures they had established, but because Schrock refused, Banks was ultimately unable to regain control of the family’s property from him.
Because Banks and her husband live in Atlanta and visit Delaware only occasionally, it was more difficult for them to prove that Schrock had not been openly using their land for the past 20 years.
Banks said he was speaking to warn others to take action and make sure his property was not occupied.
“I can’t afford the appeal,” Banks said. “But (I’m) hoping I can at least warn others.”
The banks submitted a map of the property, showing their claim.
Serena Williams, a law professor at Widener University in Delaware who specializes in housing law, said landlords need to be vigilant.
“Inspect it regularly,” Williams said.
“If you see something you haven’t allowed, a tree you haven’t planted, objects you haven’t placed there, make sure you remove it, because that’s the start of adverse possession.”