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A Tennessee couple who claimed that a strip of land beside their home belonged to them after nearly 30 years of maintenance have lost their legal battle, with an appeals court ruling in favour of the developer. In its October 29, 2026, decision in Developed by Design, LLC v. Using a piece of land for decades can create a strong sense of ownership, especially when people regularly maintain it, plant gardens and use it for everyday activities. However, long-term use does not automatically establish legal ownership. James M. Travis et al., available on Justia, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that the disputed land belonged to the development company. The court found that James M Travis and his wife, Mary M Travis, had failed to establish ownership through adverse possession. Their activities, including mowing, gardening and holding yard sales, were not sufficient to satisfy the legal requirements.
James Travis testified that his family had treated the disputed area as part of their property since purchasing their home in 1996. The couple argued that these activities demonstrated continuous and exclusive use of the land for more than the 20-year period required under Tennessee’s common-law adverse possession principles. Yawn also said that several objects, including a car door, kitchen sink, bicycle and old pipes, appeared in the disputed area after the disagreement began in 2021. He testified that, to his knowledge, the Travises had not begun mowing the disputed area until 2021.
He described activities including mowing the grass, using weed trimmers, clearing walking paths, spreading gravel and maintaining a garden. They had also planted blueberry bushes, held yard sales and stored various belongings in the area. However, the development company disputed their claims. Its representative, Caleb Yawn, testified that he had observed a garden near the boundary but believed it was located on the Travises’ side of the surveyed property line. The trial court also questioned the credibility of James Travis’s testimony concerning the couple’s use of the disputed land.
How the property dispute began
The disagreement began in 2021 when James Travis objected to work being carried out near his property. Kimsey in 1966 and recorded in the Rhea County Register of Deeds in April 1967. On June 14, 2023, the company filed a lawsuit seeking to establish the correct boundary and confirm its rights to a 30-foot right-of-way across the Travises’ property.
He believed the company was crossing the boundary and interfering with land that his family had used for years. The developer maintained that the boundary shown in its property records was correct. It relied on a survey prepared by Jack B. It also requested an injunction preventing the couple from interfering with its use of the access route. The couple challenged the company’s position and filed a counterclaim, arguing that they had acquired ownership of the disputed strip through adverse possession.