Nancy Gates v. Katie Williams et al.

As this action was pleaded and tried, it was (1) a claim by Nancy Gates (“the plaintiff”) seeking to be declared the owner of a life estate in a tract of property; and, as a consequence of her estate, seeking the removal of Katie Williams (“the defendant”), the widow of the plaintiff’s son, Tony, from the property; and (2) a counterclaim by the defendant alleging that she had become the owner of an interest in the property by adverse possession due to her having lived on the property since the late 1960s or early 1970s. The trial court held that, as to these claims, neither party was entitled to relief against the other. The court found, however, that the plaintiff did, in fact, have a life estate in the subject property, and that the defendant had not proven adverse possession because her entry onto the property was with the plaintiff’s permission. The court then held, sua sponte, that the defendant had a license in the property coupled with an interest therein that had been acquired by building numerous structures on the property with the plaintiff’s knowledge and that it would not be equitable to require the defendant to move. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm the trial court’s judgment in part and reverse in part and remand for a hearing on the issue of what it would take to do equity given the facts of this case.