Man is forced to hand title for $125,000 parcel of Delaware land to neighbor who erected GOAT PEN on property, then claimed squatter’s rights when he attempted to redevelop it
- Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial advisor, inherited from his father several plots of land in Ocean View, Delaware
- Banks wanted to sell part of the property in 2021, but learnt that his neighbor Melissa Schrock had been grazing her goats on the land
- A judge last month ruled that Schrock had been on the property for more than 20 years and so had squatter’s rights: Banks was forced to hand over the land
A judge in Delaware has ordered a businessman hand over a $125,000 parcel of land to his neighbor after she kept her goats on the land for over 20 years and claimed squatter’s rights.
Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial advisor, inherited the uninhabited plot of land in Ocean View, Delaware, from his father Ralph.
In 2021 Banks decided he wanted to sell the land.
But he discovered that around two thirds of an acre was being used by his neighbor Melissa Schrock, who had erected a pen for her goats on the land.
‘It’s just 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’s rights – thanks to a goat pen she erected on the plot
The home of Schrock, who grazed her goats on her neighbor’s land and won squatter’s rights
Schrock’s home in Ocean View, Delaware
Banks took her to court to try and reclaim the land, but Schrock claimed squatter’s rights.
Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz ruled in February in Schrock’s favor, noting that Banks lived primarily in Atlanta and ‘only occasionally’ came to the Delaware site.
Karsnitz felt Schrock met the threshold in proving her 20-year occupation, Delaware Online reported.
Banks said he was speaking out in order to warn others to take action and make sure their property was not squatted on.
‘I can’t afford the appeal,’ said Banks. ‘But (I’m) hoping I can at least warn others.’
Banks submitted a map of the property, showing his claim
Serena Williams, a law professor at Widener University in Delaware, who specializes in housing law, said property owners needed to be vigilant.
‘Inspect it regularly,’ Williams said.
‘If you see something you haven’t permitted – a tree you haven’t planted, objects you haven’t placed there − make sure to remove it, because that’s the beginning of adverse possession.’
