Adverse possession case heads back to court

Boulder, Colorado's own land-grabbing lawyers, Richard McLean and Edith Stevens, will have to make their case again in front of the same judge who originally awarded them a free share of their neighbors' land. The Colorado Court of Appeals granted a request by Don and Susie Kirlin to send the case that has divided the town back to Judge James C. Klein.

The Kirlins argue in the filing that newly available eyewitness testimony and a series of aerial photos prove McLean and Stevens conspired to "willfully fabricate" a path on the Kirlins' south Boulder land -- a key piece of evidence in the original lawsuit.

The path was used in the trial last year to help convince Klein that McLean and Stevens openly used the Kirlins' property for more than 18 years, which is one of the requirements to win land in an "adverse-possession" lawsuit in Colorado.

Meanwhile, legislation inspired by the case, to completely rewrite adverse possession law in Colorado, has gone to the governor's desk for his signature.

Whether or not McLean and Stevens get away with their legalized land theft, their action will make similar grabs much more difficult in the future.