Opinion ID: 2333842
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: boundary line by agreement and acquiescence

Text: The defendants assert that the rule adopted by this Court in Knowles v. Toothaker, 1870, 58 Me. 172, restated in Proctor v. Libby, 1912, 110 Me. 39, 85 A. 298, is applicable to this case. In Knowles, the Court said  the rule of law now is, that when, in a deed or grant, a line is described as running from a given point, and this line is afterwards run out and located, and marked upon the face of the earth by the parties in interest, and is afterwards recognized and acted on as the true line, the line thus actually marked out and acted on is conclusive, and must be adhered to, though it may be subsequently ascertained that it varies from the course given in the deed or grant. In that case, the Court further stated that acts of the defendant and the plaintiff's predecessor in title in surveying and marking the line in dispute upon the face of the earth by stakes and stones and spotted trees, building a fence thereon, intending it to be the line between them, and occupying up to it, make and establish such line as the divisional line between the two lots. (Emphasis ours.) The evidence in relation to this aspect of the case was conflicting. The plaintiff testified that he never discussed the location of the line with anyone and was always uncertain as to its true location. He was supported in this by several of the defendants' predecessors in title, and by the defendant Buswell herself who also conceded that she never discussed the line with the plaintiff. The clearance of trees to the right angle line was an equivocal act at best. In Proctor, the Court said: Muniments of title are not to be lightly set aside, and testimony to overcome a record line should be full, clear, and convincing, and should be scanned with care and caution. The Justice below found specifically that there was no agreement fixing a boundary line and we cannot say that he was clearly wrong in doing so. See, Bemis v. Bradley, 1927, 126 Me. 462, 139 A. 593.