8 Wash. App. 607 - Finley v. Jordan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"Adverse possession" is a meaningful legal concept only if legal title can be acquired thereby. Any possession of Jordan or his predecessors in title adverse to Whatcom County was meaningless as against the county, since its title could not be impaired. We hold that possession which is in all other respects adverse, but which cannot result in the acquisition of legal title, is not "adverse possession." Because the county's title was unimpaired, and because it conveyed all the title it had to Finley, it follows that Finley had conveyed to him a title unimpaired by any possession adverse to his predecessor in title, and the statute may begin to run only from the beginning of Finley's ownership.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 37 Wash. App. 761 - Simonson v. Veit

2. “One may not claim property under color of title when the property is not described in the deed.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Campbell v. Reed