Melanie B. Cahill v. Margaret P. Morrow

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court vacated the Superior Court’s judgment that granted Cahill title by adverse possession, holding that Cahill’s 1997 offer to purchase the land acknowledged Morrow’s superior title and therefore interrupted the statutory period, and that the trial justice erred by relying on post‑1997 evidence to satisfy the clear‑and‑convincing‑evidence burden. The Court remanded for a fact‑finding on pre‑1997 use. Justice Flaherty dissented, maintaining that the offer did not defeat Cahill’s claim of right.