Brown v. Gobble

474 S.E.2d 489 (1996)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Brown v. Gobble

West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
474 S.E.2d 489 (1996)

SC
Play video

Facts

The Gobbles (defendants) and Browns (plaintiffs) were owners of neighboring properties in West Virginia. The properties were divided by a two-feet-wide tract of land, which was owned by the Browns, but was enclosed on the Gobbles’ side of the property line by a fence. The Gobbles bought the property in 1985 from the Fletchers who bought the property in 1978. The Fletchers, and subsequently the Gobbles, had used the two-feet-wide tract as their own, enclosed by the fence, the entire time they lived on the property until 1994, when the Browns decided to build a road along the tract. The Gobbles tried to stop the Browns from doing so by claiming ownership in the tract. The Browns then filed this complaint, seeking to enjoin the Gobbles from interfering with the Browns’ use of the tract of land. The Gobbles filed a counterclaim, alleging ownership of the tract of land through adverse possession. The adverse possession statutory period in West Virginia is ten years. The Circuit Court of Mercer County found in favor of the Browns. The Gobbles appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Cleckley, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 805,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Property

Key Terms