You may recall the case of the Boulder couple (the Kirlins) who had a third of their vacant lot seized by a former judge because he and his partner had developed “an attachment” to it. The case caused quite a bit of outrage nationwide, and particularly here in Colorado.
Well, it appears that a final settlement has been reached, though I can’t say that justice was upheld:
Both sides in an infamous land-grab case in Boulder say they are happy with a settlement that calls for the disputed parcel to be divided up between the two neighbors.
…
The settlement calls for the Kirlins to give up 15 percent of the lot to McLean and Stevens. They originally lost 34 percent of the parcel to the couple.
So they ended up losing almost a sixth of their property. But that’s not all they lost:
Susie Kirlin said she and her husband already have spent more than $400,000 fighting Stevens and McLean over a 540-square-foot portion of their property that became a huge legal and emotional issue in Colorado.
…
Susie Kirlin said she and her husband are selling the property.
The 20% of the lost that they recovered won’t nearly be recovered in the sales price. I just hope it cost the judge and his partner somewhere near that amount as well. It would be nice if they ended up paying a substantial amount for stealing their neighbor’s land.
December 2, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Thanks for the update, Geoff. It makes me sick to think that people can just legally steal their neighbor’s land.