Mаgma Trading Corporation (“Magma”) appeals a summary final judgment in a quiet title action. The trial court entered judgment in fаvor of appellees Lester Lintz, Laurence E. Lea, Walter E. Kramer, and Hazel B. Kramer, individually and as trustees, ruling that they acquired the land by “adverse possession under color of title.” The court found that the appellees satisfied seсtion 95.16, Florida Statutes, because they obtained title to the property by a deed issued in 1984, and, for seven years, all of the property surrounding the subject parcel was “restricted by a chain link fence, locked gates, dense trees, scrubs аnd swales.” We affirm.
Section 95.16, Florida Statutes, reads in part:
(1) When the occupant, or those under whom he claims, entered into possession of real proрerty under a claim of title exclusive of any other right, founding the claim on a written instrument as being a conveyance of thе property, or on a decree or judgment, and has for 7 years been in continued possession of the property included in the instrument, decree, or judgment, the property is held adversely ...
(2) For the purpose of this section, propеrty is deemed possessed in any of the following cases:
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(b) When it has been protected by a substantial enclosure. All land protected by the enclosure must be included within the description of the property in the written instrument, judgment or decree....
On appeal, Magma does not dispute that the appellees obtained possession of the subject parcel (Parcel 6) in 1984 under color of title or that they have continuously paid taxes on the property since 1984. Magma’s only argument is that there is a genuine factual issue concerning whether Parcel 6 was substantially enclosed during the seven-yeаr statutory period, based on observations made several years after the seven-year period had expired.
Supporting their motion for summary judgment, the appellees filed an affidavit stating that they own the land surrounding Parcel 6 on three sides. The affidavit further states that the entire tract, including Parcel 6, is enclosed in the following manner: on the northern boundary, by dense trees, scrub, a ten-foot swale, a lake, and a chain link fence with a locked gate; on the southern boundary, by fences, a small lake, and a
Magma filed a counter-affidavit signed by its president stating that he had visited the property ten times оver the three or four years before the complaint was filed in 1997. He stated that at those times, he was able to gain access through the chain link fence, which was open with weeds growing around it. Also, there were no posted signs indicating the lаnd was private property. Moreover, he had observed children and young adults participating in war games and pаintball games on the property. Based on these observations, he alleged the property was “not enclosed by dense trees, lakes, and locked gates ... but has always been easily accessible.” (Emphasis added.)
Magma contends that its affidavit raises an issue of material fact, i.e., whether the property was substantially enclosed for seven years, and therefore, the motion for summary judgment should have been denied and the issue submitted to a jury. See Moore v. Morris,
In Holl v. Talcott,
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 states that a party is entitled to summary judgment only “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file togethеr with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Here, Magma did not support any of the alleged facts that, would prevent summary judgment:
AFFIRMED.
