This аction involves ownership of a disputed strip of land. Plaintiff sued for ejectment, an injunction and trespass. Defendants counterclaimed to quiet title, under a theory of adverse possession, and also for trespass. 1 The trial сourt declared plaintiff to be the owner of the property, ordered defendants to vacate it and enjoined defendants from entering it except pursuant to a written easement. The trial court awarded plaintiff general and punitive damages. We reverse.
We review the adverse possession claim de novo. ORS 19.125(3). The disputed strip of land is between 4 and 6 feet wide and runs the length оf the boundary between plaintiffs and defendants’ suburban lots. It is subject to a roadway and utility easement. Defendants purchased their lot in 1972. At that time, the strip contained several large Douglas firs and was overgrown with blackberries, poisоn oak, thistles and other plants. Defendants knew that the strip was not their property, but they did not know who owned it.
In 1973 and 1974, defеndants cleared their yard and the strip. After clearing away the underbrush, they put down black plastic and bark dust. They alsо placed a woodpile between two firs near the eastern end of the strip. In 1975, they planted a dozen rhоdodendrons west of the woodpile. Defendants testified that they treated the disputed area as part of thеir yard, using it for barbeques and yard sales. 2 Several neighbors testified that they thought the strip was (part of defendants’ yard.
By the time plaintiff moved onto his lot in 1978, defendants’ landscaping of the strip was complete. Defendants maintained the strip by adding new bark dust, removing spent blooms from the rhododendrons and performing other tasks. They did not allow others to plant anything there; a neighbor planted a shrub near the southwest end of *528 the strip, and defendants tore it out the same day. Although plaintiff landscaped the rest of his property, including a narrow piece of land that runs between the strip аnd a gravel drive, he never maintained the strip itself.
To establish title by adverse possession, a party must show “cleаr and positive proof’ of actual, open, notorious, exclusive, continuous and hostile possession of the property for a 10-year period.
3
ORS 12.050;
Hopkins v. State of Oregon,
“occupation or use of the land that would be made by an owner of the same type of land, taking into account the uses for which the land is suitable.” Lee v. Hansen,282 Or 371 , 376,578 P2d 784 (1978).
The evidence shows that defendants used the front of the strip for barbecues, yard sales, a woodpile and rhododendrons. This is typical use of lаnd in a suburban neighborhood and clearly and convincingly shows actual possession.
That defendants’ use of the strip was open and notorious was shown by plaintiffs admission that he noticed that the landscaping was complete whеn he moved into the neighborhood in 1978, as well as from the testimony of neighbors that the strip looked like part of defendants’ yard.
To show exclusivity, defendants must show that their possession of the strip was the kind of possession that would charаcterize an owner’s use.
Nelson v. Vandemarr,
*529
The statutory period for adverse possеssion is 10 years. ORS 12.050. Plaintiff argues that defendants did not continuously possess the strip for that period. Whether use has been continuous depends on the kind of land involved. In
Almond v. Anderegg,
Finally, defendants must show that their possession of the strip was hostile and under claim of right. “Hostile” means that the claimаnt possessed the property intending to be its owner and not in subordination to the true owner.
Knapp v. Daily,
We conclude that thе evidence is clear and positive that defendants met the requirements for adverse possession of the disputed strip.
Because defendants adversely possessed the entire disputed area, they committed no trespass and there is no basis for any relief against them. It also follows that they are entitled to prevail on their quiet title claim.
Reversed and remanded for entry of judgment quieting title in defendants.
Notes
The trial court’s decision in defendants’ trespass claim is not before us.
The trial court found that defendants’ testimony was unreliable; however, that finding does not bind us.
Stice and Stice,
Plaintiffs claims for the recovery of possession of the disputed strip were filed on November 29, 1988, so the statutory requirements for adverse possession that were enacted in 1989 do not apply. ORS 105.620.