A New York couple who bought their home in 1996 believing that a line of trees marked the boundary with their neighbour's property have spent years fighting over the same stretch of land.
asserted
line → buy → land
What began as a disagreement over where one property ended and the other began eventually involved allegations of trespass and surveillance cameras recording their backyard.
asserted
other → begin → backyard
Nearly 30 years after the purchase, a New York appeals court has revived the couple's privacy claim after they alleged that their neighbours' cameras captured thousands of images and videos, including footage of their swimming pool and young daughter.
uncertain
cameras → revive → pool
According to details of the case available on
Justia, the ruling, delivered on Thursday, concerns Timothy J. Riley and his co-plaintiff, who own a home in the Town of Malta, Saratoga County, and their neighbours, John C Daly and his co-defendant.
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who → accord → Malta
Both properties are part of a four-plot residential development, with the Rileys living on the northern side and the Dalys to the south.
asserted
Rileys → live → south
The Rileys purchased their property from the developer in December 1996.
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Rileys → purchase → December
At the time, they understood that the trees between the two plots marked the boundary.
asserted
trees → understand → boundary
The original neighbour appeared to share that understanding.
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neighbour → appear → understanding
He watched them maintain the wooded area on their side and later helped them build a garage about 15 feet from the trees.
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them → watch → trees
Things began to change in 2004 when the neighbour sold his property to the Dalys.
asserted
neighbour → begin → Dalys
Two years later, the new owners built a chain-link fence between the tree line and the Rileys' garage.
asserted
owners → build → line
The Rileys believed the fence stood on their land.
asserted
fence → believe → land
In 2011, they installed their own fence about two feet away.
asserted
they → instal → fence
Over time, the disagreement grew into a dispute involving approximately 230 feet of the boundary.
asserted
disagreement → grow → boundary
Disagreement over trees led to surveillance cameras
By 2018, the dispute had reached the courts.
asserted
dispute → lead → courts
Both households accused each other of wrongdoing in the contested area.
asserted
households → accuse → area
The Rileys wanted the boundary they had recognised for years to be legally accepted, while the Dalys maintained that the land belonged to them.
asserted
land → want → them
But the disagreement was no longer limited to fences and property lines.
asserted
disagreement → limit → fences
The Dalys had also installed surveillance cameras, which became a major part of the Rileys' lawsuit.
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which → instal → lawsuit
The Dalys told the court that they had installed the cameras to monitor their property following alleged incidents of trespass, theft and harassment.
asserted
they → tell → trespass
They maintained that the purpose was to prevent further problems, not to harass their neighbours.
asserted
purpose → maintain → neighbours
The Rileys, however, raised concerns about what the cameras were recording.
asserted
cameras → raise → what
They submitted photographs showing their backyard and swimming pool, including an image of their daughter, who was a minor.
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who → submit → daughter
They also claimed that information obtained from one of the cameras and during the legal proceedings showed that thousands of photographs or videos had been captured.
asserted
thousands → claim → photographs
According to them, the recordings extended beyond the disputed strip of land into other parts of their backyard.
uncertain
recordings → accord → backyard
Why court allowed privacy claim to continue
New York has a law that protects homeowners against certain types of unwanted surveillance by neighbours.
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that → allow → neighbours
It allows people to seek damages if cameras are installed on adjoining property to record activities in their backyard without written permission and with the intention of harassing, alarming or threatening them.
asserted
cameras → allow → them
The lower court had earlier dismissed their privacy claim.
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court → dismiss → claim
However, the appeals court disagreed, finding that the photographs and allegations about the recordings raised questions that needed further examination and reinstated the Rileys' invasion of privacy claim.
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that → disagree → claim
What happened to the original property dispute?
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What → happen → dispute
While the cameras became an important issue, the question that started the disagreement remained unresolved: Where exactly was the boundary between the two homes?
asserted
boundary → become → homes
The Rileys argued that the tree line should be recognised because it had been treated as the boundary for years.
asserted
it → argue → years
Under New York law, a boundary accepted by neighbouring owners for more than 10 years can, in certain circumstances, become legally recognised.
asserted
boundary → accept → circumstances
However, the court found that the Rileys had not provided enough evidence to establish that both households had accepted the trees as the boundary for the required period.
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households → find → period
The Dalys' decision to build a fence on the Rileys' claimed side of the trees also raised doubts about such an agreement.
asserted
decision → build → agreement
The Dalys, meanwhile, relied on land surveys to support their ownership claim.
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Dalys → rely → claim
But the Rileys pointed out differences between the surveys, arguing that these could shift the boundary by approximately 10 feet.
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these → point → feet
They also alleged that wooden survey stakes and the original natural boundary had been removed before a surveyor inspected the property in 2018.
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surveyor → allege → 2018
The appeals court found that these differences could not be ignored.
uncertain
differences → find → ?
It thus overturned the lower court's decision to settle the boundary according to the Dalys' survey.
uncertain
It → overturn → survey
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
