Tag Archives: encroachment

By Kevin Parker

When a land owner mistakenly builds a house or other building or structure that encroaches on a neighbor’s property, what is the remedy?  Does the offending land owner have to physically remove the structure from the neighbor’s property?   Is the harmed neighbor entitled to a mandatory injunction against continuing trespass?  Can the offending land owner invoke equitable “balancing of hardships” and simply pay damages?  In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island distinguished the encroachment situation from traditional injunctive relief analysis.  (A court order requiring the offending land owner to remove the offending structure would be a mandatory injunction order.)  The general rule is that a party seeking injunctive relief must prove irreparable harm not remediable by damages. … Read More »