Utah court backs family's claim to disputed farmland after 1965 fence outweighs neighbour's survey

Decades of farming and a boundary fence that has stood since 1965 have helped a Utah family keep its legal rights to a disputed piece of farmland. A state appeals court has ruled in the family's favour after a neighbouring landowner challenged the property boundary. The Utah Court of Appeals issued its decision on 5 November 2026, upholding a trial court ruling in favour of the Christiansen Family Trust. The court rejected a challenge brought by a company that owns the neighbouring property. The decision in Christiansen Family Trust v.

Haas Land & Livestock (Case No. 20251107-CA) settles a long-running property dispute in Utah. It confirms that when neighbouring landowners accept and use a physical fence as their boundary for many years, that boundary can take legal priority over a newer land survey. Writing for the unanimous appeals panel, Judge Ryan M. Harris found that the trial court correctly applied Utah's legal rule known as boundary by acquiescence.

This rule protects property boundaries that neighbours have accepted over a long period. Judges John D. Luthy and Amy J.