Prax v. Zalewski

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court held that the 2003 amendments to Alaska's adverse possession statutes applied to Victoria Zalewski's claim because her adverse possession rights had not vested before the amendments took effect. The court reversed the trial court's judgment awarding Zalewski title to a parking lot and remanded for additional factual findings concerning her good-faith belief that she owned the property. The court also noted that Zalewski could pursue her alternative prescriptive easement claim on remand.

Holdings

1. The 2003 amendments to AS 09.10.030 and AS 09.45.052(a) apply to Zalewski's claim because her adverse possession rights had not vested and the owners' action to recover the property had not been barred before July 18, 2003.
2. The judgment must be reversed and the case remanded to allow Zalewski to litigate whether she possessed the parking lot under a good-faith belief that she owned it and for further proceedings under the amended statutes.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the 2003 amendments to AS 09.10.030 and AS 09.45.052(a), including the good-faith requirement for adverse possession, applied to Zalewski's claim.
2. Whether the case required reversal and remand for factual findings on Zalewski's good faith under the amended statutes.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded