By Rebeca Dorna | Communications
In 1969, Carmen received a parcel of land in the San Antonio neighborhood of Dorado from her uncle, Miguel. Carmen, a young single mother at the time, built her home on this land and made numerous improvements over the years. Despite her efforts to register the property in her name, she encountered numerous bureaucratic obstacles.
In 2021, Carmen filed an adverse possession claim against the Department of Housing, seeking legal recognition of ownership over the property where she had lived continuously for more than 50 years. However, both the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeals dismissed her claim, arguing that the transfer of the land was illegal because it lacked state authorization, as required by Puerto Rico’s Land Law.
Unwilling to accept these decisions, attorney López Torres from our Compensated Practice Program (PPC) filed a writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (TSPR, for its Spanish acronym) on Carmen’s behalf. The TSPR overturned the previous rulings and remanded the case to the Court of First Instance for further proceedings. The decision was based on the interpretation (or existing case law) that, although the initial transfer was illegal, the Land Law does not explicitly prohibit adverse possession of state-owned property. This opens the door for Carmen to demonstrate that she meets the requirements for adverse possession and, ultimately, obtaining legal title to her home.
This decision represents a significant victory for Carmen and offers hope to many others in similar situations.
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