Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 32-23-1-1 (2026)

Use for 20 years

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 1. The right-of-way, air, light, or other easement from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is uninterrupted for at least twenty (20) years.

[Pre-2002 Recodification Citation: 32-5-1-1.]

As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.8.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2003–2025 · leading case: Earl F. Shields, Larry J. Shields, & Robert L. Shields v. Rodney L. Taylor, 976 N.E.2d 1237 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).
Earl F. Shields, Larry J. Shields, & Robert L. Shields v. Rodney L. Taylor, 976 N.E.2d 1237 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 4× “2d at 441 )); see also Ind.Code § 32-23-1-1 (“The right-of-way, air, light, or other easement from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is uninterrupted for at least twenty (20) years.”
Romine v. Gagle, 782 N.E.2d 369 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code Ann. § 32-23-1-1 (West 2002). The existence or non-existence of a prescriptive easement is a question of fact.”
Celebration Worship Ctr., Inc. v. Patrick Tucker & Carolyn P. Tucker, A/K/A Patty Tucker, 35 N.E.3d 251 (Ind. 2015). · cites it 2× “For example, for prescriptive easements, the requisite statutory period is twenty years, Ind.Code § 32-23-1-1, and the claimant must exercise control of its limited land interest for a specific purpose, e.”
Downing v. Owens, 809 N.E.2d 444 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “1997); see also Ind.Code § 32-23-1-1 ("The right-of-way, air, light, or other easement from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is uninterrupted for at least twenty (20) years.”
Chickamauga Props., Inc. v. Barnard, 853 N.E.2d 148 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “1993), reh’g denied, 11 see also Ind. Code § 32-23-1-1 (An easement “from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is uninterrupted for at least twenty (20) years.”
Whitman v. Denzik, 882 N.E.2d 260 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “Indiana Code Section 32-23-1-1 provides that an easement “from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is uninterrupted for at least twenty (20) years.”
Gregory T. Hardin & Kelly T. Hardin v. Ruth McClintic, 125 N.E.3d 643 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 3× “in satisfaction of the 20[-]year requirement imposed by IC § 32-23-1-1." (App. Vol. 2 at 44). [30] The Hardins do not dispute that McClintic and her predecessors in title had used the gravel driveway for more than twenty years.”
Patricia M. Jones v. Von Hollow Ass'n, Inc., 103 N.E.3d 667 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “See Ind. Code § 32-23-1-1 ("The right-of-way, air, light, or other easement from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is uninterrupted for at least twenty (20) years.”
Tom Bonnell v. Ruby A. Cotner, Douglas Wayne Cotner, Arthur J. Johnson, Jimmy J. Johnson, & Jerry L. Johnson, 50 N.E.3d 361 (Ind. 2016). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 32-23-1-1. The Cotners also specifically pleaded that the outbuilding was erected in 1968, and that they and their predecessors-in-interest had exercised exclusive control over the entire disputed portion of the Strip since that time.”
Roberts v. Feitz, 933 N.E.2d 466 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “In order to established the existence of a prescriptive easement, Indiana Code section 32-23-1-1 provides that "[the right-of-way, air, light, or other easement from, in, upon, or over land owned by a person may not be acquired by another person by adverse use unless the use is…”
Crowder Farms, LLC v. Jeff L. Flick, No. 24A-PL-02176 (Ind. Ct. App. Aug. 13, 2025). · cites it 2× “Ind. Code § 32-23-1-1 . “The law disfavors prescriptive easements.”
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