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To acquire title by adverse possession, the party claiming title must show exclusive possession and open, notorious, continuous, and adverse use for a period of twenty-one years. Pennsylvania Rd. Co. v. Donovan (1924), 111 Ohio St. 341, 349-50, 145 N.E. 479, 482. See, also, State ex rel. A.A.A. Invest. v. Columbus (1985), 17 Ohio St. 3d 151, 153, 17 Ohio B. Rep. 353, 356, 478 N.E.2d 773, 776; Gill v. Fletcher (1906), 74 Ohio St. 295, 78 N.E. 433, paragraph the of the syllabus; Dietrick v. Noel (1884), 42 Ohio St. 18, 21; R.C. 2305.05. Failure of proof as to any of the elements results in failure to acquire title by adverse possession. Pennsylvania Rd. Co. v. Donovan, 111 Ohio St. at 349-50, 145 N.E. at 482.
See Demmitt v. McMillan (1984), 16 Ohio App. 3d 138, 140, 16 Ohio B. Rep. 146, 148, 474 N.E.2d 1212, 1215. Adverse possession is a disfavored doctrine. A successful adverse possession action results in a legal titleholder forfeiting ownership to an adverse holder without compensation. Such a doctrine should be disfavored, and that is why the elements of adverse possession are stringent. See 10 Thompson on Real ...
