Carver v State of New South Wales

The Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered a dispute between Mr. Carver and the State of New South Wales concerning Crown land. Mr. Carver claimed to have been in adverse possession of the land for over 30 years, arguing that the Crown's claim for possession was therefore statute-barred. The State of New South Wales contended that its claim was not barred.

The central legal issues before the court were whether Mr. Carver's possession of the land constituted adverse possession for the purposes of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW), and whether the provisions of the *Crown Land Management Act 2016* (NSW), specifically section 13.1, precluded Mr. Carver from relying on a defence of adverse possession against the Crown. The court also had to consider the effect of sections 27 and 38 of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW) in the context of Crown land and the impact of section 65 of that Act.

The court reasoned that Mr. Carver's actions, including paying rent to the Crown and seeking to regularise his occupation through a permissive occupancy or licence, demonstrated an intention to possess the land subject to the ultimate title of the Crown, rather than an intention to dispossess the Crown. This was inconsistent with the requirements for adverse possession. Furthermore, the court found that section 13.1 of the *Crown Land Management Act 2016* (NSW) did not prevent the application of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW) in this instance, and that the Crown's claim was not statute-barred.

The appeal was dismissed, and Mr. Carver was ordered to pay the respondent's costs. An order made by the Chief Judge in Equity was varied to provide that the writ would lie in the Registry for not less than 42 days from the date of the Court of Appeal's judgment.