Ghilarducci & Ors v Ghilarducci

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicants, Pietro Ghilarducci and others, sought leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal concerning a dispute over land boundaries. The respondents were Giuseppe Ghilarducci and Maria Ghilarducci. The core of the dispute involved a property in Karragullen and the determination of adverse possession.

The legal issues before the High Court revolved around the application of the law of adverse possession. Specifically, the applicants sought to challenge when adverse possession would lie and the degree of certainty required for the area claimed. They argued that while the facts and the legal principles applied by the lower courts were largely not in dispute, the application of these principles to the specific facts raised a question of law.

The applicants contended that the parties were mistaken about the true boundary of their properties. Evidence presented indicated that a fence erected in 1983 was located north of the parties' perceived boundary in some places. Furthermore, fruit trees planted and cultivated by the plaintiffs, and a bore drilled by them in 1961, were found to be on the respondents' land (Lot 12) when both parties had believed them to be within Lot 11. The plaintiffs had exclusively used the bore and a surrounding dam for approximately 30 years. The applicants argued that the application of adverse possession law to these facts warranted further consideration by the High Court.