Background
A was living in a house in a residential neighborhood of Seoul. A property development company that owned the adjoining land then sued, claiming that "your building occupies part of our land" and demanding that the strip be vacated and handed over. The area in dispute was a narrow sliver of only about 3.7 square meters.
What Was at Stake
The development company's demand did not stop at the return of a narrow strip of land. Attached to it was a claim for KRW 1 million per month in use fees, running from several years earlier until the day possession was delivered. Small as the area was, the accumulated years came to tens of millions of won, leaving A facing the prospect of demolishing part of the building or paying a large sum over a tiny remnant of land.
How Changchun Helped
Acting for A, Changchun (attorneys Jaesun Yoon and Donghwan Shin) tested the development company's claim from its very premises. Working from the documentary record, we methodically examined how the disputed portion had been used over time and whether the rights the development company asserted could actually be recognized. The court of first instance rejected both the delivery claim and the use fee claim. The development company appealed, but Changchun argued fully on appeal that the first instance findings were sound, and the same conclusion held.
The appellate court likewise dismissed the development company's appeal, and A escaped the threat of having to demolish part of the building or pay tens of millions of won over a narrow remnant of land. A dispute that looks small is never light when the sums claimed alongside it are large. Regardless of the size of the area involved, Changchun worked through the facts from beginning to end so that our client would not bear an unjust burden. (Outcomes depend on the facts of each case and may differ.)