Filing suit only option left in property dispute with village

Q: Quite some time ago, we began to think about renovating our home and obtained preliminary approval from the village regarding the footprint, setbacks, etc. Due to serious illnesses and other factors, we set it aside until the beginning of 2009, at which time we were ready to go. By then, village personnel had changed.

The problem is that there is an underlying lot line shown on an old plat of the subdivision, and one village official is interpreting that as a lot line going through our property. He says you cannot cross a lot line. This old line was just an out lot line, which existed before the second phase was subdivided into the lots. This line goes right through the middle of our dining room, and the house was approved by the village when it was built in 1978. But now we are being told we are a nonconforming structure and we cannot do anything to our home, not even increase the patio size by 1 inch.

We have spent 21/2 years in time, money and energy trying to get this rectified, but the director of economic development will not entertain the correct reading of the plat. We cannot understand why. We can find no other person who can understand the village position, let alone agree with it.

We filed a claim with our title company. It was denied because they determined it was a municipal misreading of the plat by the village. The village did not accept the title company's explanation.

We contacted our original surveyor, who also could not understand the opinion of the village. They had taken it off our survey because it was meaningless. The village said, "Just because it was taken off, that doesn't mean it is not there."

Thinking that maybe we did not have the skills to work with municipalities, we hired an attorney. We had a meeting with the director, but eventually he walked out of the room and the meeting was over. We are now out $5,000 and have made no progress.

We were told the only thing we can do is to go to court. Yet after spending so much already on legal fees, we are reluctant to do that, as the director of economic development has unlimited access to village attorneys, which does not come out of his pocket.

We have respectfully requested a meeting, made phone calls and sent emails to the mayor and the board of trustees. There has been absolutely no response to any of our requests.

A: I took the liberty of shortening your question, but it is an interesting one. You clearly have exhausted all of your remedies short of litigation. But now I believe that you have no alternative but to file suit.

Before doing that, however, I would go back to your title insurance company and ask them to file suit on your behalf. While it is true that they think the village was wrong, the fact remains that you currently have a "cloud on your title," and, in my opinion, that's why people pay for title insurance.

If the title company denies your request, file suit against both the village and the title company. You would be asking a judge to determine whether that old lot line exists.

And since the village cost you a lot of money, I would also ask for reimbursement in your lawsuit. However, I cannot provide legal advice, and you have to discuss all of this with your own lawyer.