Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro is locked in a court fight with his neighbors over a roughly 10-foot-wide strip of land beside his driveway after a survey tied to his planned 8-foot security fence showed the parcel belonged on paper to the neighbors.
The dispute has since widened into dueling lawsuits, state police confrontations at the property line, and campaign attacks as he runs for reelection.
The contested segment is described as a narrow strip measuring less than 3,000 square feet, jutting from Jeremy and Simone Mock's deeded property and separating Shapiro's driveway from another neighbor's driveway, The Washington Post reported.
Shapiro says he treated the strip as his own since moving into the home in 2003 and is asking a judge to award it to him under adverse possession.
The Mocks, who have been paying taxes on the disputed piece, have cast the case as a land grab.
Their complaint says, "What followed was an outrageous abuse of power by the sitting Governor of Pennsylvania and its former Attorney General."
Shapiro's lawsuit says his family mowed the lawn, planted trees, cleaned debris, removed leaves, and installed an electric dog fence around the area.
It says that after the survey, the sides discussed a sale and later explored a lease, but talks collapsed.
Shapiro's attorney, Walter Weir Jr., said the Mocks kept changing terms and demanded legal fees that grew from $12,000 to more than $30,000.
The dispute has run alongside Shapiro's push for heightened security after an arson attack last year at the governor's residence in Harrisburg that forced him and his family to flee.
Shapiro's claim cites Pennsylvania's long-standing adverse possession framework, which generally requires 21 years of open and continuous possession. State law also provides a 10-year path to adverse possession in certain circumstances.
The fight has turned into a political distraction.
Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who announced she is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Shapiro's reelection bid, has mocked the dispute in campaign messaging.
The Mocks hired attorney Walter Zimolong, who said he was representing them after they struggled to find counsel without conflicts tied to the state government.
Shapiro's office has argued that the dispute has been weaponized.
"This dispute over a small piece of the Shapiros' backyard has been turned into a shameless political stunt by their neighbors and members of the Republican State Senate, who are now harassing and exploiting the Shapiros," said Rosie Lapowsky, a spokeswoman for the governor.
The legal fight has also coincided with a Republican-led Pennsylvania Senate inquiry into taxpayer-funded security upgrades at Shapiro's private residence, including subpoenas issued by the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.
At the property line, tensions have flared over the Mocks' attempts to post signs, build a fence, and remove a large tulip-poplar tree.
In a video obtained by the Post, a state police officer told one of the Mocks, "It's a disputed land. As far as we understand, this is a gray area. Everybody knows it. That's what the attorneys are for, that's what the court's for, to figure it out."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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