Nothing turns a normal weekend into a full-time stress project like a neighbor’s structure sitting close to your property line. In Anchorage, one homeowner became convinced his neighbor’s retaining wall wasn’t just “close,” but actually over the line—by a measured 14.6 square feet—and he wanted more than a fix. He demanded the wall come out and asked to be paid for it.
The details come from the discussion of Humphrey v. Reges, an Alaska Supreme Court case that reads like a cautionary tale about surveys, boundary assumptions, and how quickly a small strip of land can turn into a five-figure problem.
A wall, a fence line, and a number that wouldn’t let go
Dion Humphrey owned one lot. Robert and Mala Reges owned the one next door. The flashpoint was a retaining wall and fence line—exactly the kind of thing people stop noticing after the first season unless they’re staring at it every day and thinking, “That’s on my side.”
Humphrey said the Regeses’ retaining wall crossed onto his property by about 14.6 square feet. If you’re picturing a huge bite out of a yard, the testimony later put it in a much smaller frame: an employee involved with a 2023 survey said it looked like about two inches of “overage” along 33 feet of fence line…