The poet Robert Frost once said that “good fences make good neighbors.” He apparently never met Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is being sued by his neighbors for effectively squatting on their land and then seizing it to erect a fence along his $830,500 private home in suburban Philadelphia. The lawsuit will likely cast Shapiro in a very different light for many who view him as a 2028 contender.
U.S. President Joe Biden looks on as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro delivers remarks following a briefing on the emergency repair and reconstruction efforts of the Interstate-95 highway, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 2023. (JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images))
The irony of the matter is crushing. Shapiro opposed Trump’s plan to build a wall along the southern border, stating he would file a lawsuit before paying a dime of Pennsylvania money for it. Apparently he took a similar approach to his Pennsylvania neighbors. The difference is that he built the wall, but without giving his neighbors a cent.
Shapiro has long wanted a 2,900-square-foot lot located between the two homes in Abington, Montgomery County. The problem is that his neighbors like their land and want to preserve it. They turned down several offers from Shapiro.
Then the governor decided to build it anyway.
GIVE THE GOVERNMENT A FIGURE AND THEY WILL SEIZE YOUR $200,000 HOUSE FOR $2,000 DEBT
Jeremy and Simone Mock claim that Shapiro essentially became a squatter by using state police to keep them off their own property and then building a five-foot security fence.
After the Mocks filed a lawsuit, Shapiro countersued, claiming the land was now his due to “adverse possession.” He essentially claimed that they had left the country, despite them repeatedly trying to gain entry and repeatedly rejecting his offers to buy it.
Welcome to the world of unwanted property. It is a doctrine dating back to 2000 BC and the Code of Hammurabi, allowing people to acquire ownership of land abandoned by owners for a long period of time. Really long.
From the Romans to the British to the earliest days of the American Republic, adverse possession has been recognized as a valid means of acquiring property rights. It was especially valuable in the early years of the United States, where people acquired or claimed vast tracts of land in the West, only to leave them undeveloped and uninhabited. As settlers moved west, they often cultivated the land, built structures, and lived openly for years before the original owners reclaimed it. Adverse possession was an efficient rule that allowed land to be used productively.
Under Pennsylvania law, you must prove actual, continuous, exclusive, visible, notorious, obvious and hostile possession of the land for 21 years. Shapiro clearly has the enemy side under control, but the Mocks claim he effectively used state police to keep them off their land and then claimed they had abandoned it.
Each side portrays the other as dishonest and opportunistic.
In their complaint, the Mocks allege that the Shapiros “previously acknowledged that the Mock Property was owned by no one other than the Mocks.” They document that the Shapiros did not want to pay the asking price, so the Mocks offered to lease the land to them. The Shapiros reportedly agreed, but then backed out.
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The Mocks state: “What followed was an outrageous abuse of power by the sitting governor of Pennsylvania and his former attorney general.” Shapiro stated that the property was his.
The Mocks objected to the fact that they had been paying taxes to the state on the disputed property for nine years.
The Shapiros claim that from 2003 to 2025, they mowed the lawn, removed leaves and other waste from the land as if it were their own. Accordingly, they claim that the 21 year period has expired and with it the title to the land. They further allege that after purchasing the property in April 2017, the Mocks failed to claim the land and dispute the location of an existing fence. However, they did so in October 2025.
Shapiro claims the Mocks didn’t even know the property was theirs until he informed them of the results of a recent investigation.
What is fascinating is the use of state forces to keep the Mocks off their land. The complaint even shows a photo of two troopers, saying, “These members of the State Police are on the Mock Property. Behind the officers is the arborvitae that the Shapiros planted on the Mock Property without permission and despite the express objections of the Mocks.”
Because the required 21 years had barely elapsed, any period of time during which the Mocks disputed possession could unravel the adverse possession claim. In the meantime, few people are likely to sympathize with the Shapiros taking property from a neighbor. Adverse possession rarely goes well with people, but it is more pleasant if the owner has been absent and slow.
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Here the owners are very present and vocal.
The optics are also worsened by the fact that the state has been have difficulty tackling a squatting crisis in which people occupy other people’s homes and then refuse to leave during years of lawsuits. Shapiro is accused of being a squatter with a contingent of state troopers to back him up. It’s not clear what would be worse for Shapiro: losing or winning by taking his neighbor’s property without compensation.
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The dispute has already made its way into the political arena, where Shapiro is running for re-election. One of his opponents, Stacy Garrity, posted a Valentine’s Day message on social media with Shapiro’s face that read: “I love you more than my neighbor’s yard.”
The fact is that there are credible arguments on both sides of this dispute. For Shapiro, the question is whether he can afford to win.
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