IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT A DISPUTE ABOUT A GARAGE LASTED FOR OVER SIX YEARS AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE STATE SUPREME COURT

Maybe it’s not that hard to believe, actually, but it sure seems excessive that a homeowner in Sussex County, Delaware, had to spend six years defending against efforts by his neighbors to force him to tear down his garage.  According to the news accounts, county officials said the garage is permitted by the local regulations, and the homeowner’s activities did not violate any regulations or require any governmental approval.
It sounds like the dispute also involved some contention over a shared driveway, but the news accounts predictably gloss over that aspect, since it was undoubtedly more complicated than the presence and use of the garage.  Nevertheless, it took more than six years and a trip to the state supreme court to resolve a dispute over a garage and a shared driveway?  That seems particularly ridiculous in light of the facts that, according to the news accounts, it sounds like the home sites of the parties involved are each more than one acre in size (a five acre parcel was split into four pieces), and the home of one of the complainers is 800 feet from the garage.  800 feet is a long way.