Michigan couple can't sue over a real short sale

ELMER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- The clock has run out on a northern Michigan couple who thought they owned 40 acres but learned it only was 32 1/2. The state appeals court says Thomas and Elizabeth Holzwarth can't sue the sellers and a real estate company because too many years have passed. In 1998, the Holzwarths paid $59,000 for 40 acres in Oscoda County. But after a storm destroyed a fence in 2007, they were told they only owned 32 1/2 acres. The rest belonged to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Holzwarths filed a lawsuit 10 1/2 years after the purchase, but the appeals court says the limit to sue was 10 years. The couple ultimately made a deal with the DNR and bought the land they thought they had already owned. Published: Tue, Jun 28, 2011