Legal Definitions - adverse

Adverse means to be against or opposed to one’s own interests. This term is often used in legal contexts.

• An adverse party is someone who has interests that conflict with your own.
• Adverse possession is when someone uses land that belongs to someone else without their permission. This is only possible if the use is hostile, meaning the landowner has not given permission.
• The doctrine of adverse domination allows the statute of limitations on a claim for breach of fiduciary duty against directors and officers of a corporation to be tolled until the corporation is no longer controlled by the alleged wrongdoers. This means that if the people in charge of a company are doing something wrong, the clock on the time limit for legal action doesn't start ticking until they are no longer in control.

These examples illustrate how adverse can be used to describe situations where someone is acting against their own interests or the interests of others. In each case, there is a conflict between two parties, and one of them is acting in an adverse manner.