GREEN TOWNSHIP — Steve Sanders says he’s known Daniel Elliott “for too long.”
The current State Treasurer and his family moved next door to Sanders in Green Township in 2003, and the seeds of lasting enmity were perhaps planted upon their very first encounter.
Sanders — who spent 40 years as the beloved custodian at Green Township Elementary — recalls getting a knock on the door very late at night, in the middle of a torrential downpour. At the door was Elliott, who allegedly asked Sanders if he might come outside with him and walk the property line together.
Without much hesitation, Sanders remembers, he told Elliott “no.”
But that was a long time ago, before the Shaner family moved in nearby, before the arguments over property lines, before someone called in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and before neighbors served neighbors with lawsuits.
Before all that, everyone actually started off friends. The parties involved don’t agree on much anymore, but they agree on that.
History rhymes
Last month, Elliott and his wife, Laura, filed a lawsuit against the Morgan County Public Library Foundation, the Morgan County Veterans Memorial and the Morgan County History Center and Museum over a disputed building at 75 and 77 E. Washington St. in Martinsville.
The Elliotts say they were promised ownership of the building from the Library Foundation, and that they had been using and taking care of the building for almost 10 years. Instead, the library deeded the building to the Veterans Memorial in late 2024, which then deeded the building to the History Museum.
The Elliotts now want either the building to be given to them, or to be reimbursed for the alleged $250,000 of work they put into the building since 2015.
If the lawsuit over the downtown building is not history repeating itself, then perhaps it is history rhyming.
In June 2020, the Elliotts filed a lawsuit in Morgan County Superior Court against Sanders, along with Dave and Amy Shaner and Mr. Shaner’s parents, in which the Elliotts claimed a piece of Sanders’ property should be given to the Elliotts, and that the Shaners had trespassed against the Elliotts by using the property belonging to Sanders.
The piece of property in dispute is a small strip of land to the southwest of the Elliott residence that goes along the tree line of nearby woods toward the Elliott residence and their front yard.
Elliott told The Correspondent that he and allegedly Sanders both believed this strip of land belonged to Elliott, but when the land was surveyed, Elliott learned that the strip actually belonged to Sanders.
Elliott claims in the lawsuit to have maintained this strip of property since 2003 when he moved in, and the lawsuit further claims Sanders never disputed Elliott’s use of the land nor did Sanders affirm ownership interest.
The legal argument used by the Elliotts and their attorney is called “adverse possession,” a rarely used doctrine that allows someone to acquire another’s property if they occupy it exclusively and openly for a number of years — in Indiana, 10 consecutive years.
In this case, the disputed parcel served as a land bridge between the Elliotts’ residence and a landlocked parcel they owned just west of Sanders’ property.
The Elliotts’ lawsuit further claims the Shaners trespassed, intimidated and intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Elliott and his family in relation to ongoing property disputes. The lawsuit also claims the Shaners made prejudicial comments regarding Elliott’s Mormon faith, threatened Elliott and his family with physical violence, and manipulated Sanders to terminate communications with the Elliotts.
Like the 2026 case of the downtown building, the Elliotts claimed to have taken care of a piece of property that someone else had a claim to own. And in both cases, those on the receiving end of the litigation didn’t have many nice things to say about the State Treasurer and his wife.
‘We were friends’
Fences do not always make good neighbors.
When The Correspondent paid Dave and Amy Shaner a visit for this story, Mr. Shaner began the interview with his opinion on what was alleged in the 2020 lawsuit.
“Don’t believe any of it,” he said.
The Shaners today own properties that flank the Elliotts to the north and south, including the property where Sanders used to live. Sanders deeded his property to the Shaners a few years ago after determining that it was no longer safe for him to live on his own due to ongoing health issues. Now in his 70s, he currently resides at Grand Valley in Martinsville.
“(The Elliotts) have been trying to get Steve’s property for years,” Mr. Shaner said. “But (Steve) never wanted Daniel to have it.”
That may not have always been true. Elliott said he and his family had a “cordial” relationship with Sanders for years, and the Shaners say the same of the Elliott family.
“We were friends,” Amy Shaner said.
And friends do things for each other. When Sanders began to get older and his health began to deteriorate, the Shaners and the Elliotts each contributed to his well being. Sanders said the Shaners would frequently mow his property, and the Elliotts would often provide Sanders with food.
Sanders would return the favor in various ways. Elliott, for example, well known for owning horses, at one point asked Sanders if the Elliotts could use his barn to store hay. Sanders granted this request, no questions asked.
But over the years, relations between neighbors went south, and it seems to have begun with the Shaners and the Elliotts.
Litigation
According to public court documents, the Shaners filed a civil suit against the Elliotts in 2018, accusing them of negligence after one of the Elliotts’ stallions got loose and attempted to mount one of the Shaners’ mares, which they said was being led at the time on the Shaner property by the Shaners’ then 14-year-old daughter.
During this incident, the mare attempted to get away, and dragged the teenager, resulting in injuries. The Shaners allege their daughter suffered from rope burns on her hands, neck pain, bilateral rib pain, thoracic back pain and right hip strain, all of which required physical therapy.
In their lawsuit, the Shaners accused the Elliotts of failing to maintain proper fences to confine their horses, and they laid the blame for their daughter’s injuries on the Elliotts’ alleged negligence.
The Elliotts, of course, saw the situation differently. They alleged that the mare was actually being led on the Elliott property. They said their stallion had never displayed aggressive behavior before, and had never once broken loose. The Elliotts believed they had not acted negligently, and therefore, they should not have to pay the Shaners any damages.
Meanwhile, the Shaner-Elliott relationship underwent further strains after Mr. Shaner began helping his parents attempt to move into the neighborhood on a plot of land next to the Shaner property.
Mr. Shaner told The Correspondent that his parents and the Elliotts long had a bad relationship. He said that when his parents moved next door to him, construction of their house was delayed, and so they were temporarily living in a camper.
Shaner alleges Elliott, who was a member of the Morgan County Council at the time, complained to county officials about the camper, as he was allegedly trying to have it removed.
Shaner also alleges that when his parents would come to visit his property, they would occasionally pass on to the Elliott property, leading the Elliotts to call the police to report trespassing.
How many times the police were called is a matter of disagreement among neighbors. Elliott said he could not remember how many times the family called the police on the Shaners — whether it was “three times, six times,” he couldn’t recall — but that the police were called due to trespassing and harassment from the Shaners.
The Shaners and Sanders both insist the police were called constantly, to the point where officers eventually stopped showing up to the neighborhood. Sanders said at one point the police were coming out to the house “at least three times a day,” and the Shaners allege the police got called on them even when they never set foot on the Elliotts’ property.
“They say we harassed them,” Amy Shaner said. “The harassers are them.”
According to Morgan County dispatch records, the truth is a bit more complicated. The Elliotts called the sheriff’s office on the Shaners seven times between 2018 and 2020, including twice on the same day in October 2018.
Complaints against the Shaners usually included accusations of trespassing or harassment, with one call made by Laura Elliott alleging that Mr. Shaner was threatening Mr. Elliott.
Mr. Shaner called the sheriff’s office twice, in April and August 2018, respectively, on the Elliotts. Both calls were regarding the Elliotts’ stallion getting loose onto the Shaner property.
The horse lawsuit wasn’t concluded for another three years, when both parties eventually agreed to settle. The Elliotts’ insurance carrier, State Farm, made a global offer of settlement for all claims of $20,000.
“Further litigation would involve additional expense and uncertainty,” the Shaners’ settlement reads.
Unfortunately for the Shaners, there would be further litigation to come.
Fallout with Sanders
In 2020, in the midst of their dispute with the Elliotts, the Shaners made a discovery in the Sanders barn while working on his property. According to both the Shaners and Sanders, the Elliotts allegedly had been storing far more than the agreed-upon hay.
“They totally trashed my barn full of junk,” Sanders said.
After 11 years of using the barn rent-free, Sanders said he had an attorney write the Elliotts a letter demanding they remove everything they had been storing in the barn.
This was the first crack in the Sanders-Elliott relationship, and things quickly escalated.
Sanders told The Correspondent that within days of the barn incident during the summer of 2020, the Elliotts informed him that they had reported him to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the landfill that Sanders had on the ravine of his property.
Before it was outlawed, on-site landfills were very common on old, family farms throughout the United States.
Sanders and the Shaners believed the Elliotts were retaliating against Sanders for the barn incident.
Elliott, however, told The Correspondent that they never reported Sanders to the EPA, and never made any such complaints against him. Sanders disputes this, insisting that the Elliotts informed him in person that they reported him to the EPA.
Regardless of who made the complaint, the EPA ordered Sanders to clean the property, saying that they would return in 45 days to inspect progress.
Members of the Green Township community sprang into action to help the ailing Sanders. Amy Shaner immediately started a fundraiser for Sanders, and the Shaners began organizing a cleanup crew to help Sanders remove trash from the property.
The outpouring of support on social media was immediate.
“Steve is a wonderful man,” one Facebook commenter wrote. “Everyone that met him, especially the Green Township people, knows what a wonderful person he is. (He) did so much for so many.”
“He used to order cakes every year off my mom for the fifth-grade graduations and have every kid’s name put on them,” added someone else.
“Sending prayers and love to Steve,” commented another. “He’s a good man with such a big heart.”
“Very sad that people have to pick on good neighbors,” wrote a fourth person.
Less than a week after the cleanup effort was initiated, and amid the ongoing lawsuit with the Shaners over the horse incident, the Elliotts filed a lawsuit on June 26, 2020, against Sanders and the Shaners, arguing adverse possession of the strip of land on the Sanders property that tied into their landlocked parcel, and trespassing and intimidation against the Shaners.
Any chance of mending fences was seemingly over.
No trespassing
Melissa Greene, Sanders’ cousin and now a member of the Morgan County Council, remembers receiving the call from Sanders back in 2020 shortly after he was served the lawsuit. He wanted her advice, reportedly telling her he was afraid of the Elliotts.
For years, Greene has been legally responsible for Sanders’ health and finances, and has long helped him out when asked. Greene took to social media on June 30, 2020, to ask others to do the same.
“Steve Sanders is my second cousin,” she wrote on Facebook. “He was a janitor at Green Township Elementary School for many years. He is in extremely poor health. He has lived on his family’s homestead his whole life, and the farm has been in the family since before 1900.
“Although the land has been surveyed and property lines are clear, a neighbor has sought legal counsel and is attempting an adverse possession takeover of part of Steve’s property,” Greene continued.
Greene went on to say the EPA had been called on Sanders over the landfill on his property, and urged the community to donate to a fundraiser that would help pay for heavy equipment to remove trash.
Greene did more than post on Facebook. Shortly after Sanders had been served with the lawsuit, Greene consulted an attorney who advised her to put “No Trespassing” signs on the strip of land under dispute.
During a visit with Sanders in 2020, she and her husband did just that.
About an hour later, Greene and her husband discovered that the Elliotts had immediately removed the signs.
The Greenes and the Elliotts then had a brief confrontation at the property line, prompting Elliott to make a call to his then-attorney, Rod Bray, whom he allegedly put on speaker phone. Elliott was seemingly unaware that Greene and Bray went to high school together and were on good terms.
“Hey Rod, it’s Melissa Greene,” she recalls saying, and the ensuing phone call was amicable.
The phone call ended shortly after, and the couples parted ways, with Greene saying it was a tense encounter for her.
“I was just there to advocate for someone I feel has been taken advantage of,” Greene told The Correspondent of her cousin Sanders.
‘Normal people’
The adverse possession lawsuit went on for two years, and all the parties involved were reminded of it every time they came home.
The Shaners say that sometime during their lawsuits with the Elliotts, the latter installed cameras all over their property. Mr. Shaner alleged that the Elliotts would frequently come outside and watch the Shaners work on Sanders’ property, presumably to ensure that the Shaners would not step foot on Elliott land.
Mr. Shaner even recalls one day, during the peak of summer, when Mr. Elliott allegedly came home from work and remained outside in the heat, sweating through his suit, just so he could watch the Shaners work.
The Elliotts deny these allegations, and attribute them to the Shaners’ grievances over the lawsuit.
“The Shaners probably hate my guts, and that’s fine,” Elliott said. “I don’t hate the Shaners.”
Meanwhile, the Elliotts allegedly continued to call the police on Mr. Shaner’s parents for trespassing, and eventually his parents became so fed up with the Elliotts that they abandoned their dream of living in a house next to Mr. Shaner and moved away.
All the time this was happening, attorneys on both sides debated the facts of the adverse possession case.
The Elliotts claimed to have taken care of Sanders’ strip of land for years; Sanders told The Correspondent that Elliott never even so much as mowed that land.
The Elliotts claimed the Shaners made physical threats against them, and mocked their religious beliefs on since-deleted social media posts; the Shaners say the Elliotts went out of their way to harass the Shaners and called the police on them countless times.
“People outside Morgan County don’t know the real Daniel,” Amy Shaner said. “(They) never have a conversation with anybody first. They always go straight to the police.
“It’s like they’re gonna turn to ash if they ask people questions.”
Eventually, both sides came to “an agreeable settlement,” according to Elliott.
“When you live in one place for a long time, you’re going to have issues,” Elliott said. “I just look at this as, this is how adults deal with situations when there are disagreements.”
The “adults” ultimately determined that Sanders would sell the disputed land strip to the Elliotts for a “fair” price — $5,000, to be exact, for 0.68 acres of land, plus a little more.
Within that deal, the Elliotts also acquired additional property owned by Sanders. Many years prior, the Elliotts built a fence separating their property from Sanders, and they allege it was built according to Sanders’ recollection of the property line’s location. Allegedly, Sanders inadvertently allowed the Elliotts to build the fence up to 8 feet into his own property, thus surrendering it all to the Elliotts.
Both Sanders and the Shaners believe they could have prevailed in the lawsuit against the Elliotts, if only they had the resources and sway the Elliotts, hugely influential in local politics, have. Both Sanders and the Shaners said they spent tens of thousands of dollars on attorney fees, and underwent considerable emotional distress.
“We didn’t have the money to keep fighting,” Amy Shaner said. “We’re normal people.”
Unspoken
When asked why he thought the Elliotts went to such lengths to get a strip of land, Mr. Shaner had an answer. He believes the Elliotts want all the land that surrounds their property, in the hopes of eventually building a kind of family compound.
Mr. Shaner said Elliott once told him directly that he was trying to buy the Shaner property before the Shaners purchased it.
Now that the Shaners also hold the deed to Sanders’ old property, they allege they’ve been getting junk mail for the Elliotts at Sanders’ address. Amy Shaner said she was quick to go to the post office to ensure this stopped happening.
Years later, the bad blood between neighbors hasn’t gone away. Sanders does not miss living next to the Elliotts, and he said another reason he settled the lawsuit with Elliott, other than money, was that he no longer wanted to deal with the Elliott family.
For his part, Elliott told The Correspondent that he believed Sanders had died and was unaware that he was living at Grand Valley. As for his relationship with the Shaners, Elliott felt he had nothing to be sorry about.
“I wasn’t the one going online and going against people for their religious beliefs,” Elliott said. “And we never trespassed. I’ve had Mr. Shaner in my face, screaming and cussing at me, threatening me.”
The Shaners and the Elliotts are still neighbors, but they haven’t spoken to each other in years.
Elliott said part of the legal agreement was to try and ignore each other. He said both sides have largely adhered to that, aside from Elliott saying he occasionally waves at them as he walks down the driveway.
But the two parties don’t even agree on that.
“We don’t speak,” Mr. Shaner said. “They don’t look this way. They don’t even wave.”
