Hamptons heiress loses squatter’s rights lawsuit

Cox scion sued East Hampton over rights to a beach path

Georgica Pond in East Hampton
Georgica Pond in East Hampton

A Long Island judge impressed the virtues of sharing upon an elite Hamptons heiress, who had attempted to claim squatter’s rights on a piece of land connecting Georgica Pond to the Atlantic Ocean.

The judge ordered Katherine Rayner, the 70-year-old heiress to the $18.6 billion Cox media fortune, to remove structures she had built up on the public path, including a fence, a gate, and a pool heater, the New York Post reported. The path sits adjacent to Rayner’s 12-acre compound.

In 2013, Rayner struck a deal with the local zoning board to allow her to build a pool on her property, against regulations, if she removed the structures. But when the town tried to enforce the deal, Rayner sued, claiming squatter’s rights.

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The pathway, which provides beachgoers access to the water, is a 50-foot strip of land that was originally donated to East Hampton by private citizens in 1979.

Rayner’s late grandfather, James M. Cox, was the founder of Cox Enterprises. [NYP] — Tess Hofmann