1. The court or judge trying the cause shall have full equitable jurisdiction to settle and determine all rights, conflicts and controversies arising out of any situation wherein it is claimed or alleged that improvements owned by any of the defendants encroach upon any streets, alleys or other public places.

2. If it appear to the court or judge that any of the defendants has constructed improvements upon what appears, from the maps or plats submitted, to comprise streets, alleys or other public places in the city, and that the construction of such improvements was made by such defendant or defendants in good faith and in the supposition that such improvements were constructed within the property lines of such defendant or defendants, or in reliance upon any map or plat supposed to be correct or authentic, or in reliance upon any monuments supposed to be correct or authentic, or in reliance upon the lines upon which other improvements in such block or in other blocks had been constructed, and if it appear that the retention of possession and the vesting of title in such defendants of such portions of the streets, alleys or other public places can be maintained without material injury to the public, or to the other residents of the city, the court shall have full power and authority, in its findings and decree, to declare such title and possession vested in such defendant or defendants; or may, in its discretion and in accordance with the facts, the law and the equities in the case, declare such possession and title vested in such defendant or defendants, upon such terms as may be just and equitable, or upon the payment of such sums as may be right and proper by such defendant or defendants to the city or town.

3. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as making it obligatory upon such court or judge to decree or vest title in any such defendant or defendants to property necessary for public use. The court or judge may, in the findings and decree, recognize and approve any stipulation, otherwise appearing to be fair and equitable and without fraud or collusion, between the city or town, on the one hand, as plaintiff, and any of the separate or several individual defendants, as to the establishing of such lines, and no such stipulation shall be invalid by reason of the fact that any other defendant or defendants shall not be parties thereto, save and except where such stipulation shall affect the actual property lines of other defendants. No such findings or decree shall be invalid by reason of misjoinder or nonjoinder of parties in or to the action in the settlement of such individual conflicts.

[11a:120:1919; added 1929, 17; NCL § 1367]