Gov. Josh Shapiro, neighbor sue each other over boundary dispute

A strip of land along Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private residence in Montgomery County is at the center of dueling lawsuits by the governor and a married couple who say that land is being illegally seized from them and state police were deployed at Shapiro’s behest to keep them from it. The lawsuits from Jonathan and Simone Mock and Shapiro were filed Monday, respectively, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.Lawsuits listed belowLINK | Lawsuit against ShapiroLINK | Lawsuit against Mocks The civil complaints deal with close to 3,000 square feet of land between the properties in Abington Township and a discrepancy over a fence line discovered in 2025 during a zoning process tied to publicly-funded security upgrades at Shapiro’s private residence, which were prompted after a man attempted to murder Shapiro and firebombed his official residence in Harrisburg.But the Mocks, allege an “outrageous” abuse of power by Shapiro and accuse him of personally deploying Pennsylvania State Police to seize the land in question after an agreement couldn’t be reached for Shapiro to purchase or lease the property to construct an eight-foot fence around the governor’s private home.The lawsuit contends that in August 2025, the Shapiro family’s attorney informed the Mocks they would use “alternative actions” to obtain the property and would go on to claim the contested land belonged to the Shapiros through adverse action. The complaint alleges that trees were planted on the Mocks’ property and healthy trees planted by the Mocks were threatened for removal.”On multiple occasions, when the Mocks have attempted to use their property, the State Police have insisted the area was ‘disputed’ and told them to immediately exit their property,” the Mocks wrote in their lawsuit, which included a photo of state troopers in the contended area.In addition to a drone being flown over the property, The Mocks also allege state police blocked them from constructing their own fence, saying it was in a “security zone” and part of disputed property.”The Mocks have repeatedly demanded that the Shapiros cease unlawfully occupying the Mock Property and return it to them, but the Shapiros have refused,” the lawsuit read.An attorney representing the Mocks did not respond to messages seeking comment and the Mocks were not reachable at their home Tuesday.Governor’s counter-suitBut in a counter-suit in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Shapiro and his wife Lori argued they had long maintained the land in question and that a fence and tree line had already been erected on the property in question before May 22, 2003.Additionally, the Shapiros said that up until last year, the Mocks, who moved to their home in 2017, had always treated the land in question as belonging to the Shapiros – until the discrepancy was brought to their attention during the permitting process for the security upgrades, revealing the disputed area did not fall within the boundaries described on a deed. “Upon learning this, Plaintiffs reached out to Defendants and advised them of this discovery. At that time, Defendants acknowledged to Plaintiffs that they had always believed that the disputed area was part of Plaintiffs’ Property,” the lawsuit said. “Prior to learning of this discovery, Defendants never claimed, possessed or exercised any rights over the Disputed Area.”The lawsuit went on to describe the unsuccessful attempts to purchase or lease the property in question and denials of a contractor and arborist to enter the disputed area, eventually leading to someone alleged to be the Mocks or their agent entering the disputed land and placing signs on it declaring it belonged to them.The Shapiros argue the property should qualify as belonging to them under undue possession laws and because the land in question has functionally been theirs for more than the 21 years required under Pennsylvania law.ResponseA spokesperson for Shapiro called the federal lawsuit against the governor “a shameless political stunt and attempt to exploit the Shapiros’ legitimate security concerns, which grew even more pronounced after another individual was criminally charged last week with threatening to ‘stalk and hurt’ the Governor and his family.”Will Simons, a spokesperson for Shapiro, also in a statement pointed to partisan ties for the attorney representing the Mocks and his involvement with a case that attempted to invalidate Pennsylvania’s no-excuse mail voting law.”The Governor looks forward to a swift resolution and will not be bullied by anyone trying to score cheap political points, especially at the expense of his family’s safety and wellbeing,” he said.

HARRISBURG, Pa. —

A strip of land along Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private residence in Montgomery County is at the center of dueling lawsuits by the governor and a married couple who say that land is being illegally seized from them and state police were deployed at Shapiro’s behest to keep them from it.

The lawsuits from Jonathan and Simone Mock and Shapiro were filed Monday, respectively, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Lawsuits listed below

The civil complaints deal with close to 3,000 square feet of land between the properties in Abington Township and a discrepancy over a fence line discovered in 2025 during a zoning process tied to publicly-funded security upgrades at Shapiro’s private residence, which were prompted after a man attempted to murder Shapiro and firebombed his official residence in Harrisburg.

But the Mocks, allege an “outrageous” abuse of power by Shapiro and accuse him of personally deploying Pennsylvania State Police to seize the land in question after an agreement couldn’t be reached for Shapiro to purchase or lease the property to construct an eight-foot fence around the governor’s private home.

The lawsuit contends that in August 2025, the Shapiro family’s attorney informed the Mocks they would use “alternative actions” to obtain the property and would go on to claim the contested land belonged to the Shapiros through adverse action. The complaint alleges that trees were planted on the Mocks’ property and healthy trees planted by the Mocks were threatened for removal.

“On multiple occasions, when the Mocks have attempted to use their property, the State Police have insisted the area was ‘disputed’ and told them to immediately exit their property,” the Mocks wrote in their lawsuit, which included a photo of state troopers in the contended area.

In addition to a drone being flown over the property, The Mocks also allege state police blocked them from constructing their own fence, saying it was in a “security zone” and part of disputed property.

“The Mocks have repeatedly demanded that the Shapiros cease unlawfully occupying the Mock Property and return it to them, but the Shapiros have refused,” the lawsuit read.

An attorney representing the Mocks did not respond to messages seeking comment and the Mocks were not reachable at their home Tuesday.

Governor’s counter-suit

But in a counter-suit in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Shapiro and his wife Lori argued they had long maintained the land in question and that a fence and tree line had already been erected on the property in question before May 22, 2003.

Additionally, the Shapiros said that up until last year, the Mocks, who moved to their home in 2017, had always treated the land in question as belonging to the Shapiros – until the discrepancy was brought to their attention during the permitting process for the security upgrades, revealing the disputed area did not fall within the boundaries described on a deed.

“Upon learning this, Plaintiffs reached out to Defendants and advised them of this discovery. At that time, Defendants acknowledged to Plaintiffs that they had always believed that the disputed area was part of Plaintiffs’ Property,” the lawsuit said. “Prior to learning of this discovery, Defendants never claimed, possessed or exercised any rights over the Disputed Area.”

The lawsuit went on to describe the unsuccessful attempts to purchase or lease the property in question and denials of a contractor and arborist to enter the disputed area, eventually leading to someone alleged to be the Mocks or their agent entering the disputed land and placing signs on it declaring it belonged to them.

The Shapiros argue the property should qualify as belonging to them under undue possession laws and because the land in question has functionally been theirs for more than the 21 years required under Pennsylvania law.

Response

A spokesperson for Shapiro called the federal lawsuit against the governor “a shameless political stunt and attempt to exploit the Shapiros’ legitimate security concerns, which grew even more pronounced after another individual was criminally charged last week with threatening to ‘stalk and hurt’ the Governor and his family.”

Will Simons, a spokesperson for Shapiro, also in a statement pointed to partisan ties for the attorney representing the Mocks and his involvement with a case that attempted to invalidate Pennsylvania’s no-excuse mail voting law.

“The Governor looks forward to a swift resolution and will not be bullied by anyone trying to score cheap political points, especially at the expense of his family’s safety and wellbeing,” he said.