LePrettre v. Progressive Land Corporation
| Decision Date | 19 June 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-1660.,01-1660. |
| Citation | 820 So.2d 1240 |
| Parties | Rosa Mae Pelly LePRETTRE, et al. v. PROGRESSIVE LAND CORPORATION, et al. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Gary Evans Theall, Theall & Fontana, Abbeville, LA, for Plaintiffs/Appellees, Rosa Mae Pelly LePrettre, et al.
William Hugh Mouton, Lafayette, LA, for Defendants/Appellants, Progressive Land Corporation, Hampton F. Campbell, Timothy J. Campbell.
Paul Gonsoulin Moresi III, Attorney at Law, Abbeville, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Vermilion Parish Police Jury.
Court composed of JOHN D. SAUNDERS, GLENN B. GREMILLION, and ELIZABETH A. PICKETT, Judges.
This appeal stems from a boundary action filed by Rosa LePrettre, Donald LePrettre, James LePrettre, and Shelia Richard (the Plaintiffs) against Progressive Land Corporation, Hampton Campbell, Timothy Campbell, and the Vermillion Parish Police Jury (the Defendants). In this case, the Plaintiffs claim that the boundary to their property extends to the edge of a public road, while the Defendants claim that the boundary stops at a fence line which is a few feet away from the public road. The disputed area between the fence and the road consists of a large ditch. The Defendants have removed culverts from the ditch claiming that they own the ditch, thereby denying the Plaintiffs access to their property from the public road. In their petition, the Plaintiffs requested that the boundary be recognized at the edge of the road and that damages be awarded for mental anguish. After a trial on the merits, the trial court rendered a judgment which established the boundary at the edge of the public road and which denied the Plaintiffs any damages. As a result of the judgment, the parties have appealed. After reviewing the record, we affirm in part, amend in part, reverse in part and render, and remand the matter for further proceedings.
On December 11, 1939, Anna Kutsch Campbell executed an instrument by which she conveyed property to the Police Jury. Although it was entitled "Cash Deed," the language was altered to make it an act of donation, and no money was exchanged. The property was described as follows:
... does by these presents Donate, Grant, Bargain, Sell, Convey, Transfer, Assign, Set Over and Deliver, with all legal warranties ....
The Western thirty (30) feet off a tract of land described as lot D of act of partition of property belonging to Estate of Marie Melanie Nunez, in Section 36, Twp 11S R 1 West; said strip being bounded on the West by land of Isaac Lyons, and measuring 3800 feet North and South, beginning at Shell Road on the South ....
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD THE said described property herein conveyed, unto the said purchaser, heirs and assigns forever, with full and general warranty of title ....
At the time, Anna owned an undivided one-half interest in the property and had a usufruct over the other undivided one-half interest. Melchoir Campbell, her son, was the naked owner of the other one-half interest. He did not actually sign the donation, but he witnessed his mother's signature. Thus, at a minimum, this instrument conveyed ownership of Anna's one-half undivided interest which she owned in full ownership. The Police Jury accepted the donation and constructed a public roadway on the land. The road, known as Campbell Road, has been maintained by the Police Jury ever since the donation. Although it is not heavily traveled, the road has been used by the public since its dedication.
At the same time, Isaac Lyons, the predecessor in title to the LePrettres, owned a thirty-foot strip of property to the west of the donated strip of road. To separate his property, he built a fence next to the road, with a ditch inside the fence. Shortly after the road was made public, he moved his fence across the ditch to grant the Police Jury access to the ditch for maintenance purposes. Since that time, the Police Jury has continuously maintained that ditch. In the years following, Lyons' property was conveyed to the LePrettre family, the present owners of the land.
Over the decades, several surveys were conducted on the land. In 1948, Hal White conducted a survey which placed the boundary along the road where the old fence line existed. On April 23, 1968, the Lyman survey was conducted which placed the boundary along the existing Lyons/LePrettre fence; the Campbell property was later partitioned in accordance with this survey. Then, in the 1990's, a survey was conducted by Joseph Schexnaider, which again placed the boundary on the old fence line in accordance with the Hal White survey.
In the mid-1990's, Rosa's husband died, and it became necessary for her to sell lots from her tract of land. Hence, on July 22, 1996, the LePrettres sold an acre of the property along Campbell Road to Richard. To access her property, she used an existing culvert, which had been placed in the ditch several years before by a farmer of the LePrettre property. On March 4, 1997, Richard had her acre surveyed by Schexnaider. Upon learning of the survey, Timothy removed the culvert, thereby blocking Richard's access to her land. At that point, the Campbell family and their corporation, Progressive Lands, Inc., asserted that they owned the strip of land between the road and the LePrettre property. Claiming to own the ditch, Timothy removed other culverts which had been installed years earlier by an oil company drilling on the LePrettre property and which were still being used by the LePrettre farmer. By removing the culverts, Campbell blocked the LePrettres' and Richard's access to their property.
As a result, the LePrettres and Richard filed this boundary action on March 11, 1997, against the Police Jury, Progressive Lands, Inc., and Timothy and Hampton Campbell requesting that the boundary be fixed and damages be awarded. In particular, the Plaintiffs sought damages for the unjustified harassment caused by the Defendants. All of the Defendants answered this action. During the course of the proceedings, the Police Jury filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss itself as a party to the action; however, that motion was denied. Subsequently, the Plaintiffs and the Police Jury jointly stipulated that the Plaintiffs would not assert claims for damages or seek any monetary damage against the Police Jury.
After a trial on the merits, the trial court rendered a judgment dismissing the Plaintiffs' claims for damages and established the boundary in accordance with the Schexnaider survey. However, the judgment did not specifically state that the LePrettre property abutted Campbell Road.
As a result of the decision, both parties appeal, with the Plaintiffs claiming as error the trial court's failure to award damages for the intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress, for lost lot sales, for denying them access to the public road, and for the physical damages caused by Timothy; and its failure to rule explicitly that their property abuts Campbell Road for a distance of 3800 feet with access to Campbell Road. The Defendants allege that the trial court committed manifest error when it fixed the boundary according to the 1948 survey of Hal White, completely disregarding the construction, existence, maintenance and rebuilding of a fence on a rice levee with exclusive possession for over sixty years by each adjoining owner to the fence line.
This court has consistently held that a trial court's determination of a boundary location is a finding of fact which will not be disturbed on appeal unless it is manifestly erroneous. Lamson Petroleum Co. v. Hallwood Petroleum, Inc., 99-1444 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/24/00), 770 So.2d 786, writ denied, 00-2568 (La.11/27/00); 775 So.2d 448; see also Barker v. Quality Builders, Inc., 503 So.2d 1170 (La.App.3 Cir.1987); Broussard v. Coleman, 479 So.2d 1016 (La.App. 3 Cir.1985), writ denied, 481 So.2d 1354 (La.1986). In addition, where there is a conflict in testimony, the trial court should be given great discretion in making reasonable evaluations of the credibility of the witnesses and reasonable inferences based on the evidence. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989); Lamson, 770 So.2d 786.
The trial court fixed the boundaries in accordance with the survey conducted by Schexnaider based on the Hal White survey. The Defendants do not allege that the trial court erred in fixing the original boundary between the respective tracts according to the survey evidence. Instead, they argue only that the strip of land between the fence and the road was acquired by acquisitive prescription because the fence has existed for sixty years. In particular, the Defendants argue that the partition of their property in accordance with the Lyman survey commenced acquisitive prescription in their favor. They assert that they have possessed the land to the fence by cutting the grass in the ditch and by allowing their cattle to graze there. In addition, they argue that, because they possessed part of the land encompassed in their title, they possess all of the property. We disagree.
First, the Defendants have never owned the disputed strip of property. The trial court ruled that the boundary existed where the old fence line was located in accordance with Schexnaider's survey, which was based on the Hal White survey. In making its determination, the trial court gave great credibility to Schexnaider's testimony and his work, along with the testimony of the independent witness, Francis Wiley Clark, who had lived in the area all of his life. In fact, he testified that he helped Lyons move the fence in 1939, and that Lyons moved the fence so that the Police Jury could maintain the ditch. He testified that Mr. Campbell, an ancestor to the Defendants, left a corner post of the old fence and put an iron rod in the ground to mark the original location of the fence and to preserve evidence of the boundary. Clark...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Schoeffler v. Drake Hunting Club
...proof of intent to possess as owner, adverse to the actual owner, for the required thirty years. See LePrettre v. Progressive Land Corp., 01-1660 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/19/02), 820 So.2d 1240. Defendant landowners and lessees argue that Plaintiffs have no right to bring a boundary action under L......
-
Houston v. Blue Cross Blue Shield
...considered equitable. An appeal is not automatically deemed frivolous simply because it lacks merit. LePrettre v. Progressive Land Corp., 01-1660 (La.App. 3d Cir.6/19/02), 820 So.2d 1240. Rather, appeals are favored and an appeal is deemed frivolous, for purposes of an award of damages for ......
-
Kilpatrick v. Saline Lakeshore, LLC.
... ... Together they have possessed two tracts of land on Horse Island located on Saline Lake in Avoyelles Parish, with movable ... This court in LePrettre v. Progressive Land Corp., 011660, p. 7 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/19/02), 820 ... ...
-
Grantham v. Gaddis
...problem area” for thirty years.Mrs. Grantham's Claim of Thirty Year Acquisitive Prescription In LePrettre v. Progressive Land Corp., 01–1660 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/19/02), 820 So.2d 1240. In LePrettre, a panel of this court quoted Fisher and reiterated an excellent summary of the legal requireme......