Authored by Amy Duplantis Gautreaux and Isabelle Rowan
The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Ford v. Handy (“Handy”)[1] reiterates the strength of Louisiana’s doctrine of acquisitive prescription, Louisiana’s equivalent to the common law concept of adverse possession. Louisiana’s civil law regime divides property into the following categories: common, public, private; corporeal and incorporeal; and movable and immovable.[2] The corporeal immovable versus corporeal movable distinction is the relevant characterization for acquisitive prescription; “corporeal” denoting whether the thing can be touched.[3] A corporeal movable is a thing that normally moves or can be moved from one place to another.[4] By contrast, an immovable is a thing that does not normally move or cannot be moved from one place to another. Real property is categorized as an immovable.[5] Under Louisiana Civil Code article 3473, ownership and other real rights in immovables may be acquired by the prescription of ten years;[6] this applies to real property, which is an immovable under Louisiana Civil Code article 462. Where the purported owner acts in good faith, ownership of immovables can be acquired in ten years.[7] However, if undisturbed possession persists for thirty years, ownership of immovables can be acquired in thirty years, without good faith or just title.[8]
Handy centers around a familial dispute regarding ownership of a one-acre parcel of land in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. In 1967, Ruby Price Delton conveyed the disputed land to her daughter, Joy, as her daughter’s separate property. Three years later, in 1970, Joy’s husband, Odis Handy Sr., conveyed the land to his parents – without his wife’s signature. Odis Handy Sr. had no ownership interest in the land he conveyed to his parents; it was given to his wife as her separate property. Then, in 1972, Odis Handy Sr.’s parents conveyed the land to their daughter, Ola Mae Ford, and her husband, Sammy Ford Sr.; the Fords assumed the mortgage and began living in the house on the land in 1972. In 1982, Sammy Ford Sr. conveyed his interest in the property to his wife, Ola Mae, making the property her separate property. Ola Mae died in 2000, leaving Sammy Ford Jr. as her sole heir. In 2017, Joy Hardy, the woman who received the property as her separate property from the 1967 conveyance, asserted that she was the true owner of the one-acre parcel, leading to the suit. In 2018, Sammy Ford Jr. filed a succession affidavit to place the property in his name.[9] Sammy Ford Jr. claimed that he acquired the one-acre parcel of land via ten-year acquisitive prescription.[10]
Acquisitive prescription allows a person who, in good faith, acquired property from someone other than the true owner, or a person whose title is defective, to acquire ownership rights to the property. Under Louisiana Civil Code article 3475, the requisites for acquisitive prescription of ten years are: possession of ten years, good faith, just title, and a thing susceptible of acquisition by prescription.[11] Whether land is susceptible to acquisitive prescription is undisputed because land is a private thing, and thus, is susceptible to acquisitive prescription.[12] To acquire a thing via acquisitive prescription, the possessor must have corporeal possession of the thing, or civil possession preceded by corporeal possession, and the possession must be continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal.[13]
The Court of Appeals in Handy found support in the record to attribute Sammy Ford Jr. with the necessary uninterrupted possession to satisfy article 3475’s “possession” requirement for ten-year acquisitive prescription.[14] The Court of Appeal discussed whether Sammy Ford Jr. met the “good faith” and “just title” requirements set out in article 3475. Good faith is an objective standard centered on the possessor’s reasonable belief that: (a) the seller owned the property and (b) that the possessor is the owner of the thing he possesses.[15] Based on the facts, the trial court found Ola Mae, Sammy Jr.’s mother, to be in good faith because it was reasonable for Ola Mae to believe her parents owned the property at the time of the 1972 conveyance which purported to convey the property to Ola Mae and her husband, Sammy Ford Sr.. Notably, in 1970, when Odis Sr. conveyed the disputed parcel to his parents, husbands, as “head and master,” could convey community property without their wife’s signature in Louisiana.[16] The Court of Appeal found this relevant in finding Ola Mae in good faith even though the conveyed property was not community property because it still was reasonable for Ola Mae to believe her parents owned the property.[17] Additionally, the Court of Appeal noted the clock for ten year acquisitive prescription as beginning on April 21, 1972 – the date Ola Mae’s parents, having received the property via a conveyance by their son, conveyed the property to Ola Mae.
In general, good faith alone is not enough to acquire land via ten-year acquisitive prescription; a possessor also needs to satisfy article 3475’s “just title” requirement. Louisiana’s Fourth Circuit has previously held that a sale which does not convey ownership, because the true owner did not convey the land, can serve as just title for acquisitive prescription.[18] The comments to Louisiana Civil Code article 3483 further support the Fourth Circuit’s holding; the comments state that a just title does not have to be from a true owner because if that were the requirement for just title, the doctrine of acquisitive prescription would be rendered useless.[19] In Handy, under the Louisiana Civil Code and jurisprudence, the Court of Appeal for Louisiana’s Second Circuit found that the trial court’s determination of the 1972 conveyance constituting just title was correct. Having found Sammy Ford Jr. satisfied all of article 3475’s requirements for acquisitive prescription of ten years, the Louisiana Second Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision and held Sammy Ford Jr. as the parcel’s owner.
Ford v. Handy is a recent affirmation of Louisiana’s acquisitive prescription regime, but, importantly, its holding had immediate consequences for an oil and gas lease Sammy Ford Jr. signed covering the disputed property. Had Sammy Ford Jr. not been declared the owner of the property, the oil and gas lease he executed might have been void – leaving the participating oil and gas company exposed. Running limited title and waiving title requirements relative to possession are common practice among many operators in the oil and gas industry. Handy reminds all of us of the importance of thoroughly flushing out claims of adverse possessors, the failure of which could lead to major losses that could have been avoided with diligence and proper curative measures. Understanding Louisiana’s regime of acquisitive prescription and relevant case law is important for oil and gas operators and others acquiring rights in property in Louisiana and can help to mitigate exposure to costly litigation.
[1] 2024 La. App. LEXIS 605.
[2] La. Civ. Code art. 448.
[3] La. Civ. Code art. 461. The civil code attributes different lengths of time to acquire ownership via acquisitive prescription depending on whether the thing is a movable or immovable.
[4] La. Civ. Code art. 471.
[5] La. Civ. Code art. 462.
[6] La. Civ. Code art. 3473.
[7] La. Civ. Code arts. 3743, 3475.
[8] La. Civ. Code art. 3486.
[9] Ford, 2024 La. App. LEXIS 605 at 2.
[10] Id.
[11] La. Civ. Code art. 3475.
[12] La. Civ. Code art. 3485.
[13] La. Civ. Code art. 3476.
[14] Ford, 2024 La. App. LEXIS 605 at 9-10.
[15] La. Civ. Code art. 3480; La. Civ. Code art. 3480 cmt (c).
[16] Before 1980, Louisiana’s property law allowed a husband to convey community property without his wife’s signature because he was the “head and master,” making him the “sole manager” of community property. Ford, 2024 La. App. LEXIS 605 n.3.
[17] Ford, 2024 La. App. LEXIS 605 at 7.
[18] Heirs of John Beckwith LLC v. Sims, 315 So. 3d 306 (La. App. 4 Cir. 3/10/2021).
[19] La. Civ. Code art. 3483 cmt (b).
Amy Duplantis Gautreaux is an oil and gas attorney with extensive experience representing upstream energy companies operating in Louisiana. With a focus on title examination, drafting, and interpreting contractual provisions in oil and gas and related contracts, Amy has handled complex multi-Parish projects offshore and in various oil and gas formations and fields throughout Louisiana. She is also skilled in analyzing HBP titles involving complicated mineral servitude and mineral royalty ownership interests. Amy has worked as an abstractor and landman in South Louisiana, which provides a unique perspective from which to advise Louisiana oil and gas clients.
Amy is admitted to practice in Louisiana and Texas and is affiliated with the Louisiana State Bar Association, Lafayette Parish Bar Association, and various professional landmen associations, including the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), Lafayette Association of Professional Landmen (LAPL), Baton Rouge Association of Professional Landmen (BRAPL), and Houston Association of Professional Landmen (HAPL). She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch – Oil and Gas Law in 2021 and named a Rising Star in Energy & Natural Resources by Louisiana Super Lawyers in 2017-2018.