Baker v. Romero
55 So. 3d 1035, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 126, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 1125 (2011)
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Rule of Law:
A plaintiff in a petitory action who is not in possession of immovable property must prove title good against the world when the defendant is in possession. This requires the plaintiff to succeed on the strength of their own title, not on the weakness of the defendant's claim to possession, and generally involves tracing an unbroken chain of title to a sovereign grant.
Facts:
- In 1987, Rogerist and Carol Romero purchased a tract of land and believed it included an adjacent forty-foot strip of property.
- From 1987 onward, the Romeros possessed and maintained this forty-foot strip.
- In July 2006, Lyn Baker acquired the “right, title and interest” in the disputed forty-foot strip from six of her relatives via a Cash Sale Deed for $10.
- Shortly after the purchase, Baker's attorney sent a certified letter to the Romeros informing them of her acquisition and her intent to survey the property.
- The Romeros refused to allow the surveyor hired by Baker access to the portions of the strip of land they occupied.
Procedural Posture:
- Lyn Baker filed a Petition for Injunctive Relief against Rogerist and Carol Romero in a Louisiana state trial court.
- The Romeros filed an Answer and Reconventional Demand, initially claiming both possession and ownership of the disputed property.
- Baker filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court denied.
- The Romeros later stipulated that they were asserting only a claim of possession and not title ownership.
- Following a bench trial, the trial court dismissed Baker's petitory action, finding she failed to meet her burden of proof, and granted the Romeros' possessory action.
- The trial court granted Baker's motion for a new trial to allow her to introduce additional evidence to meet her burden.
- After the second trial, the court again entered judgment for the Romeros, dismissing Baker's petitory action and granting the Romeros' possessory action.
- Baker (appellant) appealed the trial court's final judgment to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, with the Romeros as appellees.
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Issue:
In a petitory action, must a plaintiff who is not in possession of the property prove title good against the world, traceable to a sovereign grant, when the defendant is in possession of the disputed property but does not claim title?
Opinions:
Majority - Keaty, J.
Yes. In a petitory action against a defendant in possession, the plaintiff must prove title good against the world. The court reaffirmed the precedent set in Pure Oil Co. v. Skinner, which establishes that a plaintiff out of possession must rely on the strength of their own title and not the weakness of the defendant's. The court distinguished this case from Badeaux v. Pitre, which applied a lesser standard because the defendant there was a 'precarious possessor' (possessing with permission of another). Here, the Romeros were possessors in their own right, not precarious possessors. Therefore, Baker had the heavy burden of proving her title was 'good against the world.' Her failure to trace her title back to a sovereign grant was fatal to her claim, as a tax sale deed, which was part of her chain of title, presupposes prior private ownership and does not establish an origin from the sovereign. Since Baker could not meet this high burden of proof, her claim for ownership fails.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces the stringent 'good against the world' standard of proof for plaintiffs in Louisiana petitory actions when the defendant is in possession. It clarifies that this high burden applies even when the defendant explicitly disclaims title and asserts only a right of possession. The ruling underscores the legal system's strong protection of peaceful possession, making it difficult for a claimant to eject a long-term possessor without a nearly perfect chain of title tracing back to a sovereign grant. This serves as a significant hurdle for claimants whose titles may have gaps or rely on instruments like tax deeds that don't originate from the sovereign.
