Brown v. Wood
451 So. 2d 569 (1984)
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Rule of Law:
To acquire land beyond one's title through 30-year acquisitive prescription by tacking the possession of a predecessor, a juridical link (privity of title) to an adjacent property is required at the time of the original transfer. A quitclaim deed obtained years after the initial transfer, once a dispute has arisen, cannot retroactively create the necessary privity for tacking.
Facts:
- The Browns are the undisputed record title holders of a 5-acre tract of land in Caldwell Parish.
- In 1956, Charles and Vera Wood purchased an adjacent plot of land to the south from Ernest 'Buddy' Oliveaux.
- The 1956 deed from Oliveaux to the Woods did not include or describe the disputed 5-acre tract.
- Following their 1956 purchase, the Woods began to occupy and use the disputed tract, which was situated between their titled property and the Bouef River and was bisected by a highway.
- The Woods' predecessor, Oliveaux, had also possessed portions of the disputed tract before the 1956 sale.
- In 1981, after a dispute over ownership had already arisen between the parties, the Woods obtained a quitclaim deed from the Oliveauxs for the portion of the disputed land lying north of the highway.
Procedural Posture:
- Donald R. Brown and other heirs (Browns) filed a petitory action against Charles and Vera Wood (Woods) in the trial court to establish ownership of a tract of land.
- The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the Browns, recognizing them as the owners and ordering the Woods to surrender the property.
- The Woods, as defendants-appellants, appealed the trial court's judgment to the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.
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Issue:
Does a landowner acquire title to an adjacent tract of land through 30-year acquisitive prescription by tacking a predecessor's possession where the original deed did not include the disputed tract, and a quitclaim deed for part of the tract was obtained 25 years later for the purpose of litigation?
Opinions:
Majority - Hall, J.
No, as to the part of the tract north of the highway; Yes, as to the part south of the highway. A landowner can acquire title to adjacent land beyond their deed through 30-year prescription by tacking a predecessor's possession if a juridical link exists to the adjacent titled property. For the land south of the highway, the Woods' 1956 deed for the adjacent property created the necessary privity under La. C.C. Art. 794 to tack Oliveaux's possession up to the visible boundary of the highway, satisfying the 30-year requirement. However, for the land north of the highway, the 1981 quitclaim deed was a belated and suspicious attempt to create privity for the purpose of litigation. It could not retroactively establish the required juridical link for the 1956 transfer, and therefore, the Woods failed to prove prescriptive title to the northern portion.
Dissenting - Sexton, J.
The trial court's decision in favor of the Browns should be affirmed in its entirety. The Woods failed to properly plead or prove at trial the necessary juridical link required for tacking under Art. 794. The majority improperly assumes the existence of this privity from the record, even though it was not a contested issue at trial, thereby denying the Browns the opportunity to present counter-arguments. Without proven privity, the Woods' claim of prescription fails.
Analysis:
This case clarifies the requirements for 'tacking' possessions to achieve 30-year acquisitive prescription in Louisiana, distinguishing between general prescription and boundary prescription under C.C. Art. 794. It establishes that for boundary prescription, while the title does not need to describe the disputed land, a juridical link to an adjacent property at the time of transfer is essential. The decision serves as a strong precedent against using belatedly executed documents, like quitclaim deeds obtained during litigation, to retroactively create the privity necessary for tacking. This reinforces the principle that the legal basis for tacking must exist at the moment possession is transferred, not manufactured years later.
