Gaumnitz v. Williamson

824 So. 2d 531, 2002 WL 1842781
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 14, 2002
Docket36,177-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 824 So. 2d 531 (Gaumnitz v. Williamson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gaumnitz v. Williamson, 824 So. 2d 531, 2002 WL 1842781 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

824 So.2d 531 (2002)

John Robert GAUMNITZ, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Cordes WILLIAMSON, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 36,177-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 14, 2002.

*532 Leroy Smith, Jr., Tallulah, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

C. Calvin Adams, Jr., Tallulah, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before BROWN, GASKINS, and DREW, JJ.

GASKINS, J.

The plaintiffs, John Robert Gaumnitz, Bruce Wallace, and his wife Judy Wallace, appeal from a trial court judgment granting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in favor of the defendants, Betty Williamson, Sheri Kay Brown Morgan, Christie Brown Humble, Julie Brown McBroom, and Cindy Brown Hargrave.[1] For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court judgment.

FACTS

The plaintiffs claim that in June 2000, they purchased five acres of land in Madison Parish bordered by the Tensas River, the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, and by land owned by the defendants. The plaintiffs contend that there is no route to the property by any public road or right-of-way. According to the plaintiffs, the only land access to the tract is over the defendants' property. The plaintiffs purchased the property to establish a hunting camp. Due to its proximity to the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, it affords access to that area.

Shortly after the plaintiffs purchased the property, they inspected it and encountered Cordes Williamson. Mr. Williamson told them that he would not allow them to travel across his property to get to the disputed tract. Allegedly, Mr. Williamson told the plaintiffs that they would have to travel on the river if they wanted access to the property.

On February 6, 2001, the plaintiffs filed suit against Cordes and Betty Williamson to obtain the right of passage to their property, claiming that it was necessary to pass over the defendants' land to reach the five-acre tract. On February 22, 2001, the defendants responded with an answer and reconventional demand asserting a possessory action against the plaintiffs. The Williamsons claimed that they have possessed the disputed five-acre tract since 1963 and that their possession was disturbed by the filing of this lawsuit. The defendants also claimed that the plaintiffs trespassed on the property. They sought to enjoin the plaintiffs from interfering with the defendants' possession and enjoyment of the property.

The defendants filed exceptions of vagueness, prematurity, failure to join other alleged owners of the five-acre tract, failure to join indispensable parties, and no cause of action for failure to allege a justiciable interest. They claimed that the property description was too vague to *533 identify the disputed tract.[2] The defendants alleged that the plaintiffs failed to set forth the route they wanted for access and failed to join other landowners who might be called upon to grant access. The defendants asserted that the plaintiffs owned only a portion of an undivided interest in the disputed five acres. Likewise, the defendants claimed that they owned only a portion of an undivided interest in the land over which the plaintiffs sought a right of passage.

On October 23, 2001, the defendants petitioned for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and injunctive relief to prevent ingress and egress over their property and over the disputed tract. They claimed that the plaintiffs went onto the five-acre tract and erected a building, posted the property and painted boundary lines. The defendants alleged that irreparable harm would result if the TRO was not granted. The TRO was granted that day and a hearing was set within ten days.

On October 26, 2001, the plaintiffs filed a reconventional demand seeking to enjoin the defendants from coming onto the disputed five-acre tract and interfering with the plaintiffs' enjoyment thereof. They also asked for damages for the wrongful issuance of a TRO, including costs, expenses, and attorney fees.

On November 5, 2001, the defendants filed an exception of no cause of action to the reconventional demand. They argued that the plaintiffs failed to state a cause of action for injunctive relief because they failed to allege that a forced passage had been fixed by agreement or by judicial decision.

A hearing was held on November 5, 2001, on the defendants' exceptions to the plaintiffs' demand for passage and the defendants' request for a TRO.

On December 14, 2001, the trial court issued a judgment on the exceptions and the rule for a preliminary injunction. The court's ruling regarding the exceptions is not at issue here. The trial court made the TRO absolute and granted a preliminary injunction against the plaintiffs, their agents, employees, attorneys, or anyone acting on their behalf, enjoining them from entering the premises claimed by the defendants or utilizing ingress and egress on any property owned by the defendants to which they originally sought ingress and egress, or continuing with construction on the premises, cutting trees, painting boundaries or placing posted signs along the roads to the camp, or hunting on the premises of the disputed five-acre tract or property owned by the defendants. The preliminary injunction was to remain in effect until judgment on the main demand or until further order of the court.

*534 In reasons for judgment, the trial court found that the Williamsons acquired an undivided ½ interest in their property in 1963, together with three other couples, excluding the five-acre tract at issue here. R.F. Learned & Son, Inc., or its successor in title, owned the other ½ interest. In 1962, R.F. Learned & Son, Inc. leased its interest to Mr. Williamson for five years. Later, the Williamsons and James and Virginia Brown acquired the interest owned by the other two couples.

The plaintiffs acquired a full interest in the disputed five acres from the heirs of V.W.F. Jefferson. Jefferson purchased the property in 1929.

Regarding the claim for injunctive relief, the trial court noted that about eight months after the plaintiffs filed suit to assert a right of passage, Bruce Wallace began construction of a camp on the disputed property, began marking boundary lines, and traversed over the defendants' property to gain access to the disputed five-acre tract. The court found that the plaintiffs never went onto the property until after the purchase. It also pointed out that the boundaries were so vague that they cannot be determined without a judicial determination or an agreement of the parties. According to the court, the defendants have been using the property since 1962, "either as tenants, owners, overseers or usurpers." The question of whether their possession was sufficient to prevail in a possessory action is to be determined in a trial on the merits. The court found that until that determination is made, the defendants are entitled to maintain the status quo.

The trial court found that, in seeking a TRO, the defendants followed the requirements of La. C.C.P. art. 3603[3] in showing, by verified petition and specific facts alleged therein, that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage would result before the adverse parties or their attorney could be heard in opposition. The court found that the TRO was properly issued and the defendants were entitled to a preliminary injunction effective until the issues of right of passage and possession are determined at a trial on the merits.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Succession of Miriam Mandel Sklar
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2026
Delesdernier v. Floyd
182 So. 3d 1159 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Timmer v. Bynog
66 So. 3d 590 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
Jeremy R. Timmer v. Ansley Wade Bynog
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011
Louisiana Granite Yard, Inc. v. La Granite Countertops, L.L.C.
47 So. 3d 573 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Perdue v. Cruse
38 So. 3d 1235 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Apasra Properties, LLC v. City of New Orleans
31 So. 3d 615 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Ray Anding Const. v. Monroe City School Bd.
867 So. 2d 1005 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
824 So. 2d 531, 2002 WL 1842781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gaumnitz-v-williamson-lactapp-2002.