Good v. Laird

935 So. 2d 809, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 1496, 2006 WL 1791152
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 30, 2006
DocketNo. 41,205-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 935 So. 2d 809 (Good v. Laird) 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
Good v. Laird, 935 So. 2d 809, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 1496, 2006 WL 1791152 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

GASKINS, J.

| ,The plaintiffs, William A. Good, Virginia Good, and Charles Douglas Johnston, obtained a permanent injunction against the defendants, Gene Laird, Jim Laird, and Tilford Watts.1 The injunction prohibits the defendants from hunting or grazing cattle on approximately 170 acres of land in Tensas Parish. The defendants have appealed the trial court ruling. We affirm in part and reverse in part the trial court judgment.

FACTS

The tract in question was owned by John M. Monsell. It contained approximately 170.82 acres. After his death, by judgment of possession, Charles Frederick Monsell (C.F. Monsell) inherited an undivided one-half interest in the property. Harriet Ann Monsell and Caroline Monsell each inherited an undivided one-fourth interest in the acreage. In August 1999, Harriet Monsell sold her undivided one-fourth interest to Jowayne Herring and his wife.

On February 7, 2001, C.F. Monsell gave the plaintiffs permission to hunt on the property. On February 8, 2001, C.F. Monsell granted a five-year lease to Gene Laird on 160 acres “commonly known as the Monsell Estate.” Douglas Johnston was a witness to the lease which was recorded in the Tensas Parish conveyance records on February 9, 2001.

On February 26, 2001, Jowayne Herring and his wife sold their undivided interest in the property to the plaintiffs. In a partition dated July 20, 2001, C.F. Monsell, Caroline Monsell, and the plaintiffs agreed to give the plaintiffs title to a specific tract containing approximately 42 acres. [ ?The partition was finally signed by all the par[811]*811ties on October 4, 2001, and was recorded in the parish conveyance records.

According to testimony at the hearing on this matter, in November 2001, the plaintiffs sold their 42-acre tract to Delta Diamond, Inc., a corporation controlled by the plaintiffs. C.F. Monsell and Caroline Monsell continued to be owners in indivi-sión of the remainder of the property.

On September 7, 2001, C.F. Monsell leased 160 acres known as the “Monsell Estate” to Gene and Jim Laird for nine years beginning on February 6, 2002, and ending February 5, 2011. This lease was intended to supplement and expand the lease of February 2001. The new lease contained the option to renew for an additional five years, beginning February 6, 2011, and ending February 5, 2016. The lease included hunting rights and was recorded in the parish conveyance records on September 19, 2001.

In June 2002, C.F. Monsell and Caroline Monsell sold a 3.764-acre tract to the plaintiffs. This sale was recorded February 23, 2004.2

In July 2004, the plaintiffs and C.F. Monsell executed an agreement to purchase Mr. Monsell’s undivided interest in the property. The printed provision that asserted the property was not subject to a lease was scratched out and initialed by all parties.

In August 2004, Caroline Monsell and C.F. Monsell identified the specific 42.6092 acres belonging to Caroline Monsell and the 81.7508 acres |sbelonging to C.F. Mon-sell. However, this document does not clearly purport to be a partition. The agreement was filed and recorded on August 24, 2004.

In August 2004, C.F. Monsell sold his undivided one-half interest in the property to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs then owned an undivided interest in the original tract with Caroline Monsell and the plaintiffs’ corporation owned a specific 42 acres of the original tract.

On October 4, 2004, the plaintiffs brought suit to obtain a preliminary injunction against the defendants seeking to prohibit them from hunting or grazing cattle on the property. In their petition, the plaintiffs claimed that the leases were invalid because all the co-owners had not agreed to the leases. The plaintiffs alleged that Tilford Watts had obtained hunting rights on the property from the Lairds.

A hearing on the matter was held on November 15, 2004. The plaintiffs testified that they own an undivided interest in approximately 124 acres of the remaining portion of the Monsell estate and also own, through a corporation, approximately 42 acres that was originally a part of the Monsell estate. They testified that they never agreed to any lease allowing the defendants to hunt or graze cattle on the property. Due to their lack of consent, they contend that the leases by C.F. Mon-sell, purporting to lease 160 acres of the “Monsell Estate” to the defendants, are null. Mr. Johnston testified that he witnessed the original lease for grazing cattle, but that he did not consent to it.

RTilford Watts testified that he has hunted on the property for many years. John Monsell originally gave his permission for Mr. Watts to hunt on the land, followed by C.F. Monsell, Jowayne Herring, and Gene and Jim Laird. Mr. Watts stated that he understood that he had permission to hunt on the approximately 120 acres owned by C.F. Monsell and Caroline Monsell after the partition in July [812]*8122001, but not on the 42-acre tract owned by the plaintiffs.

Jim Laird testified that the defendants never hunted or grazed cattle on the southern 42 acres of the property. At the close of the hearing, the trial court granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs.

In October 2005, the trial court granted judgment for the plaintiffs, permanently enjoining the defendants, Gene Laird, Jim Laird, and Tilford Watts, from entering, hunting, or grazing cattle on the disputed property. In reasons for judgment, the court noted that at the time the lease of February 7, 2001 was executed, C.F. Mon-sell owned an undivided one-half interest in the property; the Herrings and Caroline Monsell each owned an undivided one-fourth interest.

The plaintiffs acquired the Herrings’ undivided one-quarter interest in the property and the remaining interest in the property was owned one-half by C.F. Monsell and one-fourth by Caroline Monsell. The court noted that both leases described the property as approximately 160 acres commonly known as the “Monsell Estate.” This statement seemed to indicate that the lease was for the entire property. The court found that C.F. Monsell executed the leases without the consent of his co-owners and without | ^specifically noting that the lease applied only to his undivided interest in the property.

The court held that the leases were null under La. C.C. art. 805, because they both purported to lease the entirety of the property without the consent of all the owners. That statute provides:

A co-owner may freely lease, alienate, or encumber his share of the thing held in indivisión. The consent of all the co-owners is required for the lease, alienation, or encumbrance of the entire thing held in indivisión.

The court noted that, although under La. C.C. art. 805, C.F. Monsell could have leased his undivided interest in the property, that is not what is reflected on the document. The document purports to lease the entire tract. The court found both the leases to be null and void. Because the leases were null, the court found that Johnston’s notice of the lease by serving as a witness or any notice afforded by the public records doctrine was without effect.

The court further found that Tilford Watts and his family members had hunted on the property for years with the tacit consent of the Monsell family. Because Watts had no legal right to hunt on the property, the court granted the injunction prohibiting him and his family from hunting on the property.

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Bluebook (online)
935 So. 2d 809, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 1496, 2006 WL 1791152, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/good-v-laird-lactapp-2006.