Murchison v. Trammel

737 So. 2d 932, 1999 WL 393989
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 16, 1999
Docket99-69
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 737 So. 2d 932 (Murchison v. Trammel) 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
Murchison v. Trammel, 737 So. 2d 932, 1999 WL 393989 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

737 So.2d 932 (1999)

John Paris MURCHISON, et ux., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Billy R. TRAMMEL, et ux., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 99-69.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

June 16, 1999.
Rehearing Denied July 29, 1999.

*933 Charles Overton LaCroix, Alexandria, for John Paris Murchison, et ux.

Ricky L. Sooter, Alexandria, for Billy R. Trammel, et ux.

Before DOUCET, Chief Judge, PETERS, and GREMILLION, Judges.

GREMILLION, Judge.

This is a boundary action. The plaintiffs, John and Laura Murchison, appeal the trial court's judgment fixing the northern boundary between property owned by them and the southern boundary of property owned by the defendants, Billy and Robbi Trammel. We affirm.

The main issue of this appeal is whether the trial court erred in determining that the Trammels are the owners of a sixty-foot strip of land located between property which they purchased at a sheriffs sale.

FACTS

The parties' ancestor in title is Darrell Van Willet, Jr. On March 28, 1983, Darrell and his former wife purchased two tracts of property from Martin Park, Inc. One of these tracts contained 161.23 acres and is located in Pineville. Both tracts of land which are at issue in this appeal were contained within this 161.23 acres. Intending to develop this tract as "The Oaks Subdivision," Darrell obtained a preliminary filing plat of the property from Thomas David, Jr., a surveyor. The subdivision contained eighteen lots and a right-of-way, "Jasmine Drive." On March 23, 1988, David prepared a survey of the northern 73.36 acres of the tract. This survey showed the exterior boundaries of the property, and included Lots One and Sixteen and the proposed "Jasmine Drive" *934 from the preliminary filing plat. This sixty foot right-of-way formed the eastern boundary of Lot One and the western boundary of Lot Sixteen. The Oaks Subdivision was never developed.

On April 11, 1988, Darrell mortgaged a portion of the 161.23 acre tract of land to Hibernia National Bank for $700,000.00. The property mortgaged was described as:

A certain piece, parcel or lot of ground, together with all improvements thereon, rights, ways and privileges thereunto belonging or in any way appertaining, being, lying and situated in Section 4, Township 4 North, Range 1 East of the Louisiana Meridian, near the City of Pineville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana and being more particularly described as follows to-wit:
A tract of 73.36 acres more or less which is more fully depicted on the plat of survey prepared by Pan American Engineers dated March 23, 1988, same being attached hereto, paraphed herewith and made a part hereof for greater certainty of description.

A portion of this property was released from Hibernia's mortgage on January 31, 1989. The next day, Darrell sold the released property to his brother and his brother's wife, John and Shirley Willet, for $360,000.00. The description of the property released and sold to the Willets was described as:

A certain piece, parcel or lot of ground, together with all improvements thereon, rights, ways and privileges there unto belonging or in any way appertaining, being, lying and situated in Section 4, Township 4 North, Range 1 East of the Louisiana meridian, near the City of Pineville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana and being more particularly described as follows to-wit:
A tract of 73.36 acres more or less (described by metes and bounds on the description attached hereto as Exhibit "A") which is more fully depicted on the plat of survey prepared by Pan American Engineers dated March 23, 1988, same being attached hereto as Exhibit "B", and paraphed herewith and made a part hereof for greater certainty of description.
LESS AND EXCEPT:
Lots one (1) and sixteen (16) of the 73.36 acre tract more fully depicted on the plat of survey prepared by Pan American Engineers dated March 23, 1988, same being attached hereto, as Exhibit "B", paraphed herewith and made a part hereof for greater certainty of description.

Both the Partial Release and the Cash Sale contained the statement, "The tract made the subject of this Partial Release [Cash Sale] is outlined in yellow on Exhibit `B'." Thus, Darrell sold all of the 73.36 acres to the Willets with the exception of Lots One and Sixteen. That same day, John and Shirley mortgaged their property to First Bank in exchange for $800,000.00. The same property description was used in the collateral mortgage, and included the statement, "The tract made the subject of this Collateral Mortgage is outlined in yellow on Exhibit `B'."

Both Darrell's property and the Willets' property were eventually sold at sheriffs sales. Darrell's property, Lots One and Sixteen, was seized pursuant to a writ of fieri facias to satisfy a money judgment obtained against him by Hibernia. It was sold on January 29, 1992, to the Trammels for $45,000.01. The Sheriffs Deed transferring the property to the Trammels was filed in the public records on February 3, 1992. The Willets' property, the remaining acreage, was sold due to delinquent taxes, first on July 18, 1990, to JOLA, Inc., and then again on May 8, 1991, to John D. Holmes.

Realizing that there was a problem with their southern boundary, the Trammels drafted a Boundary Agreement to establish the boundary between their property and that owned by the Willets. The agreement also contained a provision stating, "Appearers, JOLA, INC. and JOHN *935 D. HOLMES further declared that they are appearing herein for the purpose of consenting to and ratifying the boundary agreement herein made to the extent that they have an interest in and to the property herein mentioned." Attached to this agreement was a February 19, 1992 survey of the property. The boundary is described in the Boundary Agreement as:

Commencing at the point where the east line of the Northwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 4, T4N, R1E, intersects the south right-of-way line of Pinehurst Drive, said point being marked with a ½" iron rod, as shown on plat of survey of Pan American Engineers, dated March 23, 1988, annexed hereto, and from said point run South 00° 14' 30" East along the east line of said northwest quarter a distance of 420.00 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING. From said point of beginning run North 89° 34' 42" West a distance of 584.30 feet to a point; thence run North 01° 53' 20" East a distance of 248.33 feet to a point; thence run North 12° 23' 03" East a distance of 21.40 feet to a point; thence run South 89° 50' 55" West a distance of 738.62 feet to a point; being outlined in red on copy of Certificate of Survey prepared by Paul N. Fontenot, Registered Land Surveyor, dated February 19, 1992, annexed hereto and made a part hereof for greater particularity of description.

The Trammels executed this agreement on April 6, 1992. It was executed by John Murchison for JOLA on April 23, 1992, but was never executed by the Willets or John D. Holmes. The Boundary Agreement was filed in the conveyance records on February 28, 1997, following the commencement of this suit.

The day after John executed the Boundary Agreement, the tax sale to John D. Holmes was redeemed by John Willet, as evidenced by the redemption certificate filed in the conveyance records that same day. Also filed that day was an Extract of Dation en Paiement by Murchison. The extract, executed September 29, 1990, transferred the same property from JOLA to Murchison in satisfaction of a $28,500.00 debt.

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

Related

Mathews v. Mathews
817 So. 2d 418 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
Brown v. Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development
746 So. 2d 772 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
737 So. 2d 932, 1999 WL 393989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murchison-v-trammel-lactapp-1999.