Plaquemines Parish Commission Council v. Hero Lands Co.

380 So. 2d 722, 1980 La. App. LEXIS 3477
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 7, 1980
DocketNo. 10713
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 380 So. 2d 722 (Plaquemines Parish Commission Council v. Hero Lands Co.) 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
Plaquemines Parish Commission Council v. Hero Lands Co., 380 So. 2d 722, 1980 La. App. LEXIS 3477 (La. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

CHEHARDY, Judge.

Defendants-appellants, Hero Lands Company, C. J. Jackson and Leon “Sam” Du-plessis, appeal from a preliminary injunction enjoining defendants from excavating, selling and hauling earth material from Plaquemines Parish property of defendant Hero Lands over which plaintiff enjoys a servitude of drainage; from using any part of “Bucaneer Road” adjacent to the above servitude for any purpose not in accordance with the express provisions of the March 5, 1974 Plaquemines Parish letter of permission to construct and use a shell road; from conducting the business of excavating and selling earth material and/or operating a dump in any area in the Parish of Plaque-mines having an A-ll zoning classification without prior permission from the Plaque-mines Parish Commission Council and from excavating and selling earth material and/or operating a dump in the Parish of Plaquemines without an occupational license from the Parish of Plaquemines.

On August 16, 1957, Hero Lands Company and others, by signed agreement, granted “ * * * unto the said Jefferson & Plaquemines Drainage District surface ser-vitudes or the right of use for drainage canal construction and maintenance in their respective ownerships * * *.” By written agreement dated September 1,1965, the Jefferson and Plaquemines Drainage District granted surface servitudes for the establishment and maintenance of a system or network of drainage canals, seepage ditches and for road or highway purposes. It was further agreed that rights of ways for drainage canal purposes are paramount. On appeal we are concerned with only one of the drainage servitudes referred to in the 1965 agreement. In 1969 the Plaquemines Parish Commission Council took over the rights and obligations of the drainage district as to lands lying in Plaquemines Parish.

In 1973 Hero Lands requested and obtained permission from the parish to build Bu-caneer Road, which for much of its length would run alongside the northern edge of the drainage canal and within the servitude which is the subject of this suit. The March 5, 1974 letter of permission contained the proviso that the Bucaneer Road be strictly private in nature for the private use of Hero Lands Company, New City Company and Hero Wall Company and for use of their lessees for raising cattle and/or other agricultural purposes.

Plaintiff contends that due to the “control” granted drainage districts by L.R.S. 38:113, Hero Lands Company cannot remove dirt from the spoil area of the drainage servitude without permission of the drainage district; that such removal interferes with the drainage servitudes; that Hero Lands Company’s actions in selling the spoil and permitting the dumping of tree stumps without permission of the Plaquemines Parish Commission Council constituted a violation of the Plaquemines Parish zoning ordinance. Plaintiff further contends that Hero Lands failed to obtain the necessary occupational licenses from [724]*724Plaquemines Parish to engage in the business of selling spoil and operating a dump. There is testimony that this spoil is needed and also could be used to buttress levees and other drainage systems throughout Plaquemines Parish; that Hero Lands actually sold spoil from the drainage servitude over a 9-year period; that these sales amounted to $3,000; that the deposit of tree stumps was confined to a relatively small area; that this dumping, without payment to Hero Lands, was for the purpose of raising the level of Hero Lands; and that Hero Lands allowed the use of Bucaneer Road for this purpose.

The legal issues are these: Does earth material removed from the servitude of drainage right of way belong to the owner of the land on which the servitude is granted with all rights of ownership, including right to sell and remove, or does such earth material belong to the grantee of the servitude? We must also determine if the sale of such material dug from the drainage servitude and the use of plaintiff’s property for the dumping of tree stumps was in violation of the zoning laws of Plaquemines Parish regulating the use of A-2 rural or agricultural property and whether defendants’ actions required either parish or state occupational licenses. At issue also is whether or not the use of Bucaneer Road for this purpose is in violation of the permit of March 5, 1974. Should defendant Hero Lands have first secured an occupational license from Plaquemines Parish? Plaintiff’s testimony is that dirt is vitally needed for preserving the efficiency and for the maintenance of the drainage system, including its levees, as well as the future development of the drainage system area. Plaintiff contends it should have reasonable control of the spoil area for a reasonable purpose; that it does not seek unlimited control; and that the control it seeks over the spoils is permitted under the provisions of L.R.S. 38:113, which reads:

“The various levee and drainage districts shall have control over all public drainage channels within the limits of their districts and for a space of one hundred feet on each side of the channel, selected by the district and recommended and approved by the Department of Public Works, whether the drainage channels have been improved by the levee or drainage district, or have been adopted without improvement as necessary parts of or extensions to improved drainage channels, and may adopt rules and regulations for preserving the efficiency of the drainage channels.”

Justice v. Bourgeois, 288 So.2d 106 (La.App.4th Cir. 1974), is relied upon by defendants as authority for their right to remove and sell the spoil from the servitude. The court said at page 109:

“We first consider the question of ownership of the soil dredged from the canal. The case of Scott v. Red River-Bayou Pierre Levee & D. Dist., 7 So.2d 429 (La. App.2d Cir. 1942), discussed Act 61 of 1904 (LSA — R.S. 38:113) and determined that the authority granted to the governmental agency over private property was restricted to maintaining the efficiency of the public drainage channels and did not vest the ownership in the levee or drainage district. As pointed out in the case of Grayson v. Commissioners of Bossier Levee District, 229 So.2d 139 (La.App.2d Cir. 1969), the Scott case did not hold that Act 61 of 1904 created an additional servitude for drainage other than the one provided by LSA-C.C. art. 665. Under the reasoning of Scott, we conclude in this case the spoil dredged from the canal on the Justice property is one of the rights of ownership vested in the plaintiffs, and therefore the Parish had no authority to give it away.”

The Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit in Scott v. Red River-Bayou Pierre Levee and D. Dist., 7 So.2d 429 (1942), rejected the drainage district’s contention that the “control” envisioned in the statute was all-encompassing. Said the Court:

“It is our opinion the control vested in the drainage District by said Act has reference only to maintaining the efficiency of the canal after it has been constructed and does not vest ownership of the strip of land in the drainage District. * * * ” 7 So.2d at 432.

[725]*725We agree with defendants’ position that Justice v. Bourgeois, supra, decided that the spoil dredged from the canal servitude belongs to the landowner, not to the public body. Plaintiff does not deny defendants’ ownership of the spoil, but does dispute defendants’ right to remove and/or sell the spoil without the permission of plaintiff.

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Related

PLAQUEMINES PARISH COM'N COUNCIL v. Hero Lands Co.
388 So. 2d 790 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1980)
Plaquemines Parish Commission Council v. Hero Lands Co.
383 So. 2d 13 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1980)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
380 So. 2d 722, 1980 La. App. LEXIS 3477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plaquemines-parish-commission-council-v-hero-lands-co-lactapp-1980.