Williams v. Baughman

477 So. 2d 734, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 10041
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 19, 1985
DocketNo. 84 CA 0669
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 477 So. 2d 734 (Williams v. Baughman) 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
Williams v. Baughman, 477 So. 2d 734, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 10041 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

JOHN S. COVINGTON, Judge.

From a judgment rendered and signed January 3, 1984, plaintiff and defendants suspensively appeal.

Plaintiff, James Elude Williams, hereinafter “Williams”, initiated this proceeding by filing a pleading styled “Petition for Recognition as Owner of Immovable and Establishment of Boundary.” The petition alleged, inter alia, acquisitions which plaintiff deemed to be his and defendants James C. and Ruth Thomas Baughman’s, hereinafter “Baughman”, chain of title. Williams alleged that “the eastern margin and boundary of his property, being the edge of Ard’s Creek Swamp has not been established or set and he desires that the same be established by an actual course and distance description in addition to the natural boundary description in accordance with his deed.” Williams further alleged that he “has not been allowed to enter into possession of the property described and purchased by him due to acts of interference by James C. Baughman.”

In his answer, Baughman admitted he had refused to allow Williams “enter into possession”, as Williams alleged, denied that the description in Williams’ deed is either a natural boundary or one susceptible of establishment by an actual course and distance description, affirmatively pleaded superior title to the disputed area, and prescriptions of ten, twenty, and thirty years. In addition, Baughman pleaded acquiescence by Williams and his ancestors in title that Baughman’s description was correct and, further, that “this suit is not one properly ... an action in boundary because defendants’ title calls for a natural boundary which is ascertainable and obvious.”

Trial was held on July 1 and October 13, 1982 and taken under advisement. On November 29, 1982, District Judge John W. [736]*736Greene rendered his written reasons for judgment, concluding that: (1) “with the exception of the area covered by the pond waters which were backed up by the dam built by plaintiffs ancestor in title, Mr. Harris”, defendant Baughman “has proven open and notorious possession of subject property for a period well in excess of thirty years”; (2) “It is difficult to establish the exact edge of this pond area as it has existed through the years”; (3) “water has been standing in the pond area as a result of the dam built by Mr. Harris and maintained by plaintiff to the extent of the waterline drawn by Mr. Porter on May 10, 1982 [and] this water has been standing a sufficient length of time to prohibit defendant from acquiring the pond bottom by acquisitive prescription”; and (4) “since the common ancestor to both defendant and plaintiffs title executed the deed to plaintiffs ancestors in title before executing the deed to defendant, ... plaintiff has better title to this pond bottom.”

Based on the “description of line between James E. Williams and James Baughman” furnished by Richard R. Porter, Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor, on his letterhead and dated October 10, 1983, the judgment was prepared by Williams’ attorney and rendered and signed on January 3, 1984.

Mr. Porter was not the Court’s surveyor as that term is used in C.C.P. arts. 3691 through 3693. Instead, he was privately retained by Williams.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Appellant Williams assigns as errors the Trial Court’s

1. “finding that defendants had exercised continuous uninterrupted, public, un-equivocable (sic) possession under title of owner for thirty (30) years”; and

2. failure to establish the boundary between the parties based upon their titles and possession.

Appellants Baughman assign as errors the Trial Court’s

1. fixing the boundary between Williams and Baughman “partially along the north edge of Ard’s Creek and partially along the so called ‘pond’ water line dated May 10, 1982 instead of fixing the boundary as the north edge of Ard’s Creek as described in Baughman’s deed”; and

2. “not specifically finding that the property description in Williams’ title was unclear and therefore, not translative of title, or sufficiently clear with which to fix a boundary of any certainty.”

ISSUES

The issues presented on appeal are:

1. Did Baughman and his ancestor in title exercise continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public and unequivocal possession as owner for either ten or thirty years within the intendment of C.C. arts. 3424, 3475, and 3486?

2. Was either Williams’ deed or Baugh-man’s deed translative of title to the disputed area between the Eastern edge of Ard’s Creek Swamp and the Northern edge of Ard’s Creek?

3. Was Baughman’s possession of the disputed area interrupted by the creation of the pond, formed by dams built by Williams or his vendor, which inundated part of the area several years after Baughman’s possession had begun?

FACTS

J. Lawrence Conerly bought some land located in Washington Parish, stated to be 150 acres, from his siblings, by an Act of Sale under private signature executed at various places in Louisiana and Mississippi between January 11 and February 25,1935. The description of the land included the following language:

“... thence N. crossing Ard’s Creek to a point on the east edge of creek swamp; thence down eastern edge of Creek Swamp to where it intersects the eastern boundary to John Cracker Hr. 43; ... ”

By authentic act executed before W.I. Daniel, Notary Public, on January 22,1941, J. Lawrence Conerly sold the land acquired in 1935 to Jesse B. Harris; the Sale with [737]*737Mortgage was recorded in the Conveyance Records on January 24, 1941 and in the Mortgage Records on January 25, 1941; the quoted language was repeated verbatim in the Conerly to Harris sale and the stated acreage was the same.

By an authentic Act of Sale executed and recorded March 17, 1967, Harris sold the land, stated to be 159 acres, utilizing the same description of the two prior acts, to Williams, plaintiff-first appellant.

In the act by which J. Lawrence Conerly acquired from his siblings, Carl S. Conerly, brother of J. Lawrence Conerly, signed and was named as one of the vendors.

By an authentic Act of Sale with Mortgage executed before W.I. Daniel, Notary Public, on November 25, 1935 and recorded November 26, 1935, Carl S. Conerly sold to Lucious E. Magee “Fifty (50) acres of land, more or less” and stated one boundary thusly:

... “bound on the ... South and Southwest by North edge of Ard’s Creek swamp.”

Magee conveyed the same land back to Carl S. Conerly, by Act of Sale under private signature with acknowledgements before W.I. Daniel on January 13, 1937 and recorded January 19, 1937; the identical descriptive language quoted above was used in the 1937 Act.

By an Act of Sale under private signature dated June 21, 1941 and recorded July 11, 1941, Carl S. Conerly conveyed title to the “50 acres of land, more or less” to James C. Baughman, defendant-second appellant. With the exception of the word “swamp”, the description above was used in the deed, thus stating a boundary to be “South and Southwest by North edge of Ard’s Creek.”

DISTRICT COURT’S FINDINGS

In his written reasons for judgment, Judge Greene made findings of fact, stated in pertinent part as follows:

Plaintiff’s vendor ... constructed a dam on Ard’s Creek around 1947 which backed water up along the edge of Ard’s Creek.

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Bluebook (online)
477 So. 2d 734, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 10041, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-baughman-lactapp-1985.