Many Americans do not know that it is actually possible to legally acquire another person’s land without possessing fair title or good faith. Of course, specific guidelines must be followed, but with some will, knowledge, and close attention to detail, this process known as “adverse possession” can be surprisingly simple…
Imagine walking into your recently deceased parent’s home and discover that due to freezing temperature the pipes burst and there is water everywhere. You are shocked and angry because your parent’s beloved home is damaged significantly. Photographs and family memories that filled the home are now drowning in water. You…
A redhibitory defect is a problem with an article that renders it useless to the buyer. In Louisiana, although a seller owes no warranty for defects that are known to or should have been discovered by the buyer at the time of the sale, a seller does, by operation of…
In Louisiana, you cannot “disinherit” your children. What does this mean exactly? It means that upon death, Louisiana law will allow a decedent’s children to share in his or her estate, even if the decedent left those children out as beneficiaries. The left-out children are called “forced heirs,” and will…
Louisiana has a storied history with oil and gas drilling. Tracts of land have been drilled all over the state in search of black gold. Typically the oil and gas companies are liable to clean up any pollution and restore the land as it was pre-drill when they are finished…
When land is expropriated by the government, there are many questions concerning how much money the government will owe you. Courts consider factors such as the appraised value of the property, relocation costs, inconvenience, and other possible damages. See La. Const. art. I, §4(B)(5). The best lawyers are familiar with…
Some cases have a countdown clock attached to them. The question is, when does that clock start? Is it when the damage happens? Is it when the other party is certainly aware of the damage? The courts must consider the facts in each case to be sure that the prescriptive…
A recent case arising out of Tensas Parish, Louisiana, highlights the importance of checking on leases that burden any land before purchase. “Legacy lawsuits” are claims that oil and gas operations caused contamination on a property and generally name any operators who worked at the property and could have contributed…
Imagine that you and your spouse have spent years planning, waiting, and paying for the construction of your new home. Upon its completion, you excitedly move in, relieved that the wait is over and that you no longer have to stay in a little trailer next to the construction site.…
In Louisiana, the objection of prescription extinguishes a legal right of recovery when a party fails to exercise it over a given period of time. It is essentially a time limit on a claim, which can be raised in a couple of ways. Typically, it is raised by a peremptory…