Loutre Land & Timber Co. v. Roberts
Annotate this CaseA tract of land had been in the Roberts family for decades. A fence ran east to west in the middle of the property, and had been undisturbed for over thirty years. The amount of land north of the fence was approximately fifteen acres. The owners of the adjacent property, The Morgans, adversely possessed these fifteen acres for more than thirty years. In 2002, the Succession of Marie Morgan ("the Succession") sold its land to the Loutre Land and Timber Company (Loutre) through a full-warranty deed, which was recorded later that year. Edward Roberts conducted a survey of the land he inherited from his parents. His share included the fifteen acres adversely possessed by the Succession. He sought a quitclaim deed from the Succession to recognize his right to those fifteen acres. Despite the Succession's attorney informing Mr. Roberts that the land had been sold, the Succession executed a quitclaim to Mr. Roberts in 2003, which Mr. Roberts subsequently recorded. Later that year, Mr. Roberts destroyed pine seedlings within the fifteen acres along the fence. Loutre filed suit asserting its ownership of land and sought damages for the destruction to the trees. The trial court entered judgment on behalf of Loutre, and Mr. Roberts appealed. The appellate court reversed the trial court's judgment. The Supreme Court concluded that the trial court correctly determined that Loutre was the proper owner of the fifteen acres, and reversed the appellate court's decision and remanded the case for further proceedings.
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