[1340-01] Civil Law Property

Art. 1. Sources of law.

The sources of law are legislation and custom.

Art. 2. Legislation.

Legislation is a solemn expression of legislative will.

Art. 3. Custom.

Custom results from practice repeated for a long time and generally accepted as having acquired the force of law. Custom may not abrogate legislation.

Art. 4. Absence of legislation or custom.

When no rule for a particular situation can be derived from legislation or custom, the court is bound to proceed according to equity. To decide equitably, resort is made to justice, reason, and prevailing usages.

Art. 6. Retroactivity of laws.

In the absence of contrary legislative expression, substantive laws apply prospectively only. Procedural and interpretative laws apply both prospectively and retroactively, unless there is a legislative expression to the contrary.

Art. 9. Clear and unambiguous law

When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature.

Art. 10. Language susceptible of different meanings

When the language of the law is susceptible of different meanings, it must be interpreted as having the meaning that best conforms to the purpose of the law.

Art. 11. Meaning of words

The words of a law must be given their generally prevailing meaning. Words of art and technical terms must be given their technical meaning when the law involves a technical matter.

Art. 12. Ambiguous words

When the words of a law are ambiguous, their meaning must be sought by examining the context in which they occur and the text of the law as a whole.

Art. 13. Laws on the same subject matter

Laws on the same subject matter must be interpreted in reference to each other.

Art. 24. Kinds of persons.

There are two kinds of persons: natural persons and juridical persons. A natural person is a human being. A juridical person is an entity to which the law attributes personality, such as a corporation or a partnership. The personality of a juridical person is distinct from that of its members.

Art. 448. Division of things.

Things are divided into common, public, and private; corporeals and incorporeals; and movables and immovables.

Art. 449. Common Things.

Common things may not be owned by anyone. They are such as the air and the high seas that may be freely used by everyone conformably with the use for which nature has intended them.

Art. 450. Public things.

Public things are owned by the state or its political subdivisions in their capacity as public persons. Public things that belong to the state are such as running waters, the waters and bottoms of natural navigable water bodies, the territorial sea, and the seashore. Public things that may belong to political subdivisions of the state are such as streets and public squares.

Art. 451. Seashore.

Seashore is the space of land over which the waters of the sea spread in the highest tide during the winter season.

Art. 452. Public things and common things subject to public use.

Public things and common things are subject to public use in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Everyone has the right to fish in the rivers, ports, roadsteads, and harbors, and the right to land on the seashore, to fish, to shelter himself, to moor ships, to dry nets, and the like, provided that he does not cause injury to the property of adjoining owners.

The seashore within the limits of a municipality is subject to its police power, and the public use is governed by municipal ordinances and regulations.

Art. 453. Private things.

Private things are owned by individuals, other private persons, and by the state or its political subdivisions in their capacity as private persons.

Art. 454. Freedom of disposition by private persons.

Owners of private things may freely dispose of them under modifications established by law.

Art. 455. Private things subject to public use.

Private things may be subject to public use in accordance with law or by dedication.

Art. 456. Banks of navigable rivers or streams.

The banks of navigable rivers or streams are private things that are subject to public use. The bank of a navigable river or stream is the land lying between the ordinary low and the ordinary high stage of the water. Nevertheless, when there is a levee in proximity to the water, established according to law, the levee shall form the bank.

Art. 461. Corporeals and incorporeals.

Corporeals are things that have a body, whether animate or inanimate, and can be felt or touched. Incorporeals are things that have no body, but are comprehended by the understanding, such as the rights of inheritance, servitudes, obligations, and right of intellectual property.

Art. 462. Tracts of land.

Tracts of land, with their component parts, are immovables.

Art 463: Component parts of tracts of land.

Buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground, standing timber, and unharvested crops or ungathered fruits of trees, are component parts of a tract of land when they belong to the owner of the ground.

Art. 464. Buildings and standing timber as separate immovables.

Buildings and standing timber are separate immovables when they belong to a person other than the owner of the ground.

Art. 465. Things incorporated into an immovable.

Things incorporated into a tract of land, a building, or other construction, so as to become an integral part of it, such as building materials, are its component parts.

Art. 466. Component parts of a building or other construction [1970-2005]

Things permanently attached to a building or other construction, such as plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical or other installations, are its component parts. Things are considered permanently attached if they cannot be removed without substantial damage to themselves or to the immovable to which they are attached.

Art. 466. Component parts of a building or other construction. [2005-]

Things that are attached to a building and that, according to prevailing usages, serve to complete a building of the same general type, without regard to its specific use, are its component parts. Component parts of this kind may include doors, shutters, gutters, and cabinetry, as well as plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, and similar systems. Things that are attached to a construction other than a building and that serve its principal use are its component parts. Other things are component parts of a building or other construction if they are attached to such a degree that they cannot be removed without substantial damage to themselves or to the building or other construction.

Art. 467. Immovables by declaration.

The owner of an immovable may declare that machinery, appliances, and equipment owned by him and placed on the immovable, other than his private residence, for its service and improvement are deemed to be its component parts. The declaration shall be filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the immovable is located.

Art. 468. Deimmobilization.

Component parts of an immovable so damaged or deteriorated that they can no longer serve the use of lands or buildings are deimmobilized. The owner may deimmobilize the component parts of an immovable by an act translative of ownership and delivery to acquirers in good faith. In the absence of rights of third persons, the owner may deimmobilize things by detachment or removal.

Art. 469. Transfer or encumbrance of immovable.

The transfer or encumbrance of an immovable includes its component parts.

Art. 470. Incorporeal immovables.

Rights and actions that apply to immovable things are incorporeal immovables. Immovables of this kind are such as personal servitudes established on immovables, predial servitudes, mineral rights, and petitory or possessory actions.

Art. 471. Corporeal movables.

Corporeal movables are things, whether animate or inanimate, that normally move or can be moved from one place to another.

Art. 472. Building materials.

Materials gathered for the erection of a new building or other construction, even though deriving from the demolition of an old one, are movables until their incorporation into the new building or after construction. Materials separated from a building or other construction for the purpose of repair, addition, or alteration to it, with the intention of putting them back, remain immovables.

Art. 473. Incorporeal movables.

Rights, obligations, and actions that apply to a movable thing are incorporeal movables. Movables of this kind are such as bonds, annuities, and interests or shares in entities possessing juridical personality. Interests or shares in a juridical person that owns immovables are considered as movables as long as the entity exists; upon its dissolution, the right of each individual to a share in the immovables is an immovable.

Art. 474. Movables by anticipation.

Unharvested crops and ungathered fruits of trees are movables by anticipation when they belong to a person other than the landowner. When encumbered with security rights of third persons, they are movables by anticipation insofar as the creditor is concerned. The landowner may, by act translative of ownership or by pledge, mobilize by anticipation unharvested crops and ungathered fruits of trees that belong to him.

Art. 475. Things not immovable.

All things, corporeal or incorporeal, that the law does not consider as immovables, are movables.

Art. 478. Resolutory condition; real right in favor of other person.

The right of ownership may be subject to a resolutory condition, and it may be burdened with a real right in favor of another person as allowed by law. The ownership of a thing burdened with a usufruct is designated as naked ownership.

Art. 479. Necessity of a person.

The right of ownership may exist only in favor of a natural person or a juridical person.

Art. 480. Co-ownership.

Two or more persons may own the same thing in indivision, each having an undivided share.

Art. 481. Ownership and possession distinguished.

The ownership and the possession of a thing are distinct. Ownership exists independently of any exercise of it and may not be lost by nonuse. Ownership is lost when acquisitive prescription accrues in favor of an adverse possessor.

Art. 482. Accession.

The ownership of a thing includes by accession the ownership of everything that it produces or is united with it, either naturally or artificially, in accordance with the following provisions.

Art. 483. Ownership of fruits by accession.

In the absence of rights of other persons, the owner of a thing acquires the ownership of its natural and civil fruits.

Art. 486. Possessor's right to fruits.

A possessor in good faith acquires the ownership of fruits he has gathered. If he is evicted by the owner, he is entitled to reimbursement of expenses for fruits he was unable to gather. A possessor in bad faith is bound to restore to the owner the fruits he has gathered, or their value, subject to his claim for reimbursement of expenses.

Art. 487. Possessor in good faith; definition.

For purposes of accession, a possessor is in good faith when he possesses by virtue of an act translative of ownership and does not know of any defects in his ownership. He ceases to be in good faith when these defects are made known to him or an action is instituted against him by the owner for the recovery of the thing.

Art. 488. Products; reimbursement of expenses.

Products derived from a thing as a result of diminution of its substance belong to the owner of that thing. When they are reclaimed by the owner, a possessor in good faith has the right to reimbursement of his expenses. A possessor in bad faith does not have this right.

Art. 496. Constructions by possessor in good faith.

When constructions, plantings, or works are made by a possessor in good faith, the owner of the immovable may not demand their demolition and removal. He is bound to keep them and at his option to pay to the possessor either the cost of the materials and of the workmanship, or their current value, or the enhanced value of the immovable.

Art. 497. Constructions by bad faith possessor.

When constructions, plantings, or works are made by a bad faith possessor, the owner of the immovable may keep them or he may demand their demolition and removal at the expense of the possessor, and, in addition, damages for the injury that he may have sustained. If he does not demand demolition and removal, he is bound to pay at his option either the current value of the materials and of the workmanship of the separable improvements that he has kept or the enhanced value of the immovable.

Art. 500. Shore of the sea or of a lake.

There is no right to alluvion or dereliction on the shore of the sea or of lakes.

Art. 502. Sudden action of waters.

If a sudden action of the waters of a river or stream carries away an identifiable piece of ground and unites it with other lands on the same or on the opposite bank, the ownership of the piece of ground so carried away is not lost. The owner may claim it within a year, or even later, if the owner of the bank with which it is united has not taken possession.

Art. 503. Island formed by river opening a new channel.

When a river or stream, whether navigable or not, opens a new channel and surrounds riparian land making it an island, the ownership of that land is not affected.

Art. 504. Ownership of abandoned bed when river changes course.

When a navigable river or stream abandons its bed and opens a new one, the owners of the land on which the new bed is located shall take by way of indemnification the abandoned bed, each in proportion to the quantity of land that he lost. If the river returns to the old bed, each shall take his former land.

Art. 505. Islands and sandbars in navigable rivers.

Islands, and sandbars that are not attached to a bank, formed in the beds of navigable rivers or streams, belong to the state.

Art. 506. Ownership of beds of nonnavigable rivers or streams.

In the absence of title or prescription, the beds of nonnavigable rivers or streams belong to the riparian owners along a line drawn in the middle of the bed.

Art. 526. Recognition of ownership; recovery of the thing.

The owner of a thing is entitled to recover it from anyone who possesses or detains it without right and to obtain judgment recognizing his ownership and ordering delivery of the thing to him.

Art. 527. Necessary expenses.

The evicted possessor, whether in good or in bad faith, is entitled to recover from the owner compensation for necessary expenses incurred for the preservation of the thing and for the discharge of private or public burdens. He is not entitled to recover expenses for ordinary maintenance or repairs.

Art. 528. Useful expenses.

An evicted possessor in good faith is entitled to recover from the owner his useful expenses to the extent that they have enhanced the value of the thing.

Art. 529. Right of retention.

The possessor, whether in good or in bad faith, may retain possession of the thing until he is reimbursed for expenses and improvements which he is entitled to claim.

Art. 531. Proof of ownership of immovable

One claiming the ownership of an immovable against another who has been in possession of the immovable for one year after having commenced possession in good faith and with just title or who has been in possession of the immovable for ten years shall prove that he has acquired ownership from a previous owner or by acquisitive prescription. In all other cases, he need only prove a better title.

Art. 532. Common author.

When the titles of the parties are traced to a common author, he is presumed to be the previous owner.

Art. 551. Kinds of fruits.

Fruits are things that are produced by or derived from another thing without diminution of its substance. There are two kinds of fruits; natural fruits and civil fruits. Natural fruits are products of the earth or of animals. Civil fruits are revenues derived from a thing by operation of law or by reason of a juridical act, such as rentals, interest, and certain corporate distributions.

Art. 794. Determination of ownership according to prescription.

When a party proves acquisitive prescription, the boundary shall be fixed according to limits established by prescription rather than titles. If a party and his ancestors in title possessed for thirty years without interruption, within visible bounds, more land than their title called for, the boundary shall be fixed along these bounds.

Art. 797. Ownership in indivision; definition

Ownership of the same thing by two or more persons is ownership in indivision. In the absence of other provisions of law or juridical act, the shares of all co-owners are presumed to be equal.

Art. 798. Right to fruits and products

Co-owners share the fruits and products of the thing held in indivision in proportion to their ownership. When fruits or products are produced by a co-owner, other co-owners are entitled to their shares of the fruits or products after deduction of the costs of production.

Art. 799. Liability of a co-owner

A co-owner is liable to his co-owner for any damage to the thing held in indivision caused by his fault.

Art. 800. Preservation of the thing

A co-owner may without the concurrence of any other co-owner take necessary steps for the preservation of the thing that is held in indivision.

Art. 801. Use and management by agreement

The use and management of the thing held in indivision is determined by agreement of all the co-owners.

Art. 802. Right to use the thing

Except as otherwise provided in Article 801, a co-owner is entitled to use the thing held in indivision according to its destination, but he cannot prevent another co-owner from making such use of it. As against third persons, a co-owner has the right to use and enjoy the thing as if he were the sole owner.

Art. 803. Use and management of the thing in the absence of agreement

When the mode of use and management of the thing held in indivision is not determined by an agreement of all the co-owners and partition is not available, a court, upon petition by a co-owner, may determine the use and management.

Art. 804. Substantial alterations or improvements

Substantial alterations or substantial improvements to the thing held in indivision may be undertaken only with the consent of all the co-owners. When a co-owner makes substantial alterations or substantial improvements consistent with the use of the property, though without the express or implied consent of his co-owners, the rights of the parties shall be determined by Article 496. When a co-owner makes substantial alterations or substantial improvements inconsistent with the use of the property or in spite of the objections of his co-owners, the rights of the parties shall be determined by Article 497.

Art. 805. Disposition of undivided share

A co-owner may freely lease, alienate, or encumber his share of the thing held in indivision. The consent of all the co-owners is required for the lease, alienation, or encumbrance of the entire thing held in indivision.

Art. 806. Expenses of maintenance and management

A co-owner who on account of the thing held in indivision has incurred necessary expenses, expenses for ordinary maintenance and repairs, or necessary management expenses paid to a third person, is entitled to reimbursement from the other co-owners in proportion to their shares. If the co-owner who incurred the expenses had the enjoyment of the thing held in indivision, his reimbursement shall be reduced in proportion to the value of the enjoyment.

Art. 807. Right to partition; exclusion by agreement

No one may be compelled to hold a thing in indivision with another unless the contrary has been provided by law or juridical act. Any co-owner has a right to demand partition of a thing held in indivision. Partition may be excluded by agreement for up to fifteen years, or for such other period as provided in R.S. 9:1702 or other specific law.

Art. 808. Partition excluded

Partition of a thing held in indivision is excluded when its use is indispensable for the enjoyment of another thing owned by one or more of the co-owners.

Art. 809. Judicial and extrajudicial partition

The mode of partition may be determined by agreement of all the co-owners. In the absence of such an agreement, a co-owner may demand judicial partition.

Art. 810. Partition in kind

The court shall decree partition in kind when the thing held in indivision is susceptible to division into as many lots of nearly equal value as there are shares and the aggregate value of all lots is not significantly lower than the value of the property in the state of indivision.

Art. 811. Partition by licitation or by private sale

When the thing held in indivision is not susceptible to partition in kind, the court shall decree a partition by licitation or, as provided in Paragraph B of this Article, by private sale and the proceeds shall be distributed to the co-owners in proportion to their shares. In the event that one or more of the co-owners are absentees or have not consented to a partition by private sale, the court shall order a partition by private sale and shall give first priority to the private sale between the existing co-owners, over the sale by partition by licitation or private sale to third parties. The court shall order the partition by private sale between the existing co-owners as identified in the conveyance records as of the date of filing for the petition for partition by private sale. The petition for partition by private sale shall be granted first priority, and the sale shall be executed under Title IX of Book VII of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Art. 817. Imprescriptibility of action

The action for partition is imprescriptible.

Art. 936. Continuation of the possession of decedent

The possession of the decedent is transferred to his successors, whether testate or intestate, and if testate, whether particular, general, or universal legatees. A universal successor continues the possession of the decedent with all its advantages and defects, and with no alteration in the nature of the possession. A particular successor may commence a new possession for purposes of acquisitive prescription.

Art. 1092. Third person asserting ownership of, or mortgage or privilege on, seized property

An intervener claiming the proceeds of a judicial sale does not thereby admit judicially the validity, nor is he estopped from asserting the invalidity, of the claim of the seizing creditor.

Art. 3412. Occupancy

Occupancy is the taking of possession of a corporeal movable that does not belong to anyone. The occupant acquires ownership the moment he takes possession.

Art. 3413. Wild animals, birds, fish, and shellfish

Wild animals, birds, fish, and shellfish in a state of natural liberty either belong to the state in its capacity as a public person or are things without an owner. The taking of possession of such things is governed by particular laws and regulations. The owner of a tract of land may forbid entry to anyone for purposes of hunting or fishing, and the like. Nevertheless, despite a prohibition of entry, captured wildlife belongs to the captor.

Art. 3416. Tamed wild animals

Tamed wild animals and birds are privately owned as long as they have the habit of returning to their owner. They are considered to have lost the habit when they fail to return within a reasonable time. In such a case, they are considered to have recovered their natural liberty unless their owner takes immediate measures for their pursuit and recapture.

Art. 3417. Domestic animals

Domestic animals that are privately owned are not subject to occupancy.

Art. 3418. Abandoned things

One who takes possession of an abandoned thing with the intent to own it acquires ownership by occupancy. A thing is abandoned when its owner relinquishes possession with the intent to give up ownership.

Art. 3419. Acquisition of ownership of abandoned domestic animals

To claim ownership of a domestic animal pursuant to Article 3419 or 3490, the possessor shall prove that the animal when acquired lacked a microchip or other owner-identifying information such as a collar, rabies tag, or tattoo. The presence of owner-identifying information creates a rebuttable presumption that the possessor has not satisfied the requirements for ownership under Article 3419 or 3490.

Art. 3420. Treasure

One who finds a treasure in a thing that belongs to him or to no one acquires ownership of the treasure. If the treasure is found in a thing belonging to another, half of the treasure belongs to the finder and half belongs to the owner of the thing in which it was found. A treasure is a movable hidden in another thing, movable or immovable, for such a long time that its owner cannot be determined.

Art. 3421. Possession.

Possession is the detention or enjoyment of a corporeal thing, movable or immovable, that one holds or exercises by himself or by another who keeps or exercises it in his name. The exercise of a real right, such as a servitude, with the intent to have it as one's own is quasi-possession. The rules governing possession apply by analogy to the quasi-possession of incorporeals.

Art. 3422. Nature of possession; right to possess

Possession is a matter of fact; nevertheless, one who has possessed a thing for over a year acquires the right to possess it.

Art. 3423. Rights of possessors.

A possessor is considered provisionally as owner of the thing he possesses until the right of the true owner is established.

Art. 3424. Acquisition of possession

To acquire possession, one must intend to possess as owner and must take corporeal possession of the thing.

Art. 3425. Corporeal Possession.

Corporeal possession is the exercise of physical acts of use, detention, or enjoyment over a thing.

Art. 3426. Constructive possession.

One who possesses a part of an immovable by virtue of a title is deemed to have constructive possession within the limits of his title. In the absence of title, one has possession only of the area he actually possesses.

Art. 3427. Presumption of intent to own the thing

One is presumed to intend to possess as owner unless he began to possess in the name of and for another.

Art. 3429. Exercise of possession by another

Possession may be exercised by the possessor or by another who holds the thing for him and in his name. Thus, a lessor possesses through his lessee.

Art. 3431. Retention of possession; civil possession.

Once acquired, possession is retained by the intent to possess as owner even if the possessor ceases to possess corporeally. This is civil possession.

Art. 3432. Presumption of retention of possession.

The intent to retain possession is presumed unless there is clear proof of a contrary intention.

Art. 3433. Loss of possession

Possession is lost when the possessor manifests his intention to abandon it or when he is evicted by another by force or usurpation.

Art. 3434. Loss of the right to possess

The right to possess is lost upon abandonment of possession. In case of eviction, the right to possess is lost if the possessor does not recover possession within a year of the eviction. When the right to possess is lost, possession is interrupted.

Art. 3435. Vices of possession

Possession that is violent, clandestine, discontinuous, or equivocal has no legal effect.

Art. 3436. Violent, clandestine, discontinuous, and equivocal possession

Possession is violent when it is acquired or maintained by violent acts. When the violence ceases, the possession ceases to be violent. Possession is clandestine when it is not open or public, discontinuous when it is not exercised at regular intervals, and equivocal when there is ambiguity as to the intent of the possessor to own the thing.