Opinion ID: 1724054
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: usufruct of timberland

Text: Ordinarily, the right of the usufructuary extends only to the fruits of the thing subject to the usufruct. La.Civ.Code art. 550. On account of their slow growth and high value, trees are usually considered to be capital assets rather than fruits. In the case of an ordinary tract of land, the usufructuary may cut trees only for his personal use or for the improvement or cultivation of the land. La.Civ.Code art. 560. The revision comments to Articles 551 and 560 suggest that the continuous production of a tree farm or regularly exploited forest may be regarded as fruits, and thus belong to the usufructuary. However, we find that the designation of the timber as fruits or products is irrelevant in the instant case, since the right of a usufructuary to harvest trees from timberland is governed by a specific article, La.Civ. Code art. 562, which states: When the usufruct includes timberlands, the usufructuary is bound to manage them as a prudent administrator. The proceeds of timber operations that are derived from proper management of timberlands belong to the usufructuary. La.Civ.Code art. 13 provides that where two statutes deal with the same subject matter, they should be harmonized if possible. However, if there is a conflict, the statute specifically directed to the matter at issue must prevail as an exception to the statute more general in character. State ex rel. Bickman v. Dees, 367 So.2d 283, 291 (La.1978). Article 562 is a new provision, added in the revision of the Civil Code articles on usufruct in 1976. It provides for a different disposition of the proceeds of timber operations on timberland than from cutting trees on ordinary land. Since Article 562 is specifically directed to timberland, it must be treated as an exception to the general rules of usufruct. Two factual issues are raised under Article 562, namely, whether the tract is timberland and what constitutes proper management of that particular tract.