Opinion ID: 1841264
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the nature of possession and the possessory action

Text: Possession is defined in La.C.C. art. 3421 as 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.... La.C.C. art. 3422 provides further: Possession is a matter of fact; nevertheless, one who has possessed a thing for over a year acquires the right to possess it. Comment (b) to this latter article underscores the distinction between acquiring possession and acquiring the right to possess. [9] Comment (b) provides in pertinent part: Louisiana legislation and well-settled jurisprudence distinguish between possession, which is the exercise of factual authority over a thing, and the right to possess, which one may acquire by exercising such authority for over a year. See, e.g., R.C.C. (1870) Articles 3454(2) and 3455. See also Liner v. Louisiana Land and Exploration Co., 319 So.2d 766 (La.1975): For example, the word possession in Civil Code Articles 3426-3431, 3436-3438, means physical control over a thing that one has acquired with the intent to own it. (Possession as physical control leads, of course, to acquisitive prescription if it has the attributes required by Article 3487 of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1870.) This physical control alone, however, does not give rise to possessory protection or to acquisitive prescription. Possessory protection is predicated on acquisition of the right to possess. This right to possess is acquired by one who has been for a year in peaceable and uninterrupted possession of an estate. Civil Code Articles 3454(2), 3456; cf. id. Art. 3449(2). ... Once a person has possessed a corporeal thing, movable or immovable, in a manner which establishes a right to possession, and one's possession is subsequently disturbed in fact or in law, the Code of Civil Procedure provides a legal remedy. La.C.C.P. art. 3655 provides: The possessory action is one brought by the possessor of immovable property or of a real right therein to be maintained in his possession of the property or enjoyment of the right when he has been disturbed, or to be restored to the possession or enjoyment thereof when he has been evicted. La.C.C.P. art. 3658 sets forth the requirements for maintaining a possessory action. To maintain the possessory action the possessor must allege and prove that: (1) He had possession of the immovable property or real right therein at the time the disturbance occurred; (2) He and his ancestors in title had such possession quietly and without interruption for more than a year immediately prior to the disturbance, unless evicted by force or fraud; (3) The disturbance was one in fact or in law, as defined in Article 3659; and (4) The possessory action was instituted within a year of the disturbance. These articles on possession and possessory actions do not prohibit a possessory action against the state. They are written in broad and general terms (immovable property or a real right therein) and do not further define the kinds of immovable property which may or which may not be objects of possession, and later, of a possessory action.