A property boundary dispute between two neighbouring families in Louisiana went from arguments over a 70-foot strip of land to large “No trespassing” signs, bright lights, loud generators and a dead cow placed near the disputed boundary.
asserted
dispute → neighbour → boundary
The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, has now upheld a lower court ruling that fixed the boundary at an old downed fence and ordered one family to pay $15,000 in damages.
asserted
that → uphold → damages
Jesse Justin Colvin and Ruby Sue Hill Colvin bought a 23-acre property in Union Parish in 2012 and made it their home.
asserted
it → buy → 2012
Robert Bradford Jones and Roni Michelle Reppond Jones bought a one-acre property nearby in 2014 and also lived there.
asserted
Jones → buy → 2014
According to Find Law, the court record says the families were friends and good neighbours for more than a decade before the property line became disputed.
uncertain
line → accord → decade
The disagreement centred on a strip of timber and undergrowth about 70 feet deep between the properties.
asserted
disagreement → centre → properties
The Colvins argued that the strip was entirely within their property and pointed to 1989 and 2012 surveys.
asserted
strip → argue → surveys
The Joneses, however, said the boundary was an old combination or wire fence located further south.
asserted
boundary → say → ?
The fence was down, but remnants of it remained.
asserted
remnants → remain → it
As the disagreement continued, the Colvins put “No trespassing” signs along the surveyed property line.
asserted
Colvins → continue → line
When the Joneses continued to claim the disputed area, the Colvins put up larger signs.
uncertain
Colvins → continue → signs
The dispute eventually reached court in September 2023, when the Colvins filed a lawsuit seeking to have the boundary formally fixed.
asserted
boundary → reach → lawsuit
Court fixes boundary
asserted
Court → fix → boundary
The case involved several surveys and testimony about the old fence.
asserted
case → involve → fence
A 2012 survey by professional land surveyor James Michael Duty showed the “old wire fence (down)” south of the northern boundary of the Colvin property.
asserted
survey → show → property
Duty testified that the fence shown in his survey was in the same location as the downed combination fence identified in an earlier survey.
asserted
fence → testify → survey
Duty said the recorded property line was north of the old fence and that the 2012 survey matched the public records.
asserted
survey → say → records
Jesse Colvin also acknowledged that the 2012 survey referred to the old fence line.
asserted
survey → acknowledge → line
However, Jesse testified that he had the property surveyed again in 2022 because he did not know where the property line was.
asserted
line → testify → 2022
He said steel posts placed by his grandchildren were positioned according to that survey.
uncertain
posts → say → survey
He also acknowledged that before the dispute, he had never visited the northern boundary in question and had never kept livestock or cut trees there.
asserted
he → acknowledge → trees
The Joneses gave a different account of their use of the area.
asserted
Joneses → give → area
Robert Jones said he believed the old fence marked the boundary when he bought the property and that he had used the disputed area for hunting.
asserted
he → say → hunting
He admitted that he had not conducted a survey and did not know the exact property lines on the eastern and western sides of his property.
asserted
he → admit → property
The trial court considered the surveys, witness testimony and evidence before deciding that the title records could not settle the disputed boundary.
uncertain
records → consider → boundary
It found that the old downed fence represented the limits established by possession and fixed the boundary there.
asserted
fence → find → boundary
The Colvins challenged that decision before the appeals court.
asserted
Colvins → challenge → court
They argued that the boundary should instead be decided according to their title and the surveys.
uncertain
boundary → argue → title
The appeals court rejected the argument and said the trial court had not made a clear error in fixing the boundary at the old fence.
asserted
court → reject → fence
The Joneses also sought damages and a permanent injunction, saying the Colvins interfered with their use of their property.
asserted
Colvins → seek → property
According to the court record, Jesse Colvin installed orange construction fencing near the boundary and, on April 11, 2023, put a series of 8-by-12-foot commercial signs along the Joneses’ property line.
uncertain
Colvin → accord → line
The signs said “Private property, no trespass”.
asserted
signs → say → property
On May 4, 2023, Jesse moved one of his dead cows into the wooded area near the Joneses.
uncertain
Jesse → move → Joneses
He said he had placed it there temporarily until he found a place to bury it.
asserted
he → say → it
But the court noted that he did not deny telling Robert Jones during a recorded call, “I was fucking with you with the dead cow.”
asserted
I → note → cow
Later, on May 20, Jesse erected three larger signs, each measuring four feet by 16 feet and mounted on eight-foot poles.
uncertain
Jesse → erect → poles
They were placed about 10 feet from the northern boundary and faced the Jones property.
asserted
They → place → property
Two fluorescent orange signs carried the words “No trespassing from neighbours” along with poop-emoji symbols.
asserted
signs → carry → symbols
The third said “J-one hog farm coming soon”.
asserted
farm → say → ?
Jesse said the signs were prompted by a letter from Robert Jones.
asserted
signs → say → Jones
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
