A decade of peaceful relations between neighbors in Union Parish, Louisiana, ended in a bitter court fight involving bright lights, power generators, large warning signs and a rotting cow carcass near a property line.
asserted
decade → end → line
A Louisiana appeals court has now upheld a lower court ruling that settled the dispute over a 70-foot strip of timberland.
asserted
that → uphold → timberland
, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a district court decision that placed the property line at an old downed wire fence.
asserted
that → affirm → fence
It also upheld damages of $15,000 against the landowners whose actions had led to the dispute.
asserted
actions → uphold → dispute
The ruling in consolidated docket numbers 56,654-CA and 56,655-CA requires Jesse Justin Colvin and his wife, Ruby Sue Hill Colvin, to pay $7,500 each to their neighbors, Robert Bradford Jones and Roni Michelle Reppond Jones.
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ruling → require → neighbors
It also permanently bars the Colvins from further disruptions along the property line.
asserted
It → bar → line
The dispute involved two neighboring properties in Farmerville, Louisiana.
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dispute → involve → Farmerville
Court records show that Jesse and Ruby Colvin bought a 23-acre property along Highway 828 on July 12, 2012, where they made their primary home.
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they → show → home
About two years later, on March 25, 2014, Robert and Roni Jones bought a neighboring one-acre property on Linville Fire Tower Road.
asserted
Jones → buy → Road
That relationship changed when they began arguing over a 70-foot-deep strip of timber and undergrowth between their properties.
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they → change → properties
The Colvins said the disputed strip was entirely inside their northern property line.
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strip → say → line
They relied on surveys completed in 1989 and 2012.
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They → rely → 1989
The Joneses disagreed.
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Joneses → disagree → ?
They said the true historic boundary was marked by an old combination wire fence farther south.
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boundary → say → fence
When the Joneses said they owned the wooded area, the Colvins put up "NO TRESPASSING" signs along the surveyed property line.
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Colvins → say → line
When the Joneses continued to claim the land, the Colvins replaced the signs with larger ones placed along the same surveyed line.
uncertain
Colvins → continue → line
The legal case began on September 8, 2023, when the Colvins filed a lawsuit in the Third Judicial District Court for the Parish of Union.
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Colvins → begin → Union
They asked the court to officially establish the property boundary.
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They → ask → boundary
The Joneses then filed their own claims.
uncertain
Joneses → file → claims
They asked for a permanent injunction and money damages, saying the Colvins had seriously interfered with their use of their home through repeated acts of intimidation.
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Colvins → ask → intimidation
According to testimony and court records published by Justia Law, the Colvins put orange construction fencing along the disputed area.
uncertain
Colvins → accord → area
They also aimed high-intensity lights at the Joneses' property, including their backyard.
asserted
They → aim → backyard
They ran loud power generators from dusk until dawn and placed a dead cow beside the survey line near the boundary.
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They → run → boundary
After a bench trial, District Judge Monique Babin Clement ruled for the Joneses.
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Clement → rule → Joneses
The trial court found that the legal boundary was the old combination fence, rather than the line shown on the newer survey.
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boundary → find → survey
Judge Clement issued a permanent injunction requiring the Colvins to remove signs, posts, lights and other flagging materials.
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Clement → issue → signs
The court also found Jesse Colvin liable for $7,500 in damages to each of the Joneses, for a total of $15,000.
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Colvin → find → 15,000
Appeals court confirms the boundary line
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court → confirm → line
The Colvins appealed to the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
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Colvins → appeal → Appeal
They argued that the trial court was wrong to place the boundary at the old downed fence, issue the injunction and award damages.
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court → argue → damages
A three-judge panel made up of Judges Hunter, Marcotte and Ellender rejected the Colvins' arguments and affirmed the trial court's ruling.
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panel → make → ruling
The decision was issued on January 14, 2026.
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decision → issue → January
The appeals court explained that the location of a disputed property boundary is a factual issue.
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location → explain → boundary
Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 786, a boundary can be fixed based on evidence of long-term possession when ownership cannot otherwise be clearly established.
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ownership → fix → possession
Evidence at trial showed that earlier owners of the Colvin property had treated the old wire fence as the practical boundary for many years.
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owners → show → years
Jesse Colvin also admitted during questioning that, before the dispute, he had never visited the northern boundary area involved in the case.
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he → admit → case
He had never kept livestock or cut trees there.
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He → keep → trees
Colvin also said he had the property surveyed in 2022 because he did not know where the property line was.
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line → say → 2022
He acknowledged that his grandchildren placed steel posts along the line based on that survey.
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grandchildren → acknowledge → survey
The appeals court found no clear error in the trial judge's decision to rely on the physical evidence and history of possession when setting the boundary at the old fence.
Upholding damages for neighbourly harassment
The appeals court also rejected the Colvins' challenge to the $15,000 damage award and permanent injunction.
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court → find → award
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
