Abram and Lot are coowners of a 1,000-acre tract of property in Canaan, Louisiana.
Both men graze their vast flocks of sheep and herds of cattle on the land. Lately, they’ve been having problems. Employees for both ranchers have been fighting among themselves, and the herds have been co-mingled. Lot wants out. Does he have to remain a coowner of the property with Abram?
Under Louisiana law, the answer is no. No one may be compelled to own property in division with another. A co-owner has the right to demand partition (or separation) of the land. The co-owners may agree on how to split the land, or if they can’t agree, then the courts can judicially partition it. The court will divide the land “in kind,” meaning they will simply separate it between the two if it can be done in areas of near equal value. If that cannot be accomplished, then the court will order the land to be sold with the proceeds to be split between the co-owners.
In this situation, it works out well for Lot. Abram simply tells him to pick which area of the land he wants, and he’ll take the other side. Lot picks the prime well-watered area near Sodom and Gomorrah. Well, maybe Lot isn’t so smart, after all.
David Doughty is an attorney for the law firm of Cotton, Bolton, Hoychick & Doughty.
