## Facts

- In 1983, Paul B. Wilkins, Judge Ronald L. Lewellyan, and Quinton May purchased approximately 1,286 acres in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, from International Paper for $525,000.
- Wilkins and Lewellyan later acquired May’s interest; Lewellyan then transferred his ownership interest to Ark-La-Miss Timber Company, Inc. (ALM), a land and timber management company of which he was president and sole shareholder.
- After the transfer, ALM and Wilkins co-owned the entire 1,286-acre tract.
- The property lies in the Castor Creek flood basin and includes bottomland hardwood and swamp areas, with creeks and frequent flooding; many areas (especially in the eastern portion) were reachable only by four-wheeler during wet periods.
- The tract was commonly discussed as having western and eastern halves:
  - The western half was more accessible and contained the only legal road access into the property.
  - The eastern half had no legal road access or utilities and was generally more difficult to reach.
- The co-owners used the land primarily for recreation (hunting and fishing) and also for timber production; after the purchase, timber was thinned or select cut from throughout the tract and sold for about $175,000.
- Wilkins built a log cabin on the western portion of the property and ran utilities to it at his expense; he later sought recognition that the cabin belonged to him separately rather than to the co-ownership.
- ALM filed suit seeking judicial partition of the co-owned land and requested partition by licitation (judicial sale).
- Wilkins agreed partition should occur but sought partition in kind, and by reconventional demand sought to be recognized as the separate owner of the cabin.
- The trial court recognized Wilkins as the cabin’s separate owner, ordered partition by licitation of the land, and cast Wilkins with all costs.
- Wilkins appealed the licitation order and the assessment of all costs against him; ALM answered the appeal and sought reversal of the cabin-ownership ruling.

## Issues

1. Did the trial court err by ordering partition by licitation rather than partition in kind of the 1,286-acre tract?
2. Did the trial court err in recognizing Wilkins as the separate owner of the log cabin constructed on the co-owned land?
3. Did the trial court err by assessing all partition costs against Wilkins?

## Decision

- The court of appeal affirmed the determination that the property could not be conveniently and equitably partitioned in kind and that partition by licitation was proper.
- The court of appeal affirmed the trial court’s recognition of Wilkins’s separate ownership of the cabin.
- The court of appeal amended the judgment, including the cost assessment, and affirmed the judgment as amended.

## Legal Principles

- Any co-owner may demand partition of co-owned property.
- Partition in kind is favored, but partition by licitation is authorized when the property cannot be conveniently or reasonably divided into lots of substantially equal value and utility.
- Whether an in-kind division is feasible is a fact-intensive determination that may consider terrain, flooding, access, and the practical effect of division on the property’s use and value.
- A trial court’s factual findings in a partition dispute (including feasibility of in-kind partition and ownership of an improvement) are reviewed on a deferential standard and will not be disturbed absent manifest error.
- A structure built by one co-owner on co-owned land may, based on the evidence and the parties’ conduct, be recognized as separately owned by the builder as between the co-owners.
- Costs in partition proceedings are subject to the trial court’s allocation and may be reallocated on appeal when the assessment is not supported by the posture of the case and the relief sought by both sides.

## Conclusion

The Louisiana Second Circuit held that the flood-prone, access-limited 1,286-acre tract could not be conveniently or equitably divided in kind, so partition by licitation was appropriate; it also upheld the trial court’s recognition that Wilkins separately owned the cabin he built on the property, and it amended the judgment to revise the allocation of costs before affirming as amended.


Ark-La-Miss Timber Co., Inc. v. Wilkins, 833 So. 2d 1154 (2002)