## Facts

- Ashland Oil Company, Inc. and International Minerals and Chemical Corporation obtained a conventional, non-exclusive pipeline servitude across Palo Alto, Inc.’s land to construct and operate a single below-ground pipeline “for the transportation of carbon dioxide.”
- During negotiations, Palo Alto required (1) exclusive use for CO₂ transport and (2) a contractually shortened prescription-of-nonuse period of 12 months (instead of the Civil Code’s default period).
- Ashland initially used the line to transport CO₂ to support plant operations, but later ceased regular CO₂ transportation because it no longer needed the line for that purpose.
- To avoid loss of the servitude, Ashland periodically pushed CO₂ through the pipeline approximately every 11½ months and vented it, rather than using the pipeline as part of ongoing industrial transportation needs.
- Palo Alto contended these episodic, non-commercial flows were not “use” and sought termination of the servitude by prescription of nonuse; Ashland sought to enforce the servitude and to reform the public records to correct an alleged survey error.
- The trial court found the servitude was not used within the contractual 12-month period and declared it extinguished, denying Ashland’s enforcement and reformation requests.

## Issues

1. Whether sporadic, non-commercial movements of CO₂ through the pipeline performed solely to avoid prescription constitute “use” sufficient to prevent prescription of nonuse under a conventional servitude restricted to CO₂ transport and subject to a 12-month contractual prescriptive period.
2. Whether, after the servitude is extinguished by prescription of nonuse, the servitude holder may obtain reformation of public records to correct an alleged survey error related to the servitude.

## Decision

- The court of appeal affirmed the judgment extinguishing the pipeline servitude by prescription of nonuse under the contract’s 12-month period.
- The court held Ashland’s periodic “token” flows and venting of CO₂, undertaken only to keep the servitude from prescribing, did not qualify as “use” as contemplated by the servitude’s purpose and the parties’ agreement.
- Because the servitude was extinguished, the court affirmed denial of relief seeking enforcement of the servitude and reformation of public records tied to the extinguished right.

## Legal Principles

- Parties to a conventional servitude may contractually shorten the prescriptive period for nonuse from the Civil Code’s default rule, and courts will enforce the agreed period.
- Prescription of nonuse is evaluated under general prescription rules, including interruption and suspension, but requires qualifying “use” of the servitude.
- “Use” must reflect a genuine exercise of the servitude consistent with its agreed purpose; contrived, purely formal, or non-functional acts undertaken solely to avoid prescription do not prevent prescription of nonuse.
- Once a servitude is extinguished by prescription, claims premised on the continued existence of the servitude—such as enforcement and record reformation to reflect that servitude—fail for lack of a subsisting right.

## Conclusion

The court enforced a contractually shortened 12-month prescription-of-nonuse period and held that periodic, artificial CO₂ movements intended only to avoid prescription were not “use” of the pipeline servitude; the servitude was therefore extinguished, and related requests to enforce it or reform records were properly denied.


Ashland Oil Co. v. Palo Alto, Inc., 615 So. 2d 971 (La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 1993)