## Facts

- John A. Laney, III owned and lived in a New Orleans residence at 751 Filmore Avenue with his mother, Charmaine R. Johnson.
- Before his death, Laney executed a will granting Johnson a testamentary usufruct over the land and improvements at 751 Filmore Avenue.
- The will gave the naked ownership of the property to Laney’s two minor sons, John A. Laney, IV and Troy C. Laney, and placed that naked ownership in trust.
- The will named each child’s mother as trustee: Deborah Burkart Gambino (for John IV) and Julie Raymond Bonanno (for Troy).
- The property was insured through State Farm under both a homeowner’s policy and a flood policy, covering the building and contents.
- After Laney’s death, Johnson continued living in the home until Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005, causing severe damage that left the house uninhabitable; Johnson then relocated to Houston.
- State Farm issued four checks for covered losses (building and contents under each policy), payable jointly to Johnson (as usufructuary) and to the two trustees for the minor beneficiaries.
- Johnson filed a petition for declaratory judgment seeking a ruling that the insurance proceeds paid for loss of and/or damage to the home and its contents were subject to her usufruct.
- The trial court ordered that the checks be endorsed by all payees and deposited into the registry of the court pending a ruling.
- The trustees (on behalf of the naked owners) opposed Johnson’s claim to the proceeds and asserted that Johnson had abused the usufruct and that the usufruct should be terminated.
- The trial court granted Johnson’s motion for summary judgment, declaring that her testamentary usufruct attached to the insurance proceeds and finding no genuine issue of material fact requiring trial.
- The defendants appealed.

## Issues

1. Does a testamentary usufruct over a residence attach to insurance proceeds paid for hurricane damage or destruction of the residence (and related covered loss) under Louisiana law?
2. Did the defendants present a genuine issue of material fact—such as abuse of the usufruct—sufficient to defeat summary judgment or justify termination of the usufruct?

## Decision

- The Louisiana Fourth Circuit affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Charmaine R. Johnson.
- The court held that Johnson’s testamentary usufruct in the residence attached to the insurance proceeds paid as a result of Hurricane Katrina’s damage that rendered the home uninhabitable.
- The court rejected the defendants’ attempt to avoid that result through allegations of abuse of the usufruct, concluding that the record did not show facts that would warrant termination on that ground.
- Because the dispute turned on the legal effect of undisputed facts, summary judgment was properly granted.

## Legal Principles

- When property subject to a usufruct is destroyed or lost, the usufruct may attach to what replaces the property, including insurance proceeds paid for the covered loss. (See La. Civ. Code art. 617.)
- Insurance proceeds issued to compensate for damage to or loss of the thing subject to the usufruct are treated as a substitute for the thing, so the usufructuary’s rights are not extinguished solely because the physical property was destroyed.
- Summary judgment is appropriate when material facts are not genuinely disputed and the outcome turns on the application of law to those facts.
- Termination of a usufruct for “abuse” requires evidentiary support showing conduct that meets the legal standard for abuse; generalized accusations or disagreement over proceeds distribution does not, by itself, create a triable issue.

## Conclusion

Johnson v. Laney held that a mother’s testamentary usufruct over her deceased son’s residence did not disappear when Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the home; instead, under Louisiana law the usufruct attached to the insurance proceeds that substituted for the damaged property, and the trustees for the minor naked owners failed to show facts establishing abuse that could defeat summary judgment or justify terminating the usufruct.


Johnson v. Laney, 964 So. 2d 418 (2007)