Pure Oil Co. v. Skinner

The Skinner family (defendants) owned land in Louisiana. In 1947, the Simonton family (defendants) enclosed one and one-half acres of that land and took possession of it. A dispute arose over the ownership of the land. The Pure Oil Company (plaintiffs) had oil, gas, and mineral rights on the land and deposited the royalties for those leases with the court for proceedings through which the Skinners and the Simontons could each assert their right to claim those royalties. The Skinners responded with a boundary action against the Simontons. Both the Skinners and the Simontons stipulated that the decision rendered in the royalties proceeding would determine the boundary issue as well. At trial, the Skinners proved a legitimate chain of title from the founding of the state of Louisiana until 1858 and then, after a 16-year gap, from 1874 until the present. The Simontons claimed to have ownership under a deed from a different chain of title, but the lower court found that this deed did not transfer title to the disputed land. The lower court held for the Skinners. Upon appeal, the court of appeal also ruled for the Skinners, holding that a party attempting to assert ownership of immovable property did not have to prove title good against the world but only better title than the party in possession of the property. The Louisiana Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to address alleged conflicts in these types of decisions among the lower courts.