From our private database of 22,600+ case briefs...
State v. Bourdon
Louisiana Court of Appeal
535 So. 2d 1091 (1988)
Facts
The Red River is a river in Red River Parish, Louisiana, that has meandered and changed course over time. Through cycles of erosion and sedimentary deposits, the river’s meandering created an oxbow lake, which is a horseshoe-shaped body of water created when the peninsula formed by a bend in a river is cut off and the flow of the river relocates away from that bend. The oxbow lake in this case came into being sometime after 1902, when the Red River abandoned its bed in that location and moved eastward. The state of Louisiana (plaintiff) filed a petitory action against Bourdon (defendant), the private landowners who had held the oxbow lake for 30 years, claiming that the state should own the lake as a navigable waterway. The trial court rejected the state’s demands and held that Bourdon was the owner under acquisitive prescription. The state appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Marvin, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 519,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 22,600 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
