In Union Parish, Louisiana, neighbors Robert Bradford Jones and Roni Michelle Reppond Jones won a legal battle against Jesse Justin Colvin and his wife Ruby Sue Hill Colvin over a 70-foot strip of timberland. After nearly ten years of amicable relations, disputes escalated when the Colvins installed "NO TRESPASSING" signs, bright lights, loud generators, and placed a dead cow near the property line. The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision that awarded the Joneses $15,000 in damages ($7,500 each) and permanently barred the Colvins from further disruptive actions along the disputed boundary.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A decade of peaceful relations between neighbors in Union Parish, Louisiana, ended in a bitter court fight involving bright lights, power generators, large warning signs and a rotting cow carcass near a property line.
asserted
decade → end → line
A Louisiana appeals court has now upheld a lower court ruling that settled the dispute over a 70-foot strip of timberland.
asserted
that → uphold → timberland
, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a district court decision that placed the property line at an old downed wire fence.
asserted
that → affirm → fence
It also upheld damages of $15,000 against the landowners whose actions had led to the dispute.
asserted
actions → uphold → dispute
The ruling in consolidated docket numbers 56,654-CA and 56,655-CA requires Jesse Justin Colvin and his wife, Ruby Sue Hill Colvin, to pay $7,500 each to their neighbors, Robert Bradford Jones and Roni Michelle Reppond Jones.
asserted
ruling → require → neighbors
It also permanently bars the Colvins from further disruptions along the property line.
asserted
It → bar → line
The dispute involved two neighboring properties in Farmerville, Louisiana.
asserted
dispute → involve → Farmerville
Court records show that Jesse and Ruby Colvin bought a 23-acre property along Highway 828 on July 12, 2012, where they made their primary home.
asserted
they → show → home
About two years later, on March 25, 2014, Robert and Roni Jones bought a neighboring one-acre property on Linville Fire Tower Road.
asserted
Jones → buy → Road
That relationship changed when they began arguing over a 70-foot-deep strip of timber and undergrowth between their properties.
asserted
they → change → properties
The Colvins said the disputed strip was entirely inside their northern property line.
asserted
strip → say → line
They relied on surveys completed in 1989 and 2012.
asserted
They → rely → 1989
The Joneses disagreed.
asserted
Joneses → disagree → ?
They said the true historic boundary was marked by an old combination wire fence farther south.
asserted
boundary → say → fence
When the Joneses said they owned the wooded area, the Colvins put up "NO TRESPASSING" signs along the surveyed property line.
asserted
Colvins → say → line
When the Joneses continued to claim the land, the Colvins replaced the signs with larger ones placed along the same surveyed line.
uncertain
Colvins → continue → line
The legal case began on September 8, 2023, when the Colvins filed a lawsuit in the Third Judicial District Court for the Parish of Union.
asserted
Colvins → begin → Union
They asked the court to officially establish the property boundary.
asserted
They → ask → boundary
The Joneses then filed their own claims.
uncertain
Joneses → file → claims
They asked for a permanent injunction and money damages, saying the Colvins had seriously interfered with their use of their home through repeated acts of intimidation.
asserted
Colvins → ask → intimidation
According to testimony and court records published by Justia Law, the Colvins put orange construction fencing along the disputed area.
uncertain
Colvins → accord → area
They also aimed high-intensity lights at the Joneses' property, including their backyard.
asserted
They → aim → backyard
They ran loud power generators from dusk until dawn and placed a dead cow beside the survey line near the boundary.
asserted
They → run → boundary
After a bench trial, District Judge Monique Babin Clement ruled for the Joneses.
asserted
Clement → rule → Joneses
The trial court found that the legal boundary was the old combination fence, rather than the line shown on the newer survey.
asserted
boundary → find → survey
Judge Clement issued a permanent injunction requiring the Colvins to remove signs, posts, lights and other flagging materials.
asserted
Clement → issue → signs
The court also found Jesse Colvin liable for $7,500 in damages to each of the Joneses, for a total of $15,000.
asserted
Colvin → find → 15,000
Appeals court confirms the boundary line
asserted
court → confirm → line
The Colvins appealed to the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
asserted
Colvins → appeal → Appeal
They argued that the trial court was wrong to place the boundary at the old downed fence, issue the injunction and award damages.
asserted
court → argue → damages
A three-judge panel made up of Judges Hunter, Marcotte and Ellender rejected the Colvins' arguments and affirmed the trial court's ruling.
asserted
panel → make → ruling
The decision was issued on January 14, 2026.
asserted
decision → issue → January
The appeals court explained that the location of a disputed property boundary is a factual issue.
asserted
location → explain → boundary
Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 786, a boundary can be fixed based on evidence of long-term possession when ownership cannot otherwise be clearly established.
asserted
ownership → fix → possession
Evidence at trial showed that earlier owners of the Colvin property had treated the old wire fence as the practical boundary for many years.
asserted
owners → show → years
Jesse Colvin also admitted during questioning that, before the dispute, he had never visited the northern boundary area involved in the case.
asserted
he → admit → case
He had never kept livestock or cut trees there.
asserted
He → keep → trees
Colvin also said he had the property surveyed in 2022 because he did not know where the property line was.
asserted
line → say → 2022
He acknowledged that his grandchildren placed steel posts along the line based on that survey.
asserted
grandchildren → acknowledge → survey
The appeals court found no clear error in the trial judge's decision to rely on the physical evidence and history of possession when setting the boundary at the old fence.
Upholding damages for neighbourly harassment
The appeals court also rejected the Colvins' challenge to the $15,000 damage award and permanent injunction.
asserted
court → find → award
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
