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La. Rev. Stat. § 38:352 (2026)

Petition for expropriation of property; contents; place of filing

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§352.  Petition for expropriation of property; contents; place of filing

The rights of expropriation of property granted by this Part shall be exercised in the following manner:

(1)  A petition shall be filed by the governing authority of the levee district or levee and drainage district in the district court of the parish in which the property to be expropriated is situated.  Where the property to be expropriated extends into two or more parishes and the owner of the property resides in one of them, the petition shall be filed in the district court of the parish where the owner resides, but if the owner does not reside in any one of the parishes into which the property extends, the petition may be filed in any one of the parishes.  In all such cases, the court wherein the petition is filed shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate as to all the property involved.  

(2)  The petition shall contain a statement of the purpose for which the property is to be expropriated describing the property necessary therefor and the reasons for the necessity, with a plan of the same, a description of the improvements thereon, if any, and the name of the owner, if known.  

(3)  The petition shall have annexed thereto the following:

(a)  A certified copy of a resolution adopted by the governing authority of the levee district or levee and drainage district, with the concurrence of not less than two-thirds of a quorum, declaring that the expropriation is necessary or useful for the purposes of this Part.  

(b)  An itemized statement of the amount of money estimated to be the full extent of the owner's loss for the expropriation or the damage, or both, as the case may be.  It shall be signed by those who made the estimate, showing the capacity in which they acted and the date on which it was made.  

Acts 1985, No. 785, §1, eff. July 22, 1985.  

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2021 · leading case: Hooper v. Hero Lands Co., 128 So. 3d 691 (La. Ct. App. 2013).
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Hooper v. Hero Lands Co., 128 So. 3d 691 (La. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 4× “R.S. § 38:352, a drainage district filing an expropriation suit shall include with its petition a resolution for expropriation.”
West Jefferson Levee D. v. Coast Quality, 640 So. 2d 1258 (La. 1994). “Upon the deposit of this estimated amount into the registry of the court, the "title to the property and the property rights specified in the petition shall vest in the levee district, and the right to just and adequate compensation therefor shall vest in the persons entitled…”
West Jefferson Levee Dist. v. Coast Quality Const. Corp., 620 So. 2d 319 (La. Ct. App. 1993). “R.S. 38:352; 38:353; 38:354. That occurred in 1989.”
Avenal v. State, Dept. of Nat. Resources, 668 So. 2d 1150 (La. Ct. App. 1995). “R.S. 38:352. Although the instant suit is not an expropriation per se, it is similar in that plaintiffs allege a taking without just compensation.”
Bd. of Commissioners for the Pontchatrain Levee Dist. Versus Nature Land Co., LLC, No. 21-C-717 (La. Ct. App. Dec. 20, 2021). “R.S. 38:352, which sets forth the requirements for the petition of expropriation, does not require evidence of negotiations to be included in the petition: The rights of expropriation of property granted by this Part shall be exercised in the following manner: (1) A petition…”
La. Rev. Stat. § 38:352(3)(b): 1 case
West Jefferson Levee D. v. Coast Quality, 640 So. 2d 1258 (La. 1994). “Upon the deposit of this estimated amount into the registry of the court, the "title to the property and the property rights specified in the petition shall vest in the levee district, and the right to just and adequate compensation therefor shall vest in the persons entitled…”
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