If after the owner of a mineral right has ceased possessing it by use or exercise according to its nature there is adverse possession of the land including the mineral right, the adverse possessor becomes entitled to bring the possessory action when he has been in possession quietly and without interruption for more than one year after his possession began or was resumed.
Art. 3666.Loss of Right to Bring Possessory Action By Owner of Mineral Right
Book VII. Special Proceedings · Title II. Real Actions · Chapter 1. Actions to Determine Ownership Or Possession · Enacted 1974 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3666 lets an adverse possessor who takes over land, including the mineral right attached to it, bring a possessory action against the mineral-right owner once the owner has stopped using the right and the adverse possessor has held quiet, uninterrupted possession for more than a year.
Full Text of Art. 3666
Amendment History
Added by Acts 1974, No. 547, §2, eff. 1/1/1975.
Plain-English Summary
Article 3666 covers the flip side of Article 3665's timing rule. Once a mineral-right owner stops possessing that right through use or exercise — the mineral equivalent of walking away from the property — someone else can begin adversely possessing the land, and the mineral right along with it.
That adverse possessor does not gain the ability to bring a possessory action immediately upon starting or resuming possession. Article 3666 requires possession that is quiet and uninterrupted for more than one year after it began or was resumed. Only once that year has run does the adverse possessor become entitled to sue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone else acquire the right to sue over a mineral right the original owner stopped using?
Yes. Article 3666 lets an adverse possessor of the land, including the mineral right, bring a possessory action once the mineral-right owner has stopped using or exercising the right and the adverse possessor has quietly and continuously possessed for more than a year.
How long must an adverse possessor wait before suing under Article 3666?
More than one year of quiet, uninterrupted possession after the possession began or was resumed, running from when the mineral-right owner's own use-based possession ceased.
Does this article require the mineral-right owner to have abandoned the right permanently?
No. It only requires that the owner has ceased possessing the right by use or exercise; the adverse possessor's own qualifying possession then determines when a possessory action becomes available.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: Article 3666 Louisianaadverse possession mineral rights Louisianaloss of possessory action mineral right ownernonuse mineral right possessionpossessory action against mineral right