Charrier v. Bell
Louisiana Court of Appeal
496 So. 2d 601 (La. Ct. App. 1986)
Charrier (plaintiff) excavated artifacts from a previously undiscovered ancient burial ground at Trudeau Plantation in Louisiana, though he had no connection to the site beyond his desire to dig there. When potential buyers hesitated over his ownership, Charrier sued the plantation's owners (defendants) for a declaratory judgment that he owned the artifacts. The trial court instead found the Tunica-Biloxi Indians, as descendants of the plantation's original inhabitants, to be the lawful owners. Charrier appealed, arguing the Tunica-Biloxi had abandoned the artifacts by leaving the plantation.
Whether burying artifacts or other objects with the deceased results in abandonment of ownership of those artifacts.