Short answer. No. Civil Code Article 1550 states plainly that when adverse possession began before the sale but the prescriptive period was completed after the transfer, the seller is not liable for eviction. The risk of the possessor completing prescription falls on the buyer once title transfers.
What the law says
When adverse possession had been commenced before the sale but the prescriptive period is completed after the transfer, the vendor shall not be liable for eviction.
Civil Code, Article 1550 — Prescription Completed After Sale. Read the full provision →
What the rule says
Article 1550 draws a clear line: When adverse possession had been commenced before the sale but the prescriptive period is completed after the transfer, the vendor shall not be liable for eviction. Eviction in the civil law sense occurs when a buyer is deprived of the property — or part of it — by a final judgment based on a right that predated the sale. Normally the seller warrants against that. Article 1550 carves out this specific situation: the adverse possessor was already running a clock before the sale, but that clock only expired after the deed was signed and the property passed to the buyer.
Why the seller escapes liability in this scenario
The seller's warranty against eviction is grounded in the condition of the property at the time of sale. If adverse possession had not yet ripened into a completed title when the sale closed, the seller did not deliver property already encumbered by a superior right. The possessor's claim became perfected afterward — under the buyer's watch. The law places responsibility on the buyer to monitor and protect the property from that point forward, including by interrupting any ongoing adverse possession. The seller cannot be held accountable for events that occurred after ownership passed.
If you are the buyer facing this situation
If you purchased property knowing someone was in adverse possession of part of it, or if you discover it shortly after purchase, the critical question is whether prescription was already completed at the time of your acquisition. If it was — meaning the possessor already had a completed claim before the deed was executed — the seller may still be liable because the defect predated the transfer. Article 1550 protects the seller only when the period is completed after the transfer, not before. The date adverse possession began, and the applicable prescriptive period, become crucial facts.
For the seller who is now being blamed
If you are the seller and the buyer is seeking to hold you responsible because a third party completed a prescriptive claim after the sale, Article 1550 is your statutory defense. The seller is expressly exempted from eviction liability in this scenario. Document when the adverse possession commenced relative to when the sale closed. If the evidence shows that adverse possession started before the sale but the period expired only afterward, the law releases you from the eviction warranty, and the buyer's remedy — if any — lies against the adverse possessor, not against you.