One would think there would be a statute of limitations. In the US and Canada, the concept of adverse possession is based on the statute of limitations for bringing an action to eject someone trespassing on your property. But France is a different universe. The Beauperthuy claim comes from the 1860s. Under French law, the failure to distribute the property to Beauperthuy's heir, who was lost in the Republic of Texas, was considered a fraud on that man and his countless heirs. In the case of fraud, there is not such thing as a statute of limitations. There is not even a requirement to get the litigation moving. It has been the works for thirty years with no real movement. It sounds like a laxative might be useful!

Some of you may recall my comments right after the hurricane. I said it would be a perfect time for a legislative solution to clear the title issues. After all, when the Dutch Supreme Court upheld the Beauperthuy heirs claims on the Dutch side (which included the entire airport), the legislature took almost no time passing a law saying the Courts are nuts and the Beauperthuy heirs are out of luck. The problem is St. Martin is no longer a part of a departament (a state). It is a commune and of less interest to anyone in Paris. I suspect a change of this magnitude would require action in Paris.