Bonin v. Alerion Bank

840 So. 2d 15, 2002 La.App. 4 Cir. 1513, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 309, 2003 WL 282375
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 5, 2003
DocketNo. 2002-CA-1513
StatusPublished

This text of 840 So. 2d 15 (Bonin v. Alerion Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bonin v. Alerion Bank, 840 So. 2d 15, 2002 La.App. 4 Cir. 1513, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 309, 2003 WL 282375 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

11 LEON A. CANNIZZARO, JR., Judge.

This case involves an appeal by the plaintiff from the trial court’s judgment denying his claim that the defendant owes the plaintiff compensation for the defendant’s failure, and the failure of its predecessors, to invest certain trust funds for the benefit of the plaintiff. The plaintiff is one of the beneficiaries of a trust for which the defendant is trustee. For the reasons that follow, the trial court judgment is affirmed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On June 20, 1965, the State Mineral Board of the State of Louisiana (the “Mineral Board”) entered into an Agreement of Trust (the “Trust Agreement”) with National American Bank of New Orleans (“National American Bank”), a national banking corporation domiciled in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Trust Agreement established a trust pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S. 30:188(B)(2).1 The Mineral Board was the settlor of the trust, National American Bank was the trustee, and the beneficiaries of the trust were the owners of the properties covered |2by the Trust Agreement and any other persons entitled to receive royalties from the properties.

Since the trust was established, National American Bank, the original trustee of the trust, converted to a state chartered bank and changed its name to American Bank & Trust Company. Subsequently, American Bank & Trust Company changed its name to Alerion Bank. Alerion Bank merged into Premier Bank, N. A, and later changed its name to Bank One, Louisiana, N.A., which ultimately transferred its trust functions to Bank One Trust Company, N.A. Bank One Trust Company, N.A. has succeeded to all of the rights and obligations of its predecessor trustees under the Trust Agreement.

The Trust Agreement covers mineral leases affecting a tract of land in St. Mary [17]*17Parish, Louisiana.2 Pursuant to the provisions of the Trust Agreement, royalties derived from those leases were distributed to the trust beneficiaries by the trustee under the Trust Agreement. The Trust Agreement established four accounts with respect to the St. Mary Parish mineral leases entitled as follows: “Mineral Board Trustee’s Gonsoulin Account” (the “Gon-soulin Account”); “Mineral Board Trustee’s General Administration Account” (the “General Administration Account”); “Mineral Board Trustee’s Escrow Account” (the “Escrow Account”); and “Mineral Board Trustee’s Gonsoulin Administration Account” (the “Gonsoulin Administration Account”) 3.

laThe Gonsoulin Account initially consisted of funds, to which the trust beneficiaries were entitled, that were being held by the Mineral Board at the time the trust was created. The Trust Agreement also provided that when royalties on the St. Mary Parish leases were received, those royalties ultimately were to be placed in this account. Ninety percent of the royalties were retained in the account, and the Trust Agreement provided that they were to be distributed to the beneficiaries annually.4

The General Administration Account consisted of funds that were being held by the Mineral Board at the time the trust was created for the purpose of administering the leases that were placed in trust. If the funds in the Gonsoulin Administration Account were less than the amount the trustee was entitled to retain for its own account, the deficiency was to be paid to the trustee from the General Administration Account.

The Escrow Account was established so that all future income received by the Mineral Board from the St. Mary Parish leases could be deposited into it. After the income was deposited, ninety percent of the income was transferred into the Gon-soulin Account, and ten percent was transferred into the Gonsoulin Administration Account.

The Gonsoulin Administration Account was established to receive ten percent of the future income from the St. Mary Parish leases after the income had been deposited into the Escrow Account. The funds in this account were used to compensate the trustee for its trust services and to reimburse it for related expenditures.

14At the time the Mineral Board established the trust, the funds it held with respect to the leases covered by the trust were placed in the trust accounts. The royalties owed to the beneficiaries at the time the trust was established were deposited into the Gonsoulin Account, and the funds that had been held by the Mineral Board to administer the leases were deposited into the General Administration Account. All royalties received after the [18]*18trust was established were initially deposited into the Escrow Account, from which they were then transferred into the Gon-soulin Account and the Gonsoulin Administration Account. Ninety percent of the royalties were transferred from the Escrow Account into the Gonsoulin Account, and ten percent of the royalties were transferred into the Gonsoulin Administration Account. The funds in the Gonsoulin Account were paid to the beneficiaries at least annually, and the funds in the Gon-soulin Administration Account were used to pay the fees and the expenses incurred in administering the trust.

The Trust Agreement provided that the amounts in the General Administration Account were to be “invested in one (1) year time certificates of deposit, paying interest at the rate of four and one-fourth (4 % per cent per annum”. The interest was to be credited to the account. The Trust Agreement was otherwise silent as to the payment of interest on any of the other accounts established pursuant to the Trust Agreement.

On December 9, 1993, Mr. William 0. Bonin filed suit against Alerion Bank alleging that the trustee breached its fiduciary obligations to him by failing to pay interest on the amounts deposited for his benefit into the Gonsoulin Account. Mr. Bonin subsequently supplemented his petition to include as defendants Bank One Trust Company, N.A. and all of its predecessor trustees of the trust.

|fiOn October 11, 1996, Mr. Bonin filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Liability, and on December 2, 1996, the trial court rendered a judgment denying the motion. Mr. Bonin then filed a Motion in Limine and Rule to Show Cause requesting the trial court to issue an order denying the defendant the right to use parol evidence at trial to show the intention of the parties to the Trust Agreement regarding the investment of the trust funds. The motion in limine was denied in a judgment rendered by the trial court on May 8,1997.

This case was tried on April 1, 2002, and a judgment in favor of Alerion Bank was rendered on April 15, 2002. The judgment was subsequently amended on May 9, 2002, to provide for a judgment in favor of Bank One Trust Company, N.A. Mr. Bonin is appealing the trial court’s judgment.

DISCUSSION

The key issue presented on appeal is whether the trustee was obligated to pay interest to Mr. Bonin under the terms of the Trust Agreement. In the instant case, the Trust Agreement expressly provided that the funds held in the General Administration Account were to be invested, and the Trust Agreement specified the investment vehicle to be used. The Trust Agreement was silent regarding the investment of the funds in any of the other accounts established by the Trust Agreement:,

The Trust Agreement also provided that “[t]o the extent not specifically covered herein, this agreement shall be governed when applicable, by the Louisiana Trust Code”. Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Lelong v. Succession of Lelong
164 So. 2d 671 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1964)
In re Merlin A. Abadie Inter Vivos Trust
483 So. 2d 1292 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
In re the James C. Atkinson Clifford Trust
762 So. 2d 775 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
840 So. 2d 15, 2002 La.App. 4 Cir. 1513, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 309, 2003 WL 282375, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bonin-v-alerion-bank-lactapp-2003.