California Co. v. City of New Orleans

60 So. 2d 103, 1 Oil & Gas Rep. 1199, 1952 La. App. LEXIS 668
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 30, 1952
DocketNo. 3573
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 60 So. 2d 103 (California Co. v. City of New Orleans) 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
California Co. v. City of New Orleans, 60 So. 2d 103, 1 Oil & Gas Rep. 1199, 1952 La. App. LEXIS 668 (La. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

ELLIS, Judge.

In accord with the Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act (LSA-R.S. 13:4232-13:4246) the plaintiff instituted this action for determination of its rights against the City of New Orleans and the State Mineral Board under an oil, gas and mineral lease dated July 11, 1951 and granted by the City of New Orleans to the plaintiff.

There is no dispute as to the facts which were agreed upon and are substantially the same as stated in the briefs of counsel for plaintiff and the State Mineral Board.

It is shown that in 1914 Edward Wisner made a donation inter vivos to the City of New Orleans, in trust, of certain lands situated in Lafourche Parish (and in other parishes). The purposes of the trust was the accomplishment of certain charitable objectives. After the death of Eward Wis-ner his heirs brought suit to set aside the donation. In 1929, the City of New Orleans, Trustee, and the various beneficiaries of the trust, compromised with the Wisner heirs, which compromise was embodied in a judgment of the Civil' District Court for the Parish of Orleans, dated April 1, 1930. [105]*105Pursuant to the agreement of compromise, an Advisory Committee, known as the Edward Wisner Donation Advisory Committee, composed of five members, was appointed to advise the Mayor of the City of New Orleans (who was to act for the Trustee), and it was provided that the Mayor should administer the trust property upon the advice and with the consent of the majority of the members of the Committee.

On July 11, 1951, the City of New Orleans, represented by its Mayor, acting with the consent of a majority of the Advisory Committee, granted in favor of The California Company for a cash consideration of $15,200 an - oil, gas and mineral lease affecting certain of the lands situated in Lafourche Parish, held by the City of New Orleans under the Wisner donation.. It was agreed in said lease that actual drilling of a well upon the leased premises would be commenced within 6 months from date, subject to extension in the event of con-testation of the validity of the lease.

This lease in question was granted without advertisement or competitive bidding and without securing the approval of the State Mineral Board thereto. Since the Courts had not affirmatively, decided whether such actions were reqüired by law in order for the Trustee to execute a valid mineral lease, The California Company brought this declaratory action to'have said questions set at rest. The action was brought against the State Mineral Board, since it is the state agency charged with the duty of approving or disapproving mineral leases by a “municipality,” and against the City of New Orleans, as Trustee under the Wisner donation. The beneficiaries of the Trust were not considered to be necessary parties and, accordingly, were not cited.

As an alternative demand, Plaintiff .asked to be declared entitled to the return of the cash consideration paid by it should the validity of the lease not be upheld.

The case was submitted on briefs, upon the pleadings and upon an agreed stipulation of fact to the District Court which rendered a judgment in favor of the plaintiff as against the State Mineral Board and the City of New Orleans, and in favor of the City of New Orleans as. against the State Mineral Board, and the latter only has appealed devolutively to this Court,

The plaintiff contends that under the charter of the City of New Orleans (Act 159 0f 1912, as amended) with reference to the management, sale, lease or disposition of property by the City, the lease in question js governed exclusively by Paragraph (c) Df Section 1 as amended by Act No. 338 of 1936, which reads as follows':

“It (the City) may receive bequests, gifts and donátions of all kinds of property in fee simple, or in trust for public, charitable, or other purposes, and do all things and acts necessary to carry out the purpose of such gifts, bequests and donations, with power to manage, sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the same in accordance with the terms of the gift, bequest or donation”. (Brackets ours)

On the other hand, it is the contention of the State Mineral Board that the lease in question is subject to the provisions of Louisiana Statutes Annotated — Revised Statute 30:151, et seq, which provides methods of making mineral leases to be followed by State agencies.

Louisiana Statutes Annotated — Revised Statute 30:151 under the heading: "Sub-part B. Leases by State Agencies” provides :

“ ‘Agency’ defined — -In this Sub-part the term ‘agency’ means a levee district, drainage district, road district, school district, school board or other board, commission, parish, municipality, state university, state college, state penal or charitable institution or agency, unit or institution of the state or subdivision thereof.”

LSA-R.S. 30:153 provides:

“Agencies may lease through state •mineral board — Any agency may by resolution direct the state mineral board to lease its land in the manner provided in Sub-part A of this Part.”

LSA-R.S. 30:155 provides:

“Alternative procedures — If any agency determines not to avail itself of the provisions of R.S. 30:153, it [106]*106shall lease no lands for mineral purposes unless a written application is made, and the lands are advertised and let in the manner provided by this Sub-part.”

LSA-R.S. 30:156 provides:

“Procedure when agency leases its own land — A person desiring to lease from a state agency shall make application with deposit to the agency in the same manner as is set forth in R.S. 30:125 for application with deposit to the mineral board. The agency shall itself advertise, receive bids at its domicile, and lease in the same manner and subject to the same restrictions applicable to leases by the State Mineral Board under R.S. 30:126 and 30:127. The agency has the same powers over leases granted by it as are granted the State Mineral Board in R.S. 30:129.”

LSA-R.S. 30:158 provides:

“Approval of lease by board — No lease executed under the authority of this Sub-part shall be valid unless the agency obtains its approval by the State Mineral Board. A lease made under the provisions of this Sub-part which is not approved by the State Mineral Board and countersigned by the duly authorized officer of that body is null and void.”

Counsel for plaintiff and the defendant agree that the charter of the City of New Orleans is a special or local law, Kearns v. City of New Orleans, La.App., 160 So. 470, and that the Mineral Board Act is a general law, Cf. State v. Humble Oil and Refining Co., 195 La. 457, 197 So. 140, and that a special law is not repealed by a general law “unless the intent to repeal •is clear and unmistakable.” State ex rel. Ideal Savings & Homestead Ass’n v. City of New Orleans, 186 La. 705, 173 So. 179, 182; Paepcke Leicht Lumber Co. v. Vantrompt, 137 La. 743, 69 So. 159; Hayes v. Morgan’s L. & T. R. & S. S. Co., 117 La. 593, 42 So. 150; State ex rel. City of New Orleans v. Louisiana Tax Commission, 171 La. 211, 130 So. 46; Third District Land Co. v. Geary, 185 La. 508, 169 So. 528.

There is no doubt that there was never any intent on the part of the Legislature to repeal Section 1, par. (c) of the charter of the City of New Orleans as amended by Act 338 of 1936 by the enactment of LSA-R.S.

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Related

In re Edward Wisner Donation
150 So. 3d 391 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Opinion Number
Louisiana Attorney General Reports, 2002

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Bluebook (online)
60 So. 2d 103, 1 Oil & Gas Rep. 1199, 1952 La. App. LEXIS 668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/california-co-v-city-of-new-orleans-lactapp-1952.