Catahoula Lake Invs., LLC v. Hunt Oil Co.

237 So. 3d 585
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 10, 2018
DocketCW 2017–649
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 237 So. 3d 585 (Catahoula Lake Invs., LLC v. Hunt Oil Co.) 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
Catahoula Lake Invs., LLC v. Hunt Oil Co., 237 So. 3d 585 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

KEATY, Judge.

Plaintiff-Relator, Catahoula Lake Investments, LLC, seeks supervisory writs from a judgment which granted, in part, an exception of no right of action filed by Defendants-Respondents, XH, LLC; Kingfisher *587Resources, Inc.; and Petro-Hunt, L.L.C. In Docket Number 17-651 with this court, Defendants-Relators, XH, LLC; Kingfisher Resources, Inc.; and Petro-Hunt, L.L.C., seek supervisory writs from the same judgment which denied, in part, their exception of no right of action.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff filed suit against Defendants claiming that their operations on Plaintiff's property under mineral leases and a mineral servitude caused damage to the property. Defendants filed exceptions of no right of action, asserting that because all mineral operations had ceased prior to Plaintiff's purchase of the subject property,1 the subsequent purchaser doctrine2 prohibited Plaintiff from recovering against Defendants since Plaintiff's contract purchasing the property did not expressly pass the seller's personal rights of action to Plaintiff. The trial court granted the exception of no right of action in part, stating:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the Exceptions of No Right of Action filed by Defendants are hereby GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART . In particular, those exceptions are GRANTED as to the pre-acquisition damages claims made against Defendants by the Plaintiff, and those claims are dismissed. Defendants' exceptions are DENIED as to plaintiff's post-purchase claims for regulatory mediation pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute[s] 30:29 (Act 312).

Ordinarily, we would deny Plaintiff's writ application as the judgment at issue dismisses portions of Plaintiff's claims and, therefore, falls under La.Code Civ.P. art. 1915(B). As such, Plaintiff could obtain review of the judgment by having the trial court designate the partial judgment as final and immediately appealable. However, in this instance, Defendant has filed a writ application seeking the granting of the remainder of their exception of no right of action. Plaintiff's opposition to Defendants' writ application is based on the same arguments made in support of Plaintiff's writ application. Thus, in ruling on Defendant's properly-filed writ application, we will necessarily need to address whether Plaintiff's arguments are meritorious. Therefore, judicial efficiency mediates toward considering the merits of both writ applications at this time.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"The function of the exception of no right of action is to determine whether the plaintiff belongs to the class of persons to whom the law grants the cause of action asserted in the suit." Hood v. Cotter , 2008-0215, p. 17 (La. 12/2/08), 5 So.3d 819, 829. An appellate court reviewing a lower court's ruling on an exception of no right of action should *588focus on whether the particular plaintiff has a right to bring the suit and is a member of the class of persons that has a legal interest in the subject matter of the litigation, assuming the petition states a valid cause of action for some person.
The determination whether a plaintiff has a right to bring an action raises a question of law. A question of law requires de novo review.

Eagle Pipe , 79 So.3d at 255-56 (citations omitted).

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff contends that the trial court was incorrect in finding that the contract by which Plaintiff obtained ownership of the property did not also transfer the seller's personal rights to sue Defendants to demand restitution for damages caused to the property prior to when Plaintiff obtained ownership. Plaintiff submits that such incorrect finding led the trial court to wrongfully conclude that the subsequent purchaser doctrine was inapplicable to its claims. Alternatively, Plaintiff argues that the obligations arising from a mineral servitude provide an independent basis for seeking damages from the servitude owner that are not subject to the limitations arising from the obligations established by the mineral leases.

Plaintiff and Defendants do not contest that the statutory laws of this state provide that in order for a vendee to obtain the personal rights of action belonging to its vendor, the contract must expressly provide that the vendor is assigning these personal rights to the vendee. Where the parties disagree, however, is whether the original transfer of the property to Plaintiff from its vendor, Red Mountain Timberco III, LLC, in 2007 included this express provision.3 That contract provides, in pertinent part (emphasis added):

Vendor is selling the Property "AS IS, WHERE IS" without any warranties whatsoever as to fitness or condition, whether expressed or implied, and *589Vendee expressly waives the warranty of fitness and the guarantee against hidden or latent vices (defects in the Property sold which render it useless or render its use so inconvenient or imperfect the Vendee would not have purchased it had he known of the vice or defect) provided by law in Louisiana, more specifically, that warranty imposed by Louisiana Civil Code 2520 et seq [.] with respect to Vendor's warranty against latent or hidden defects of the Property sold, or any other applicable law, not even for a return of the purchase price. Vendee forfeits the right to avoid the sale or reduce the purchase price on account of some hidden or latent vice or defect in the Property sold. Vendor expressly subrogates Vendee to all rights, claims and causes of action Vendor may have arising from or relating to any hidden or latent defects in the Property . This provision has been called to the attention of the Vendee and fully explained to the Vendee, and the Vendee acknowledges that he has read and understands this waiver of all express or implied warranties and accepts the Property without any express or implied warranties.

The trial court's written reasons in this matter provide as follows:

The instant parcel of property is the subject of a long line of title between Bodcaw Corporation, International Paper, Inc., its several affiliated companies and Red Mountain Timber Company prior to CLI acquiring ownership of the impacted property. Throughout the early chain of title between Bodcaw and International Paper until the final transfer to Sustainable Forests, language appeared in the acts of conveyance that conceivably could have transferred the litigious rights to their successor in interest. However, in the transfer between Sustainable Forests and Red Mountain Timber Company, no such language exists. The only language found is the broad, general, and "non-explicit" language as follows:
Vendor expressly subrogates Vendee to all rights, claims and causes of action Vendor may have arising from or relating to any hidden or latent defects in the Property.

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Bluebook (online)
237 So. 3d 585, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/catahoula-lake-invs-llc-v-hunt-oil-co-lactapp-2018.