Cheramie v. Moore

193 So. 692, 194 La. 415, 1940 La. LEXIS 986
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 9, 1940
DocketNo. 35476.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 193 So. 692 (Cheramie v. Moore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cheramie v. Moore, 193 So. 692, 194 La. 415, 1940 La. LEXIS 986 (La. 1940).

Opinion

LAND, Justice.

On June 13, 1936, Jackson Cheramie, plaintiff, granted to the defendant, N. A. Moore, an oil, gas and mineral lease on a tract of land situated in Township 19 South, Range 22 East, Parish of Lafourche, containing 51 acres, more or less. A bonus of $25 in cash was paid for the lease. A primary term of ten (10) years from date of lease, and as long thereafter as oil, gas or other mineral is produced from the land, is stipulated in paragraph 2 of the lease.

In paragraph 4 of the lease it is provided that, if operations for drilling are not commenced on said land on or before a year front this date, the lease shall then terminate as to both parties unless, on or before such anniversary date, the lessee shall pay or tender to the lessor or to the credit of the lessor in Citizens Bank & Trust Company at Cut Off, La., the sum of $25, “(herein called rental),” which shall cover the privilege of deferring commencement of drilling operations for a period of twelve months. It is further provided that: “In like manner and upon like payments or tenders annually the commencement of 'drilling operations may be further deferred for successive periods of twelve (12) months each during the primary term.” Tr., pp. 53-55, inclusive. (Italics ours.)

This lease was recorded in the Conveyance Office of Lafourche Parish on June 15, 1936.

On October 21, 1936, N. A. Moore, lessee, assigned a one-fourth (1/4) interest in the lease to Joseph M. Perkins. The assignment was also recorded in the Conveyance Office of that parish November 19, 1936.

The lease was executed prior to any activity in the Golden Meadow Field in Lafourche Parish. On February 26, 1937, Jackson Cheramie made a top lease (Tr. 59), and then brought the present suit to cancel the lease of date June 13, 1936, which was duly recorded June 15, 1936. Tr. p. 7.

Both N. A. Moore, lessee, and Joseph M. Perkins, his assignee, are made parties defendant to this suit.

The suit is based upon the contention that plaintiff, Jackson Cheramie, does not speak the English language, and that N. A. Moore, defendant, does not speak the French language. That Moore, in order to get the lease, represented through one Rudolph J. Cheramie, an interpreter, that he wanted a lease for a period of one year and that the lease would become void unless a well was drilled within that period. Pet., paragraph IV, Tr., pp. 7 and 8.

In paragraph V of the petition, it is alleged that the well was not drilled within one year from June 13, 1936, the date of the lease, and has not since been drilled. In paragraph VI it is alleged that petitioner “now finds” that the lease contained provisions which Moore represented that it did *420 not contain and, particularly, the clause providing for annual rentals and the deferment of drilling operations from year to year for ten years. Tr. pp. 8 and 9.

Petitioner, therefore, alleges that his signature to the lease, “as evidenced by his mark on said lease,” was obtained by fraud and that, therefore, petitioner is entitled to have the lease canceled and rendered null and void, and erased from the records of the Parish of Lafourche. Tr., p. 9.

In their answers, the .defendants, Moore and Perkins, deny all of the substantial averments of plaintiff’s petition. In particular, defendants deny categorically any misrepresentations. Defendants allege payment of rentals on the first and second anniversaries . of the rental payment set out in the lease, May 12, 1937, and May 2, 1938, the rental payments being made by deposits by the lessee in the Citizens Bank & Trust Company at Cut Off, La., to the credit of plaintiff, Jackson Cheramie, lessor, and the withdrawal by him of the sums so deposited by the rental agreement.

The case was tried on May 29 and May 30, 1939, and on the latter date was submitted to the court, without argument by both sides, and decided immediately in favor of the defendants by dismissing plaintiff’s suit at his cost. (Tr. pp. 5, 6, 142.) From this judgment plaintiff has prosecuted this appeal. It is evident from the allegations of plaintiff’s petition that the case involves only a question of fact, namely, whether Mr. Moore procured the lease from Mr. Cheramie under representations that it was ■'a'.one-year .lease, without any. renewal provision.

The district judge had no difficulty in deciding this question of fact immediately at the conclusion of the testimony.

(1) The misrepresentations alleged in the petition were not made by the defendant, N. A. Moore, to plaintiff, Jackson Cheramie, for the reason that N. A. Moore was not present during the negotiations that ended in the signing of the lease.

Mr. Moore testified as follows:

“Q. Were you present, Mr. Moore, when the plaintiff in this case, Jackson Cheramie; signed an oil, gas and mineral lease to you ? A. I was not.

“Q. You do not know, then, what representations were made tp plaintiff in this case, Jackson Cheramie, to induce him to sign this lease? A. I was not present.” Tr., p. 72.

(2) Defendant, Joseph M. Perkins, after stating as a witness that' he negotiated the lease of Jackson Cheramie to N. A. Moore, and that he did hot represent himself to be Mr. N. A. Moore to Jackson Cheramie, or to any other witness for plaintiff, testified as follows:

“Q. Do you know where Mr. Moore was- when the lease :was .negotiated? A. I presume he was in Texas, at his residence.

“Q. Do you know whether or not he was in the vicinity where- the lease was negotiated, or.in Louisiana? A. I know that he was not in the vicinity of Golden Meadow.” -Tr., p. 128.

(3): After testifying that he saw Rudolph Cheramie actually sigh Jackson Cher *422 amie’s name to the lease, and saw Jackson Cheramie touch the pen, Reginald G. Ryan gave the following testimony:

“Q. Who requested his presence, do you recall? A. It was either Jackson Cheramie or one of his brothers. * * *

“Q. You know that you didn’t go for him? A. I didn’t go.

“Q. And that Mr. Perkins didn’t go for him? A. No, he didn’t go.” Tr., pp. 118, 119.

(4) Rudolph Cheramie is a first cousin of the plaintiff, Jackson Cheramie, and keeps books in the store of Daize Cheramie, his uncle.

The witness testified as follows:

“Q. On June 12, 1936, Mr. Cheramie, did Jackson Cheramie come to the store where you worked? A. Yes, sir.

“Q. Did he make any request of you? A. Yes, sir.

“Q. What did he ask you? A. He asked me if I wanted to go on the other side where he stayed, at a little shop they got close to the ferry, to be a witness on a lease, because he wanted to lease his property.

“Q. Did you go with him? A. Yes, sir.

“Q. And whom did you find when you arrived there?, A. They had Mr. Mgore and Mr. Ryan, Theodore Cheramie, Alidore Cheramie and Jackson Cheramie and myself.

“Q. Mr. Perkins, would you mind standing up ? (Mr. Perkins stood in compliance with the request)

“Q.

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Bluebook (online)
193 So. 692, 194 La. 415, 1940 La. LEXIS 986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cheramie-v-moore-la-1940.