Jhj Limited I v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

Fifth Circuit

Jhj Limited I v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

806 F.2d 82, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 34891

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

DecidedDecember 19, 1986

Docket86-3043

StatusPublished

Cited by5 cases

This text of 806 F.2d 82 (Jhj Limited I v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Jhj Limited I v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 806 F.2d 82, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 34891 (5th Cir. 1986).

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PER CURIAM:

JHJ Limited I (JHJ), a drilling contractor, initiated this suit by filing in the Louisiana state court a petition for a writ of sequestration covering all right, title and interest of Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. (Chevron) in an oil and gas lease (the Wunsch Lease) entered into by Robert H. Wunsch and Chevron, including all oil and gas (and proceeds thereof) produced from the lease. The case was removed by Chevron to federal district court based upon diversity of citizenship and was tried upon a joint stipulation of facts. The district court held that JHJ’s lien under the Oil, Gas and Water Well Lien Act, La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 9:4861 et seq. (West 1983 & Supp.1986), applied to the entire Wunsch Lease, including Chevron’s share of the production from wells in units other than the unit in which the well drilled by JHJ was located. See 617 F.Supp. 729 (M.D.La.1985). Subsequent to the district court’s decision, the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit reached the same conclusion in five consolidated suits brought against Chevron by other furnishers of labor, services and supplies in connection with the drilling of the same well that is the subject of this case. LOR, Inc. v. Martin Exploration Co., 489 So.2d 1326 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.1986), writ denied, 493 So.2d 1217 (La.1986).

We are persuaded, as was the Louisiana Court of Appeal, that the district court’s decision in this case is a correct interpretation of Louisiana law. Moreover, in view of the decision of the Louisiana Court of Appeal, we are now Erie bound to affirm.

AFFIRMED.

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PER CURIAM:

JHJ Limited I (JHJ), a drilling contractor, initiated this suit by filing in the Louisiana state court a petition for a writ of sequestration covering all right, title and interest of Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. (Chevron) in an oil and gas lease (the Wunsch Lease) entered into by Robert H. Wunsch and Chevron, including all oil and gas (and proceeds thereof) produced from the lease. The case was removed by Chevron to federal district court based upon diversity of citizenship and was tried upon a joint stipulation of facts. The district court held that JHJ’s lien under the Oil, Gas and Water Well Lien Act, La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 9:4861 et seq. (West 1983 & Supp.1986), applied to the entire Wunsch Lease, including Chevron’s share of the production from wells in units other than the unit in which the well drilled by JHJ was located. See 617 F.Supp. 729 (M.D.La.1985). Subsequent to the district court’s decision, the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit reached the same conclusion in five consolidated suits brought against Chevron by other furnishers of labor, services and supplies in connection with the drilling of the same well that is the subject of this case. LOR, Inc. v. Martin Exploration Co., 489 So.2d 1326 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.1986), writ denied, 493 So.2d 1217 (La.1986).

We are persuaded, as was the Louisiana Court of Appeal, that the district court’s decision in this case is a correct interpretation of Louisiana law. Moreover, in view of the decision of the Louisiana Court of Appeal, we are now Erie bound to affirm.

AFFIRMED.

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806 F.2d 82, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 34891, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jhj-limited-i-v-chevron-usa-inc-ca5-1986.

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