Lamson Petroleum Corp. v. Hallwood Petroleum Inc.

824 So. 2d 1194, 0 La.App. 3 Cir. 695, 160 Oil & Gas Rep. 454, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 89, 2001 WL 83739
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 31, 2001
DocketNo. 00 695-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 824 So. 2d 1194 (Lamson Petroleum Corp. v. Hallwood Petroleum Inc.) 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
Lamson Petroleum Corp. v. Hallwood Petroleum Inc., 824 So. 2d 1194, 0 La.App. 3 Cir. 695, 160 Oil & Gas Rep. 454, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 89, 2001 WL 83739 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

|, BILLIE COLOMBARO WOODARD, Judge.

We have thoroughly reviewed the record and find no legal or manifest error in the trial court’s decision whatsoever. Judge Brouillette has obviously done a thorough, well researched and carefully thought out, fair and accurate analysis of the facts and law. We adopt his excellent reasons for judgment, below, as the opinion of this court:

This is one of a series of cases involving the ownership of “roadbeds” or alleged “roadbeds” or portions thereof in the “Scott Field” area of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. Lamson Petroleum Corporation (“Lamson”) seeks judgment against several defendants: (1) recognizing the validity of an oil, gas and mineral lease in which it is lessee, covering three roadbed tracts totaling 1.25 acres; (2) ordering the payment of 100% of the oil, gas and mineral production attributable to Lamson and its lessors from the property; and (3) ordering a report of all sums alleged to be due Lamson from the sale of production attributable to the property. It is a petito-ry action filed after the rendition of a consent judgment in favor of some of the defendants herein on March 29, 1993, in a possessory action, recognizing their possession of the mineral rights at issue and allowing a period of sixty days for Lamson to file this action.1

The defendants are alleged to be claiming ownership of the property and/or underlying minerals either as landowners, mineral lessees, royalty owners, or overriding royalty owners, including Lamson’s lessors who are made defendants by authority of CCP 644. Some defendants have been dismissed following compromise settlements. The remaining defendants actively opposed Lamson’s claims in a trial on the merits which included testimony and the admission into evidence of many documents. The entire transcript of testi[1197]*1197mony from Docket 96-2277, bearing the same heading as above but relating to a different roadbed tract, was offered and admitted into evidence in this case on motion of all parties in order to avoid duplication of evidence. Many of the documents admitted in the earlier case were again admitted in this case. Additionally, the transcript of testimony in this case was provided to the court prior to rendering these reasons for judgment.

Portions of the “Reasons for Judgment” dated March 12, 1998 in the aforesaid Docket 96-2277 will be included herein by reference in border to avoid repetition. Some of the issues in that case are the same or similar to those in the present case.

BACKGROUND

The lessors of both Lamson and the defendants trace their titles to Clara Gir-ard Beraud as “common author” within the provisions of CCP 3643.2 It is undisputed that prior to November 8, 1943, she owned all of the property which is the subject of this litigation. Although Clara Beraud’s acquisition and the earlier title history of the property may be relevant to surveying issues, it is not necessary to review that history here for reasons which will become obvious.

Clara Beraud’s property was located in Section 32, T 9 S, R 4 E, and the South boundary of the property was the township line separating T 9 S and T 10 S. She owned no land South of the township line.

There are three tracts at issue, and for convenience they will be identified according to the captions in the subject lease and in Paragraph 5 of Lamson’s petition as Tract “A”, Tract “B”, and Tract “C”. Tract “A” is a portion of the roadbed in the present Dulles Road. Tract “B” is a portion of the roadbed in the present West-gate Road. Tract “C” is described as “two road portions” and comprises roadbed portions of both Dulles Road and Westgate Road.

The validity of Lamson’s claim relating to Tracts “A” and “B” requires a determination of (1) whether the description of the land in the sale from Clara Beraud to Ashton Beraud and Paul Beraud, Jr. of 100 acres on February 29, 1944,3 included portions of the public roads (now Dulles Road and Westgate Road) on the South and West and (2) whether the description of the land in the sale from Ashton Beraud and Paul Beraud, Jr. to Joseph DeJack of 50 acres on October 20, 1947,4 included portions of said roads.

The validity of Lamson’s claim relating to Tract “C” requires a determination whether the description of the land in the sale from Clara Beraud to Lloyd Bou-dreaux of “4 acres, more or less” on November 8, 1943,5 included portions of said roads.

THE MEANING OF “BOUNDED BY THE ROAD”

In each of the three conveyances noted above, the written property description includes “public road” as one or more of the boundaries. Do those boundary descriptions mean that the described property stops at |Rthe edge of the road right of way, or do they mean that all or a part of the roadbeds was included in the conveyance?

In the companion case noted earlier, Docket 96-2277, the reasons for judgment [1198]*1198discuss the “bounded by the road” issue as it relates to deeds in general and also as it relates to the particular facts of that case. For convenience, the court incorporates into these reasons for judgment the section entitled “The Meaning of ‘Bounded on the North by Public Road’ ” on pages 4-8, recognizing, however, that some of the language (the portion which relates specifically to the facts of that case) may have no application in this case. With that background as a start, the descriptions in the conveyances giving rise to this dispute must be interpreted.

TRACTS “A” AND “B”

In the 1944 sale from Clara Beraud to Ashton Beraud and Paul Beraud, Jr., the description was:

That certain tract of land situated in the Parish of Lafayette, Louisiana in Section 32, Township 9 South, Range 4 East, comprising 100 acres and being bounded on the North by the remaining property of the vendor, on the South by public road in part and in part by the property of Lloyd Boudreaux, West by public gravel road, East by the property of Simon Bergeron, Paul Boudreaux and Treville Broussard or assigns.

In accord with the rules recognized and discussed in State v. Tucker, 247 La. 188, 170 So.2d 371 (1964), and followed in the reasons for judgment in docket no. 96-2277, it is concluded that in the above sale Clara Beraud did not convey any portion of the road recited to be the South boundary (now Dulles Road), and she retained whatever part of the roadbed she owned. The South boundary of the conveyed property was the North right-of-way line of the road. The portion of the roadbed retained by Clara Beraud is Tract “A” of the Lam-son lease.

Likewise, for the same reasons, it is clear that Clara Beraud did not convey any portion of the road recited to be the West boundary (now Westgate Road), and she retained whatever part of that roadbed she owned. The West boundary of the conveyed property was the East right-of-way line of the road. The portion of the roadbed retained by Clara Beraud is Tract “B” of the Lamson lease.

Ownership of the subject roadbed strips was transferred by judgment of possession in the succession of Clara Beraud dated April 10, 1945.6 That judgment recognizes Paul Beraud, Sr. as her only heir at law and, although the judgment does not specifically describe those Lroadbed tracts, it places the said Paul Beraud, Sr. in possession of “all of the property, real, personal and mixed” belonging to the succession.

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

Related

Kenneth M. Spears v. Andy Welch
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2022
Dorries v. Linder
211 So. 3d 1242 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
Bourgeois v. Linden Interest
84 So. 3d 715 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012)
Marion E. Bourgeois v. Linden Interest
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012
Baudin v. Spruill
931 So. 2d 549 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
824 So. 2d 1194, 0 La.App. 3 Cir. 695, 160 Oil & Gas Rep. 454, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 89, 2001 WL 83739, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lamson-petroleum-corp-v-hallwood-petroleum-inc-lactapp-2001.