Mayers v. Marmet

985 So. 2d 315, 2008 WL 2186188
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 28, 2008
Docket2008-127
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 985 So. 2d 315 (Mayers v. Marmet) 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
Mayers v. Marmet, 985 So. 2d 315, 2008 WL 2186188 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

985 So.2d 315 (2008)

Phil D. MAYERS, Jr., et ux.
v.
Sonny MARMET.

No. 2008-127.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 28, 2008.

Gary E. Theall, Abbeville, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellant, Sonny Marmet.

Raymond A. Beyt, Lafayette, Louisiana, for Plaintiffs/Appellees, Phil D. Mayers, Jr. and Adrienne S. Mayers.

Court composed of SYLVIA R. COOKS, GLENN B. GREMILLION, and JAMES T. GENOVESE, Judges.

GENOVESE, Judge.

The Defendant, Sonny Marmet, appeals a grant of summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs, Phil D. Mayers, Jr. and Adrienne S. Mayers (the Mayers), decreeing the Mayers to be owners of all oil, gas, and other minerals under a certain mineral deed dated July 26, 2005. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

On February 21, 2007, the Mayers filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment. The Mayers' petition prayed for judgment declaring them, not Mr. Marmet, to be the owners of all oil, gas, and other minerals in, under, or which may be produced from a five-acre tract of land located in Section 7, Township 12 South, Range 1 East, in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. The Mayers asserted that they acquired the minerals from Rodney J. Grantham, Sr. and Shirley Hamilton Grantham by virtue of a mineral deed dated July 26, 2005, recorded under entry number 20508492 in the conveyance records of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. The Mayers' petition further alleged, in pertinent part:

4.
Prior to the execution of the aforesaid "Mineral Deed[,]" Rodney J. Grantham, Sr. did purportedly execute [an] "Inter Vivos Donation" dated February 18, 1991, recorded under Entry No. 9101465, Records of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, in favor of Rodney J. Grantham, Jr., husband of Alisa Hansbrough Grantham, covering the same lands affected by the aforesaid "Mineral Deed" in favor of [the Mayers]. However, said donation is an absolute nullity under Louisiana Civil Code Article 1536,[[1]] as said act was not passed before a Notary Public and two (2) witnesses.
5.
Following the execution of said purported donation and despite its absolute nullity, the said donee thereunder, Rodney *317 J. Grantham, Jr., joined in by his wife, Alisa Hansbrough Grantham, purportedly transferred said lands, by "Cash Deed" dated April 23, 2003, recorded under entry 20305147, Records of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, to Geraldine R. Hebert, wife of Richard J. Hebert. Thereafter, the said Richard J. Hebert and Geraldine R. Hebert attempted to donate such lands to [D]efendant, Sonny Marmet, by virtue of that "Act of Donation" dated February 15, 2006, recorded under Entry No. 20602609, Records of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
6.
As a result of the absolute nullity of the aforesaid "Act of Donation" of February 18, 1991, [the Mayers] acquired all of the oil, gas[,] and minerals in and under the aforesaid lands from the owners thereof, namely, Rodney J. Grantham, Sr. and Shirley Hamilton Grantham, by virtue of the aforesaid "Mineral Deed" of July 26, 2005.

On April 5, 2007, Mr. Marmet answered the Mayers' petition, asserted the affirmative defense of acquisitive prescription, and filed a third-party demand against Rodney J. Grantham, Jr. and Alisa Hansbrough Grantham. Mr. Marmet's answer detailed the acquisition history of the five-acre tract of land and asserted that he had acquired the property and all of its minerals by virtue of ten-year acquisitive prescription.

The Mayers filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on August 13, 2007 pursuant to La.Code Civ.P. art. 966. The Mayers' motion sought a judgment:

declaring that purported "Inter Vivos Donation" dated February 18, 1991, recorded under Entry No. 9101465, Records of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, in favor of Rodney J. Grantham, Jr., husband of Alisa Hansbrough Grantham, covering the lands made subject hereof, to be null and void; and for a further declaratory judgment in favor of [the Mayers] and against [Mr. Marmet], declaring [the Mayers] to be owners of all of the oil, gas and minerals in and under the lands made subject hereof; and for all just and equitable relief.

The Mayers' motion asserted that "there was only one . . . witness to the 1991 donation." Citing La.Civ.Code art. 3473[2] and La.Civ.Code art. 3475,[3] the Mayers argued that the invalid form of the donation rendered it an absolutely null juridical act; therefore, Mr. Marmet "cannot add to his possession of time [(tack on to)] his authors who do not meet the requisite of good faith and just title to establish a ten . . . year prescriptive title."

Attached to the Mayers' Motion for Summary Judgment were the following exhibits: Exhibit "A" — a Mineral Deed, dated July 26, 2005, wherein the Mayers purportedly acquired all of the oil, gas, and minerals in and under a five-acre tract of land located in Vermilion Parish from Rodney J. Grantham, Sr. and Shirley Hamilton Grantham; Exhibit "B" — a Cash Deed, dated December 3, 1984, wherein Rodney J. Grantham, Sr. and Shirley Hamilton Grantham acquired the five-acre tract from Acadiana Consulting and Investment Company, Inc.; Exhibit "C" — an Inter Vivos Donation, dated February 18, 1991, *318 wherein Rodney J. Grantham, Sr. purportedly donated the five-acre tract to Rodney J. Grantham, Jr.; Exhibit "D" — a Cash Deed, dated April 23, 2003, wherein Rodney J. Grantham, Jr. and Alisa Hansbrough Grantham purportedly transferred the five-acre tract to Geraldine R. Hebert; and Exhibit "E" — an Act of Donation, dated February 15, 2006, wherein Richard J. Hebert and Geraldine R. Hebert purportedly donated the five-acre tract to Mr. Marmet.

In his memorandum in opposition to the Mayers' Motion for Summary Judgment, Mr. Marmet conceded that "[t]he [1991] donation was not in the form required by Louisiana law." However, Mr. Marmet argued that, even though the donation executed on February 18, 1991 was, in effect, null, Rodney J. Grantham, Jr., his ancestor in title, believed in good faith that he owned the property and its minerals. Mr. Marmet asserted that in 1983, the Louisiana legislature changed the law relative to tacking when it revised La.Civ.Code art. 3480[4] and "separated the concepts of good faith possession and just title for the purpose of acquisitive prescription. Each is now a separate concept, each independent of the other." To support his contention that good faith and just title are no longer both required, thus permitting him to tack the good faith possession of his ancestors in title, Mr. Marmet relies upon comments (a) and (b) to La.Civ.Code art. 3480 which provide:

(a) This provision is based on Article 3451 of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1870. It changes the law.
(b) This definition of good faith is limited to matters of prescription. There is a different definition for matters of accession. See Civil Code Article 487, as revised in 1979. The reasons why two definitions are needed are explained in the comments under Article 487.

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Bluebook (online)
985 So. 2d 315, 2008 WL 2186188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mayers-v-marmet-lactapp-2008.