Robinson v. North American Royalties, Inc.

463 So. 2d 1384
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 1, 1985
Docket84-102
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 463 So. 2d 1384 (Robinson v. North American Royalties, 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
Robinson v. North American Royalties, Inc., 463 So. 2d 1384 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

463 So.2d 1384 (1985)

A.J. ROBINSON, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
NORTH AMERICAN ROYALTIES, INC., David C. Bintliff, and the Stone Oil Corporation, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 84-102.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 1, 1985.
Rehearing Denied March 8, 1985.

*1385 Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, Robert L. Redfearn and Judy P. Martinez, New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellant.

Gordon, Arata, McCollam & Stuart, Ballard E. Harris, Liskow & Lewis, Charles B. Griffis, Lafayette, for defendants-appellees.

Before DOMENGEAUX, STOKER and KING, JJ.

DOMENGEAUX, Judge.

On March 13, 1978, Edna Petitjean Lacour, N. Curtis Petitjean, W. Petitjean & Company, Irene M. Petitjean, Henrietta Bourgaux Petitjean, Martin Petitjean, II, Winson J. Petitjean, Jr., and Jeanne M. Petitjean, ("the Petitjeans") granted an oil, gas, and mineral lease to the plaintiff, A.J. Robinson, Jr., covering approximately 579 acres in Acadia Parish. This lease will hereinafter be referred to as the Petitjean lease.

Subsequently, on March 30, 1978, the plaintiff "assigned" his interest in the Petitjean lease to North American Royalties, Inc. and David C. Bintliff (collectively "North American") reserving an overriding royalty interest of an undivided 1/100th of 8/8ths. One of the contract stipulations is an extension clause (commonly referred to as an anti-washout provision) which provides that the overriding royalty interest reserved by Robinson would also apply to any new mineral leases acquired by North American or its successors or assigns covering any of the 579 acres covered by the original Petitjean lease, if acquired within one year from the expiration of the Petitjean lease. This "assignment" will hereinafter be referred to as the Robinson agreement.

By instrument dated August 25, 1980, pursuant to a farm out agreement dated August 10, 1978, North American Royalties, Inc., et al "assigned" to the Stone Oil Corporation 60% of its interest in the Petitjean lease only insofar as said lease covered land located within a production unit established by the Louisiana Office of Conservation and designated as the 13,850 foot RA SU A. This "assignment" contained a provision which states that Stone Oil accepted the "assignment" of the Petitjean lease "subject to such interest's proportionate part of all overriding royalties, ... and... agreements of record." [1] This "assignment" will hereinafter be referred to as the North American Agreement.

Due to North American's decision not to pay delay rentals, the Petitjean lease expired on March 13, 1983, insofar as it covered lands outside the 13,850 foot RA SU A conservation unit. The Petitjean lease has been maintained within the unit because of production in paying quantities. Robinson is being paid an overriding royalty for that production.

Shortly thereafter, on March 17, 1983, the Petitjean family granted an oil, gas, and mineral lease to Stone Oil (the Stone Oil lease) covering a portion of acreage previously covered by the Petitjean lease and lying outside of the 13,850 foot RA SU A unit.

The plaintiff, A.J. Robinson, Jr., after making amicable demand, filed suit against North American Royalties, Inc., David C. Bintliff, and the Stone Oil Corporation, claiming that he is entitled to an assignment of a 1/100th of 8/8ths overriding royalty interest over the Stone Oil lease.

Stone Oil filed an "exception of no cause and/or right of action" which was sustained *1386 by the trial court. Plaintiff's action was dismissed.

At this juncture we must point out that although the Robinson agreement and the North American agreement are designated as assignments they are in fact subleases. In each of those agreements the "assignor" retained an overriding royalty. In the situation where a lessee reserves an overriding royalty when making a purported assignment of the lease, the "assignment" is in legal effect a sublease. Pepper v. Pyramid Oil & Gas Corporation, 287 So.2d 620 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1974), and Mc-Donald v. O'Meara, 139 So.2d 282 (La.App. 1st Cir.1962).

The plaintiff-appellant asserts three specifications of error on this appeal:

(1) That the district court erred in granting a judgment of dismissal on an "exception of no cause and/or right of action".

(2) That the district court erred in holding that no cause of action exists in favor of Robinson.

(3) That the district court erred in holding that no right of action exists in favor of Robinson.

SPECIFICATION OF ERROR NO. 1:

Robinson contends that the district court should not have rendered a judgment on Stone Oil's "exception of no cause and/or right of action" because there is no such exception under Louisiana law. Plaintiff argues that La.C.C.P. Art. 927, in setting forth the available peremptory exceptions, lists separately the exception of "no cause of action" and the exception of "no right of action" and therefore each deserves a separate consideration and an individual determination.

We agree that there is no such exception as an "exception of no cause and/or right of action". Randall v. Jena Wire & Cable Company, 415 So.2d 564 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1982). We do have an exception of "no cause of action", La.C. C.P. Art. 927(4) and an exception of "no right of action", La.C.C.P. Art. 927(5) which are distinct exceptions subject to different rules. Although the exceptor in this case did not employ the proper terminology in styling his exception and although such loose pleading is not to be condoned or encouraged, for purposes of this appeal we shall treat Stone Oil's pleading as an attempt to urge both of the described exceptions. See Randall, supra, and A. Copeland Enterprises, Inc. v. R. Jones Enterprises, Inc., 433 So.2d 1066 (La.App. 5th Cir.1982), writ denied, 435 So.2d 426 (La. 1983).

SPECIFICATION OF ERROR NO 2:

The appellant argues that the district court erred in holding that he did not have a cause of action.

The exception of no cause of action is a procedural device pleaded to raise the question of whether any remedy is afforded by law. Peloquin v. Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, 367 So.2d 1246 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1979).

"The purpose of the exception of no cause of action is to test the legal sufficiency of the pleadings. Well pleaded facts alleged in the petition are taken as true. If any reasonable construction of the alleged facts could lead to possible legal recovery, the exception must be overruled. Normally, evidence may not be considered for the purposes of sustaining an exception of no cause of action. The exception can be sustained only when the allegations, as stated in the petition, affirmatively establish that no relief can be granted under the law."

Ford Motor Credit Company v. Soileau, 357 So.2d 563 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1978) [Citations omitted].

The basis of this controversy centers on the provision in the Robinson agreement which provides:

"It is further expressly agreed and understood that the overriding royalty interest herein reserved and retained by GRANTOR [Robinson] shall be applicable and extend to the renewal or extension of the hereinabove described oil, gas and mineral lease or to any new oil, gas and mineral lease obtained or acquired, directly or indirectly, by, for and on behalf of GRANTEE [North American Royalties, *1387

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463 So. 2d 1384, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-north-american-royalties-inc-lactapp-1985.