Rolene Corp. v. Trois Amis, Inc.

572 So. 2d 1089, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 2966, 1990 WL 211338
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 18, 1990
DocketNos. 89 CA 1419, 89 CA 1420
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 572 So. 2d 1089 (Rolene Corp. v. Trois Amis, 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
Rolene Corp. v. Trois Amis, Inc., 572 So. 2d 1089, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 2966, 1990 WL 211338 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

SAVOIE, Judge.

Rolene Corporation, Trois-Amis, Inc., and Louis Koerner appeal the trial court’s judgment maintaining an exception of prescription as to their claims against Russell Bankston, attorney, and his professional liability insurer National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, Pa. (National Union).1

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On July 8, 1982, Rolene filed suit against Trois-Amis, Inc. for a breach of warranty alleging that when Trois-Amis, Inc. sold seven lots to Rolene the titles to the lots contained mineral reservations and lacked a waiver of surface rights. On July 25, 1983, Rolene amended its petition, adding Russell Bankston as a defendant and alleging that Trois-Amis, Inc. and Russell Bank-ston were liable in solido for the alleged defective title. On October 31, 1983, Ro-lene filed another amending petition adding Zachary Development Corporation, Mary Fontenot, J. Thomas Landry and Anthony Amedee as defendants.2 On September 20, 1984, Zachary Development Corporation, Mary Fontenot, J. Thomas Landry and Anthony Amedee filed a third party demand against Bankston and his liability insurer, National Union. On September 20, 1984, Trois-Amis, Inc. filed a third party demand and a cross claim against Bankston and his liability insurer, National Union. On October 1, 1986, Louis Koerner, Rolene’s former counsel, intervened in the case. On February 22, 1985, Trois-Amis, Inc. filed a separate suit against Bankston and his liability insurer, National Union Fire Insurance. On March 4, 1985, Rolene and Robert Griffis intervened in the second suit. On April 25, 1985, a motion to consolidate the two cases was granted.

FACTS

In January 1979, J.E. Fontenot, J. Thomas Landry and Anthony Amedee (hereinafter referred to as Trois-Amis, Inc.) as vendees entered into an agreement to purchase and sell immovable property with Talmadge D. Bickham, vendor.3 At that time, Bankston was attorney for the Bank of Zachary. The agreement was brought to Bankston who reviewed it. The agreement contained a mineral reservation but also contained a waiver by the vendor of the surface rights for drilling and the exploration of minerals. After expiration of the agreement to purchase, the same parties entered into a second agreement to purchase with the same reservation of minerals and waiver of surface rights. Sometime before May 31, 1979, Bankston received a copy of an Act of Exchange and the second agreement to purchase from [1091]*1091Kaywald Stafford, attorney for Bickham.4 The Act of Exchange did not include the waiver of surface rights by Bickham. The record shows that neither of the purchase agreements or the Act of Exchange were prepared by Bankston. According to Bank-ston, he then realized that there was no waiver of surface rights and called Stafford to inform him and to ask him to have a release included. Bankston also testified that he probably relied on Stafford’s representation that he would have a release executed by Bickham, and relying on that representation Bankston told Trois-Amis, Inc. to go forward with the Act of Exchange.

On June 4, 1979, Bankston did a title examination for the Bank of Zachary. On the title certificate, Bankston noted that Bickham had retained all minerals on the property. Also on June 4, 1979, Bankston prepared a construction mortgage for the Bank of Zachary for the property that Trois-Amis, Inc. had just bought. According to the testimony adduced at trial, sometime between May 31, 1979 and June 21, 1979, Trois-Amis, Inc. became aware that the surface rights had not been waived. Trois-Amis, Inc. then informed Bankston about this problem. Bankston then contacted Stafford and asked that Bickham release the surface rights to the property. On June 21, 1979, Bankston wrote a letter to Landry, a principal of Trois-Amis, Inc., and told him that the surface rights would be released sometime in the future. A sale of seven lots of the disputed land took place between Rolene and Trois Amis, Inc. sometime between 1979-1982.

On June 23, 1982, William Bradley, an attorney doing title work for Rolene, informed Rolene by letter that his title examination of the property had revealed that the property was not merchantable. Around this time, Bradley informed Bank-ston that the release of surface rights was not included in the property’s title. Bank-ston testified that after he became aware that the surface rights had not been released he would remind Stafford about the release everytime he saw him. On June 24, 1982, Bankston sent Stafford a letter asking him to release the surface rights.

ACTION OF TRIAL COURT

The trial court found that a one year prescription was applicable to Bankston’s representation(s), that any claims against Bankston had prescribed, and that Trois-Amis, Inc. and Bankston were not liable in solido.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

The appellants raise or urge the following assignments of error:

1. The court erred in suggesting that there was no representation of The Trois-Amis Group on the part of Russell Bankston.
2. The court erred in holding that Bank-ston’s fault was subject to the prescriptive period of one year.
3. The court erred in finding that the representation made by Bankston with regard to the surface rights did not result in a guarantee or a promise to The Trois-Amis Group.
4. The court erred in finding Bankston was not liable in solido with The Trois-Amis Group and therefore the prescriptive period of one year was not interrupted.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

The trial court in its written reasons for judgment did not state that Bankston did not represent Trois-Amis, Inc. The trial court stated that if Bankston was subject to any liability it was with regard to his representation(s) after the Act of Exchange was passed. Although we agree with the trial court, we do not feel that it makes any difference because the prescriptive period for any negligence by Bankston either pri- or to or after the passage of title has run.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 2 and 3

The trial court found that Bank-ston’s representations to Trois-Amis, Inc. made one year prescription applicable. This court has previously held that a legal [1092]*1092malpractice action is subject to the one year prescriptive period of LSA-C.C. art. 3492, unless an attorney expressly warranties a particular result or agrees to perform certain work and does nothing whatsoever, in which instance the action would be contractual and the ten year prescriptive period of LSA-C.C. art. 3499 would apply. Succession of Smith v. Kavanaugh, Pierson and Talley, 565 So.2d 990, 993-994 (La.App. 1st Cir.1990). See also Rayne State Bank & Trust Company v. National Union Fire Insurance Company, 483 So.2d 987 (La.1986).

A complete review of the record does not show that Bankston guaranteed or promised that a surface rights release would be executed. We believe that the June 21, 1979 letter from Bankston to a Trois-Amis, Inc. principal reflects the kind of representation that Bankston had undertaken for Trois-Amis, Inc. in getting a release of surface rights.

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

Related

Red River Valley Bank v. Home Ins. Co.
607 So. 2d 892 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
572 So. 2d 1089, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 2966, 1990 WL 211338, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rolene-corp-v-trois-amis-inc-lactapp-1990.