State ex rel. Louisiana Office of Conservation v. Ball

99 So. 3d 100, 12 La.App. 3 Cir. 237, 2012 WL 4774884, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1266
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 3, 2012
DocketNo. 12-237
StatusPublished

This text of 99 So. 3d 100 (State ex rel. Louisiana Office of Conservation v. Ball) 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
State ex rel. Louisiana Office of Conservation v. Ball, 99 So. 3d 100, 12 La.App. 3 Cir. 237, 2012 WL 4774884, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1266 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

PETERS, J.

|/The defendant, Jesse Nelson Ball, IV, appeals from a trial court judgment finding him in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the State of Louisiana, through the Louisiana Office of [101]*101Conservation (state). For the following reasons, we affirm.

DISCUSSION OF THE RECORD

This litigation arises from an attempt by Mr. Ball to be paid for information he claims to have gathered relating to safety concerns with a Louisiana gas pipeline known as the Haynesville Extension Pipeline (pipeline). The record before us is rather sparse, and the information before us is provided by the assertions found in the state’s petition, by the trial court’s summation of discussions with counsel in chambers, from letters written by Mr. Ball and introduced in evidence, and from the state’s petition.

Acadian Gas Pipeline (Acadian) constructed the approximately 240-mile pipeline. Construction began in February 2011, and ended shortly before August 2011. Acadian planned to purge the pipeline with nitrogen by September 6, 2011, and to have natural gas flowing through the pipeline by October 1, 2011.

On April 18, 2011, Mr. Ball forwarded a letter to Enterprise Products Operating, L.L.C. (Enterprise) stating that he had “developed conclusive photographic and other evidence, all of which is independently verifiable, that through negligence, one of your billion dollar plus capital investments and the public safety have been placed at significant risk.” Without providing specifics, Mr. Ball informed Enterprise that he was aware of defects in the pipeline, which information he would provide to Enterprise for a price. Upon being made aware of 12Mr. Ball’s assertions, Acadian1 contacted the Louisiana Office of Conversation on May 9, 2011, and informed it of the particulars of Mr. Ball’s allegations and demand for money.

Based on the information provided him by Acadian, James H. Welsh, the Commissioner of Conservation, wrote Mr. Ball on May 10, 2011, stating:

I appreciate your concerns and request that you submit any and all information and evidence related to this matter that you possess to the Office of Conversation so that it may be reviewed to determine if any violations of Office of Conservation’s pipeline safety regulations have occurred. Please submit any and all evidence or information to this Office by May 27, 2011 and be aware that failure to provide this office with any and all evidence in your possession concerning public safety and the subject pipeline by that date, will lead the Office of Conservation to undertake additional steps in order to obtain this evidence and to protect the public welfare.

In response, Mr. Ball, by May 25, 2011 letter, requested that Commissioner Walsh:

[Rjecognize [that this matter] is currently a financial issue between Enterprise and myself. It is my firm belief that the citizens of this state will benefit greatly from my efforts and sharing of this information, but it is not my intent that those who may have failed in their responsibilities do the same without fair compensation. Since at this time it has only financial implications to Enterprise in its non-operational mode and poses no threat to public safety, this information should be provided to you only through Enterprise.
I look forward to maintaining an open and healthy dialogue with you to bring this matter to a speedy resolution.

[102]*102As a result of Mr. Ball’s refusal to provide the requested information, Commissioner Walsh issued the following subpoena duces tecum to Mr. Ball:

You are hereby commanded by the Commissioner of Conservation, pursuant to La. R.S. 30:8, to provide to the Commissioner of Conservation, for receipt by the Office of Conservation, Pipeline Division, located at 617 N. Third Street, 11th Floor, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802, by facsimile, by U.S. Mail, or by hand delivery, no | slater than ten (10) days after your receipt of this subpoena, the following:
1. Any and all documents, including but not limited to, records, written narratives, papers, correspondence, photographs, video recordings, files or other documents or records, whether in hard copy or electronic format, that relate to the alleged deficiencies or any other unsafe practices in the construction of the Haynesville Extension as stated in your letters, dated May 18, 2011 and May 25, 2011, and attached to this subpoena as Exhibits 1 and 2 respectively;
2. Any and all documents, including but not limited to, records, written narratives, papers, correspondence, photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, files or other documents or records, whether in hard copy or electronic format, that relate to your visual surveillance process or any other activities that led to your conclusions regarding the alleged deficiencies or any other unsafe construction practices associated with Acadian Gas Pipeline System and the Haynesville Pipeline Extension in the attached Exhibits 1 and 2.
Fail not to produce as herein directed under penalty of law.
BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CONSERVATION this 7th day of July 2011.

The service information shows that the subpoena was personally served on Mr. Ball by a Natchitoches Parish sheriffs deputy on July 12, 2011. The deadline to comply with the subpoena was extended to August 2, 2011, by Commissioner Welsh at Mr. Ball’s request.

On August 3, 2011, counsel for Mr. Ball faxed a letter to J. Blake Canfield, the Senior Attorney of the Office of Conservation, stating in part:

As you know, your office has issued a Subpoena Duces Tecum to Mr. Ball to produce documents and photographs regarding the Haynesville Extension which Mr. Ball has generated though investment of his own individual effort, time and money. Obviously, your Department has the responsibility to insure the safety of the pipeline in question and we stand ready to assist you in that regard and provide that information voluntarily, with several conditions.
As you know, there will be no safety issue unless the pipeline is put into service. Please consider this our written agreement to Lproduce the information voluntarily no later than one week prior to the scheduled opening of the pipeline. Additionally, at that time, Mr. Ball will be willing to meet with your staff and provide all information at his disposal to assist in your analysis. Anyone with pipeline expertise should be able to determine in minutes whether a safety problem exists and your department will have more than adequate time to analyze the situation and prevent opening the pipeline, if warranted.
[103]*103Unquestionably, Mr. Ball is entitled to be compensated for his efforts in discovering information which may reveal the existence of a safety problem. Mr. Ball would simply like additional time to approach Enterprise and the contractor Willbros and convince them that this information is extremely valuable. If a safety problem exists and prevents opening this pipeline, Enterprise and Willbros will lose millions of dollars and every day they are able to work towards remediation will save much money. If Enterprise is able to open the pipeline three weeks sooner because of Mr. Ball’s information and efforts, it will save millions of dollars.

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Bluebook (online)
99 So. 3d 100, 12 La.App. 3 Cir. 237, 2012 WL 4774884, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1266, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-louisiana-office-of-conservation-v-ball-lactapp-2012.