Succession of Cloud

508 So. 2d 577, 1987 La. App. LEXIS 8497
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 21, 1987
DocketNo. 18154-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 508 So. 2d 577 (Succession of Cloud) 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
Succession of Cloud, 508 So. 2d 577, 1987 La. App. LEXIS 8497 (La. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

SEXTON, Judge.

In this succession proceeding, the plaintiffs-appellants, four forced heirs of the decedent, Noah Cloud, appeal the judgment of the trial court rejecting their demands to have a certain twenty acre tract of land [579]*579declared to be the property of the succession. The defendants-appellees are Urzula Cloud Hatch, another forced heir; B.M. Hatch, ex-husband of Urzula; Urzula, Inc.; and Martin Sanders, Jr. Mr. Sanders is also the attorney for himself and the remaining defendants in this case. For the reasons expressed herein, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.

The chronology of events leading up to this action is as follows. On March 22, 1963, Noah Cloud granted a mineral lease to Placid Oil Company on a certain tract of land containing approximately twenty acres, located in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Section 22, Township 11 North, Range 6 West, being the East Half of the Northwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter. On August 21, 1964, Noah (then age 84) signed a deed transferring the twenty acre tract to his son-in-law, B.M. Hatch. On that same date, Noah moved off the land to the residence of his daughter, Urzu-la, and her husband, B.M. Hatch.

Noah died on December 30, 1966. A few months later, on April 4, 1967, Lucy Cloud, his wife, was interdicted. Between March 1, 1968, and February 28, 1980, Urzula, as administratrix of the succession, filed 28 tableaus of distribution, all of which alleged that Lucy owned one-half of the funds in the hands of the administratrix and a usufruct over the other one-half. Moreover, Urzula filed a detailed descriptive list in 1968 and two amended detailed descriptive lists, the first in 1968 and the second in 1985, all of which listed the subject 20-acre tract as succession property.

Although Urzula included this twenty acre tract in the detailed descriptive lists and tableaus of distribution as aforesaid, this tract and its minerals were included in the property she received in the 1978 community property settlement following her divorce from her husband, B.M. Hatch, in 1974.

Up until May 26, 1981, Noah or his succession continued to receive royalty payments owed on the twenty acre tract from Placid Oil Company. On this date, Urzula contacted Martin Sanders, attorney at law, seeking his advice with respect to the royalties emanating from this property. Sanders advised Urzula that she was the owner of the property and he suggested that Ur-zula begin receiving these royalty payments in her own name. Thereafter, Sanders incorporated Urzula and on June 27, 1983, a deed transferring the twenty acre tract from Urzula to Urzula, Inc. was executed. On June 20th, Urzula conveyed one-fourth of the minerals underlying the subject property to Mr. Sanders for a stated consideration of $10,000 “in legal services.” On the 31st of August she conveyed an additional one-twelfth thereunder to Mr. Sanders for another $10,000 “in legal services.”

Plaintiffs, the brothers and sisters of Ur-zula Cloud Hatch and thus her co-forced heirs, filed this suit on May 7, 1984, contending that the succession of Noah Cloud is the rightful owner of the twenty acre tract in question.

After a two day trial in May of 1985, the trial court rendered judgment rejecting the demands of the plaintiffs on November 21, 1985.

In its reasons for judgment, the trial court held that the burden was on the petitioners to prove a simulated sale because the initial purchaser, B.M. Hatch, was not an heir of Noah Cloud, and Noah Cloud did not remain in possession of the property, reserve a usufruct or retain possession by precarious title. Therefore, the trial court determined that as a result of these circumstances, the “present owners” were not required to produce proof of their good faith in accordance with LSA-C.C. Art. 2480.1 From this judgment, the plaintiffs appeal.

[580]*580The plaintiffs-appellants assert that the trial court erred in two respects:

(1) The trial court erred in finding that Civil Code Article 2480 was inapplicable to this case, thereby placing the burden upon the appellants to show that the sale was simulated.
(2) The trial court erred in finding a valid transfer by deed dated August 21, 1964, from Noah Cloud to B.M. Hatch.

With regard to the law applicable to simulations, this court in Kennedy v. Bearden, 471 So.2d 871 (La.App.2d Cir.1985), stated:

A simulation is a transfer of property which is not what it seems. Simulations are of two types: pure simulations and disguised transfers. In a pure simulation, sometimes called a nontransfer, the parties only pretend to transfer the property from one to the other, but in fact both transferor and transferee intend that the transferor retain ownership of the property. When this type of simulation is successfully attacked, the true intent of the parties is revealed; that is, that no transfer had in fact taken place. The other type of simulation is a disguised transfer which seems on its face to be a valid sale, but in fact is actually intended by the parties to be a gift rather than a sale.

Two legal presumptions, one codal and one jurisprudential, apply in situations where a party seeks to prove a pure simulation. Kennedy v. Bearden, supra. The codal presumption is expressed in LSA-C.C. Art. 2480 and is applicable where the vendor retains the possession of the thing sold by usufruct or by precarious title.

A transaction will not be set aside as a simulation if any consideration supports the transaction because the reality of the transference is thus established. Russell v. Culpepper, 344 So.2d 1372 (La.1977).

The jurisprudential presumption of simulation applies where the evidence establishes the existence of facts and circumstances which create a highly reasonable doubt as to the reality of a putative sale. Kennedy v. Bearden, supra; Wilson v. Progressive State Bank and Trust Company, 446 So.2d 867 (La.App.2d Cir.1984).

When either the codal or jurisprudential presumption exists, the burden of proof shifts to the other party to the sale who may rebut the presumption by establishing a good faith transaction resulting in a true alienation of ownership for consideration. Kennedy v. Bearden, supra; Russell v. Culpepper, 337 So.2d 226 (La.

We agree that the record in this case does not support a codal presumption of simulation since there was no showing of a usufruct or a precarious title.2 The [581]*581instant circumstances not fitting within those specifically enumerated by Article 2480, our task, then, is to determine whether the circumstances of the transaction from Noah Cloud to B.M. Hatch of August 21, 1964, create so significant a reasonable doubt as to the reality of the transfer as to envolce the jurisprudential presumption and shift the burden of proof to the purported vendee to establish actuality of the sale.

The record is clear that significant mineral royalties were paid on this tract to Noah Cloud after the deed in question, and thereafter to his succession for a lengthy period of time. Such exercise of dominion over property which was the subject of a purported sale is clearly sufficient to en-voke the presumption of a simulation, whether expressed codally or jurispruden-tially. See Sabrier v. Leard, 426 So.2d 213 (La.App. 4th Cir.1982); Dietz v. Dietz, 227 La.

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Related

Cloud v. Sanders
677 So. 2d 613 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
Trident Oil & Gas Corp. v. John O. Clay Exploration, Inc.
622 So. 2d 1191 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Sanders
568 So. 2d 1025 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1990)
Succession of Cloud
530 So. 2d 1146 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1988)
Hogan v. McKeithen
527 So. 2d 982 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)

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508 So. 2d 577, 1987 La. App. LEXIS 8497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/succession-of-cloud-lactapp-1987.