Bonsall v. Humble Oil & Refining Company
| Decision Date | 06 June 1961 |
| Docket Number | 7893.,No. 7889,7890,7892,7889 |
| Citation | 201 F. Supp. 516 |
| Parties | Lucia BONSALL et al. v. HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY. James CLEMENT, as dative tutor for the minor, Wilson Conner v. HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY. Prevate BROUSSARD v. HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY. Levia DUHON v. HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
Jones & Jones, Cameron, La., C. A. Miller, Jr., Lake Charles, La., for plaintiffs.
Plauche & Stockwell, Lake Charles, La., Bernard J. Caillouet and W. J. McAnelly, Jr., New Orleans, La., for defendant.
These consolidated cases are before this Court by removal from the Fourteenth Judicial District Court for Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The suits were filed against Humble Oil & Refining Company and seek the cancellation, for nonpayment of royalties, of four separate oil, gas and mineral leases, portions of each lease forming part of producing Gas Commissioner's units in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
Plaintiffs are residents and citizens of the State of Louisiana. Defendant, Humble Oil, is a Delaware corporation. The amount involved is far in excess of $10,000.
Humble does not dispute plaintiffs' title to the lands leased nor the fact that plaintiffs are entitled to royalties. In defense of these suits to cancel the leases, Humble urges:
(1) That no demand was made on Humble for the payment of royalties, and that there has never been a refusal on the part of defendant to make such payment.
(2) A serious legal question had to be resolved prior to the determination of the exact amount of the royalties to be received by plaintiffs, and defendant was attempting to resolve this dispute without the necessity of provoking a concursus suit, all in accordance with its leases from plaintiffs, which provided in Paragraph 10 as follows:
"* * * and in the event the land above described, any part thereof, or an interest therein or in the royalties payable hereunder is claimed by others, lessee shall have the right to withhold without liability for interest thereon payment of royalties on production therefrom or to deposit such royalties in the registry of Court of competent jurisdiction until final determination of lessor's rights."
(3) That defendant, by the action of plaintiffs and their attorneys, was lulled into the belief that the division orders would be signed in order to avoid the necessity of filing a concursus suit at great expense to plaintiffs and that, therefore, plaintiffs are estopped to demand a cancellation of the lease (Article 41 of the answers).
These cases were tried to the Court without a jury. The Court finds the facts (most of which are stipulated) to be as follows:
(1) That Joseph Broussard executed an oil, gas and mineral lease to Albert D. Miller on February 1, 1953. This lease covers approximately 48 acres as shown by Exhibit "A" attached to the plaintiff's petition in suit No. 7889 and is the lease under attack in that suit.
(2) Lease under No. (1) was assigned to Humble on April 13, 1953. (Exhibit P-5).
(3) Plaintiffs in suit No. 7889 are the sole and only surviving heirs of Joseph Broussard.
(4) Prevate Broussard executed an oil, gas and mineral lease to Albert D. Miller on February 1, 1953. This lease covers approximately 200 acres as shown by Exhibit "A" attached to plaintiff's petition in suit No. 7892 and is the lease under attack in that suit. Prevate Broussard is the plaintiff.
(5) Lease under No. (4) was assigned by Albert D. Miller to Humble Oil & Refining Company on April 13, 1953. (Exhibit P-5).
(6) Sidney Conner executed an oil, gas and mineral lease to Albert D. Miller on February 1, 1953. This lease covers approximately 48 acres as shown by Exhibit "A" attached to plaintiff's petition in suit No. 7890, and is the lease under attack in that suit.
(7) Lease under No. (6) was assigned by Albert D. Miller to Humble Oil & Refining Company on April 13, 1953. (Exhibit P-5). Wilson Conner, plaintiff in suit No. 7890 is the sole and surviving heir of Sidney Conner.
(8) Levia Duhon executed an oil, gas and mineral lease to Albert D. Miller on February 1, 1953. This lease covers approximately 42 acres as shown by Exhibit "A" attached to plaintiff's petition in suit No. 7893, and is the lease under attack in that suit. Levia Duhon is the plaintiff.
(9) Lease under No. (8) was assigned by Albert D. Miller to the Humble Oil & Refining Company on April 13, 1953. (Exhibit P-5).
(10) Delay rentals were timely paid on each lease through August 1, 1957, as shown by affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr. (Exhibit Humble-10). Portions of the acreage included in aforesaid leases were included within Humble's Chenier Perdue Gas Unit No. 1, which was created by unit designation instrument dated July 26, 1956, as shown by affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr., Exhibit Humble-10.
(11) Humble's Cheniere Perdue Gas Unit No. 1, Well No. 1, which was located and drilled within the limits of Humble's Gas Unit No. 1 () was spudded in on November 12, 1956, and was completed on March 5, 1957, as a well capable of producing gas and condensate in commercial quantities and was shut in for lack of available market.
(12) Shut in gas royalties were paid in connection with the Cheniere Perdue Gas Unit No. 1 as follows:
a. Levia Duhon, under lease owned by Humble Oil & Refining Company, dated February 1, 1953, $6.57 per month, first check issued and mailed on May 23, 1957, for the period May 25, 1957 to June 25, 1957; and in like manner monthly through the period ending October 25, 1958, for a total payment of $111.69.
b. Prevate Broussard, under lease owned by Humble, dated February 1, 1953, $20.84 per month, first check issued and mailed on May 23, 1957, for the period May 25, 1957, to June 25, 1957; and in like manner monthly through the period ending October 25, 1958, for a total payment of $354.28.
c. Sidney Conner, under lease owned by Humble, dated February 1, 1953, $4.17 per month, first check issued and mailed on May 23, 1957, for the period May 25, 1957 to June 25, 1957; and in like manner monthly through the period ending May 25, 1958, for a total payment of $50.04, and James Clement, Tutor for the Minor, Wilson Conner, under lease owned by Humble, dated February 1, 1953, $4.17 per month for the period May 25, 1958 to June 25, 1958; and in like manner monthly through the period ending October 25, 1958, for a total payment of $20.25.
d. Lucia Bonsall, Armelian Broussard, Dorestan Broussard, Ferdinand Broussard, Levan Broussard, Edwina Rutherford, Ledia Theriot and Mayola Wicke, under lease owned by Humble, dated February 1, 1953, $2.50 each per month, first check issued and mailed on May 23, 1957, for the period May 25, 1957 to June 25, 1957; and in like manner monthly through the period ending October 25, 1958, for a total of $340.00.
e. After these payments for the periods ending October 25, 1958, no further shut in gas royalty payments were made.
(13) Portions of the acreage covered by the Prevate Broussard and Levia Duhon leases were included within Humble's Cheniere Perdue Gas Unit No. 2, which was created by unit designation instrument dated June 12, 1958, recorded in the Conveyance Records of Cameron Parish, and that the Cheniere Perdue Gas Unit No. 2, Well No. 1 was located and drilled within the limits of said declared unit and was spudded in on July 8, 1958, and completed on August 16, 1958, as a dry hole. See affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr., Exhibit Humble-10.
(14) When Order No. 430 of the Commissioner of Conservation for the State of Louisiana became effective on September 1, 1958, creating the unit for the "I" Sand as defined by said Order No. 430, the contribution of acreage by the above identified oil, gas and mineral leases was as follows:
Tract Acres
Sidney Conner 13.038
and Austral Oil Exploration Company, Inc. was designated as Operator. See affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr., Exhibit Humble-10.
(15) When Order No. 430-A of the Commissioner of Conservation for the state of Louisiana became effective on September 1, 1958, creating the unit for the "D" Sand as defined by said Order No. 430-A, the contribution of acreage by the above identified oil, gas and mineral leases was as follows:
Tract Acres
Prevate Broussard 41.313
Levia Duhon 7.947
Joseph Broussard 10.821
Sidney Conner 39.536
and Austral Oil Exploration Company, Inc., was designated as Operator. See affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr., Exhibit Humble-10.
(16) When Order No. 430-B of the Commissioner of Conservation for the State of Louisiana became effective on September 1, 1958, creating the unit for the "H" Sand as defined by said Order No. 430-B, the contribution of acreage by the above identified oil, gas and mineral leases was as follows:
Tract Acres
Sidney Conner 9.806
and Austral Oil Exploration Company, Inc. was designated as Operator. See affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr., Exhibit Humble-10.
(17) When Order No. 430-C of the Commissioner of Conservation for the State of Louisiana became effective on September 1, 1958, creating the unit for the "G" Sand as defined by said Order No. 430-C, the contribution of acreage by the above identified oil, gas and mineral leases was as follows:
Tract Acres
Sidney Conner 6.312
and Austral Oil Exploration Company, Inc. was designated as Operator. See affidavit of J. A. Heyl, Jr., Exhibit Humble-10.
(18) Austral Oil Exploration Company, Inc. was designated as the operator by the Commissioner of Conservation by the orders creating the "I", "D", "H" and "G" Sands.
(19) The first run of gas and condensate from the "D", "G" and "H" Sand units was on September 1, 1958 and production in commercial quantities has continued from these units to date. (Exhibit A-1). The first production from the "I" Sand...
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