Crooks v. Department Of Natural Resources

• Decision Date: 28 December 2018
• Docket Number: 17-750
• Citation: 263 So.3d 540
• Parties: Steve CROOKS and Era Lea Crooks v. State of La., DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

263 So.3d 540

Steve CROOKS and Era Lea Crooks

v.State of La., DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

17-750

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

December 28, 2018

Ronald J. Fiorenza, Joseph J. Bailey, Provosty, Sadler, deLaunay, Fiorenza & Sobel, Post Office Box 1791, Alexandria, LA 71309-1791, (318) 445-3631, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: State of Louisiana, Department of Natural Resources.

Sean T. Porter, General Counsel, Division of Administration, Post Office Box 94095, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095, (225) 342-7154, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: State of Louisiana, Department of Natural Resources.

Michelle M. White, Assistant Attorney General, Post Office Box 94005, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9005, (225) 326-6000, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: State of Louisiana, Department of Natural Resources.

Scott Johnson, Steven B. "Beaux" Jones, Harry J. Vorhoff, Ryan M. Seidemann, Assistant Attorneys General, 1885 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, (225) 326-6085, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: State of Louisiana, Department of Natural Resources.

V. Russell Purvis, Jr., Smith, Taliaferro & Purvis, Post Office Box 298, Jonesville, LA 71343, (318) 339-8526, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLEES: Steve Crooks, Era Lea Crooks.

J. Rock Palermo, III, Veron, Bice, Palermo & Wilson, LLC, Post Office Box 2125, Lake Charles, LA 70602-2125, (337) 310-1600, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLEES: Steve Crooks Era, Lea Crooks.

Christopher J. Piasecki, Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, Post Office Box 2908, Lafayette, LA 70502-2908, (337) 237-1660, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLEES: Steve Crooks, Era Lea Crooks.

Yolanda G. Martin, Daniel D. Henry, Jr., Nicholas T. "Cole" Garrett, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Post Office Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000, (225) 765-2369, COUNSEL FOR AMICUS CURIAE: Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Mark A. Begnaud, McCoy, Roberts & Begnaud, LTD., Post Office Box 1369, Natchitoches, LA 71458, (318) 352-6495, COUNSEL FOR AMICUS CURIAE: Red River Waterway District.

Mark D. Seghers, Seghers & Perez, LLC, 2955 Ridgelake Drive, Suite 108, Metairie, LA 70002, (504) 810-5671, COUNSEL FOR AMICUS CURIAE: Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.

Court composed of John D. Saunders, Marc T. Amy, and D. Kent Savoie, Judges.

SAVOIE, Judge.

The Plaintiffs filed this class action lawsuit, seeking to be declared owners of certain immovable property and to fix the boundary between their properties and State-owned property. The Plaintiffs further requested compensation for the inverse condemnation of the immovable property and repayment of royalties received by the State for oil, gas, and mineral activities that have taken place on the property. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs, awarding compensation and attorney's fees, and the State now appeals. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, vacate in part and render judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1962, the United States began constructing various structures¹ in and around the Catahoula Basin pursuant to a congressionally-authorized navigation project under the River and Harbor Act of 1960² to promote navigation on the Ouachita and Black Rivers. In association with the project, the State of Louisiana and the United States signed an "Act of Assurances." Under the Act of Assurances, the State agreed to:

a. Furnish free of cost to the United States all lands, easements, and rights of way, including flowage rights in overflow areas, and suitable spoil-disposal areas necessary for construction of the project and for its subsequent maintenance, when and as required;

....

c. Hold and save the United States free from damages due to construction and maintenance of the project[.]

In connection with the project, the Catahoula Lake Water Level Management Agreement (hereinafter called the Water Level Management Agreement) was also developed and signed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers; the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior; and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. The agencies confected the agreement to ensure that proper water level management would protect the wildlife and public recreational opportunities in the Catahoula Basin, including an area known as Catahoula Lake. Upon completion of the project in 1972, the record indicates that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began managing water levels in and around the Catahoula Basin in accordance with a seasonal schedule outlined in the agreement. As intended, these water management activities increased water levels in the Catahoula Basin and prolonged the natural annual high-water fluctuations. The record indicates that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service continues to manage the water levels in the Catahoula Basin to this day. Further, the record indicates that the State exercises jurisdiction of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and has granted mineral leases in the area known as Catahoula Lake.

On May 4, 2006, Steve Crooks and Era Lea Crooks filed a "Class Action Petition To Fix Boundary, For Damages And For Declaration Judgment." They alleged to be representatives of a class of landowners in the Catahoula Basin whose property is affected by the increased water levels from the project. The trial court ultimately certified the Plaintiffs as one class (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Plaintiffs"). However, the trial court ascertained that the resolution of some members' claims would require determining ownership of certain lands. Accordingly, the trial court subdivided the Plaintiff class into two distinct groups depending upon the locations of their properties. The trial court referred to the groups as the "Lake Plaintiffs" and the "Swamp Plaintiffs" and summarized their claims as follows:

The Lake Plaintiffs are seeking to have all lands between the ordinary low and ordinary high water mark of the Little River within the area known as Catahoula Lake to be declared owned by the class in accordance with Louisiana's laws of riparian ownership.... The Lake Plaintiffs have asserted additional claims seeking[:] a declaration that their lands have been unlawfully expropriated, without compensation, due to the significant obstructions to the natural drainage in and around the Catahoula Basin caused by the [project]; damages for the unlawful taking of their land because of this inverse condemnation; and to recover the mineral royalty and other payments derived from oil, gas, and mineral activities and productions received by the State of Louisiana from the immovable property that is the subject of these proceedings.

Separate and independent from the above, the Swamp Plaintiffs consists [sic] of the owners of "overflow lands" located in the southwestern portion of the Catahoula Basin. Much of the land bordering and lying outside Catahoula Lake was selected and approved as swampland and transferred to the state by the United States Government under the Swampland Acts of 1849 and 1850. It is not disputed that these lands are below an elevation of 36 feet mean sea level, and that their titles originated from patents issued by the [S]tate. Because of the State's acknowledgment that these plaintiffs' ownership is not disputed,^[3] the only remaining issues with respect to these owners is whether the overflow lands have been unlawfully expropriated and, if so, the amount of damages necessary to compensate these plaintiffs for the unlawful taking of their land without compensation.

The Lake Plaintiffs argued that, though referred to as a lake, the area known as Catahoula Lake actually constitutes the banks of a body of water in the Catahoula Basin called Little River and thus is owned by the Lake Plaintiffs in accordance with Louisiana's laws of riparian ownership.⁴ They asserted that, prior to construction of the project and management of the water levels in the Catahoula Basin, Little River crossed the Catahoula Basin and seasonally overflowed its banks. They argued that, during overflow periods, Little River expanded across the entire Catahoula Basin and was mistakenly called Catahoula Lake. Thus, as detailed in the above quote, the Lake Plaintiffs sought to be declared owners of the area between the ordinary low water mark and the ordinary high water mark of Little River.⁵

In response, the State filed a motion for partial summary judgment. In the motion, the State asserted that the third circuit made a legal determination in Sanders v. State, Dep't of Natural Res. , 07-821 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/19/07), 973 So.2d 879, writ denied , 08-0438 (La. 4/18/08), 978 So.2d 352, that the area known as Catahoula Lake is, as a matter of law, a navigable lake as defined in the Louisiana Civil Code. Accordingly, the State asserted that the area known as Catahoula Lake is owned, as a matter of law, by the State, not the Plaintiffs.⁶ The trial court granted the State's motion, and the Plaintiffs appealed. On appeal, a panel of this court reversed the grant of summary judgment, noting that the fundamental question of whether the area known as Catahoula Lake is a lake or a river was not an adjudicated issue in Sanders , 973 So.2d 879. Crooks v. State, Dep't of Natural Res. , 11-920 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/7/11), 81 So.3d 47.

Accordingly, the parties continued to litigate how to classify the area known as Catahoula Lake. The parties focused on the status of the area as of April 30, 1812, the year Louisiana entered the Union.⁷

The Plaintiffs argued that, in 1812, the area known as Catahoula Lake was merely the seasonal overflow of Little River. In contrast, the State argued that, in 1812, the area known as Catahoula Lake was a distinct lake bed that experienced seasonal variations in water level. The State ultimately filed a reconventional demand, which stated, in pertinent part:

Wherefore, the State, as plaintif...