Robinson v. Hunt

• Decision Date: 13 December 1946
• Docket Number: 38028,38029,38030,38360.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
• Parties: ROBINSON v. HUNT et al. SAME v. MARKS et al. JORDAN et al. v. SAME. SAME v. CAPLOW.

31 So.2d 197

211 La. 1019

ROBINSON
v.
HUNT et al.

SAME
v.
MARKS et al.

JORDAN et al.
v.
SAME.

SAME
v.
CAPLOW.

Nos. 38028, 38029, 38030, 38360.

Supreme Court of Louisiana

December 13, 1946

On Rehearing April 21, 1947.

Rehearing Denied May 26, 1947. [31 So.2d 198]

[211 La. 1022] Appeal from Sixth Judicial District Court, Parish of Tensas; Frank Voelker, Judge.

[211 La. 1023] G. P. Bullis, of Ferriday, for appellants.

Wade and Wade, of Saint Joseph, and Theus, Grisham, Davis & Leigh, of Monroe, for defendant David H. Caplow.

Philip Watson, of Saint Joseph, and Sholars & Gunby, of Monroe, for defendants-appellees, G. D. Hunt, E. R. Whitaker, Walter Keith, H. M. Marks and R. W. Hair.

O'NIELL, Chief Justice.

The four cases named in the caption of this opinion were ordered consolidated in this court and are being dealt with as one case because they all arose out of a connective series of events, and to decide them separately would require repetition of a narrative of those events.

In September 1943 the heirs of Henry Jordan, deceased, employed G. P. Bullis, an attorney at law, practicing in Tensas Parish, to represent them against certain claims which Henry M. Marks and others were asserting to mineral rights in a tract of land, called Pin Hook Plantation, in that parish. A majority of the Jordan heirs resided in that parish; but three of them resided in New Orleans and two in Chicago.

[211 La. 1024] On March 1, 1945, Wallace Robinson, whose wife, Narcisse Jordan Robinson, was one of the Jordan heirs, employed Mr. Bullis to represent him in a claim which G. D. Hunt, Walter Keith and E. R. Whitaker were asserting to certain mineral rights in Lots 2 and 7 of Pin Hook Plantation, of which Robinson had possession, and to represent him in defending a certain claim which Henry M. Marks and Robert W. Hair were asserting to mineral rights in the same two lots.

In Bullis' contract with the Jordan heirs it was declared that they conveyed and assigned to him as his fee and for his expenses one-fifth of the oil, gas and mineral rights in an undivided half interest in the land owned by the Jordan heirs, and that in the event that Bullis should establish their title for more than a half interest in the land then they conveyed and assigned to him one-half of the oil, gas and other mineral rights in any additional interest for which he should establish their title over and above their half interest. [31 So.2d 199]

In the contract between Mr. Bullis and Wallace Robinson it was stipulated that Bullis' fee should be a fifth of the oil, gas and other mineral rights owned by Robinson in Lots 2 and 7 of Pin Hook Plantation, and that he thereby conveyed and assigned to Bullis the one fifth of his right, title and interest in such oil, gas and mineral rights.

Under his contract with the Jordan heirs, dated in September 1943, Bullis brought [211 La. 1025] suit for them in the United States District Court at Monroe against the parties claiming mineral rights in the Pin Hook Plantation. The suit was dismissed on an exception to the jurisdiction of the federal court. See Jordan et al. v. Marks et al., D.C., 55 F.Supp. 204. Mr. Bullis, on behalf of the Jordan heirs, appealed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and that court affirmed the judgment dismissing the suit on the ground that the federal court did not have jurisdiction. See Jordan et al. v. Marks et al., 5 Cir., 147 F.2d 800.

Thereafter, Mr. Bullis filed three suits in the Sixth District Court for the Parish of Tensas. One of the suits, being No. 38,028 of the docket of this court, was a suit by Wallace Robinson against G. D. Hunt, Walter Keith and E. R. Whitaker, for slander of title to Lots 2 and 7 of Pin Hook Plantation, the defendants having recorded certain deeds for mineral interests in the property. Another of the three suits, being No. 38,029 of the docket of this court, was a suit by Wallace Robinson against Henry M. Marks and Robert W. Hair, for slander of title of the same two lots, these defendants also having recorded certain deeds for mineral interests in the two lots. The third suit was an action brought for and in the names of the Jordan heirs, for slander of title, against certain parties claiming mineral interests in Pin Hook Plantation, namely, Henry M. Marks, Robert W. Hair, G. D. Hunt, Walter [211 La. 1026] Keith, E. R. Whitaker, Mose Sexton and Mamie Bolden Jordan.

While the suit was pending in the federal courts, that is, on December 4, 1944, 23 of the heirs of Henry Jordan, being all but 4 of them, employed David H. Caplow, an attorney at law residing and practicing in Chicago, as their attorney to represent them in the same matters in which Bullis had been employed to represent them; and in their contract with Mr. Caplow they agreed to give him a contingent fee of one fifth of their claims.

In the power of attorney given by the Jordan heirs to Caplow on December 4, 1944, the heirs appointed him as their attorney in fact for a period of five years, with authority to negotiate and settle any and all claims made by any party to the land or the oil, gas or other mineral rights in the Pin Hook Plantation; and they expressly authorized Caplow, as their attorney in fact, to execute and sign for and on their behalf and in their names, any and all deeds, releases, claims, waivers, stipulations or other documents, and to institute, continue, abate or dismiss any legal proceedings involving the land known as Pin Hook Plantation, and the oil, gas and other mineral rights in or under the land or any part thereof.

Under authority of his power of attorney from the Jordan heirs, Caplow immediately began working on a compromise settlement with the parties whom Bullis had sued, and [211 La. 1027] continued his efforts to compromise the claims. Having negotiated an agreement which was satisfactory to him, Caplow, in July 1945, came to Louisiana with the intention of consummating the settlement. He explained the proposed settlement to the parties who were plaintiffs in the suits which Bullis had filed for them in the district court in Tensas Parish, and they approved of the proposed settlement. But, when Caplow requested Bullis to dismiss the three suits in order that the proposed settlement might be carried out, Bullis disagreed with Caplow with regard to the apportionment of the results to be derived from the proposed compromise settlement, and he objected particularly to dismissing the two suits brought in the name of Wallace Robinson, numbered 38,028, and 38,029 on the docket of this court. Therefore Bullis declined to dismiss the three suits. Caplow then brought together the plaintiffs in the three suits and explained to them the compromise settlement which he proposed to make and advised them of the necessity for dismissing the three suits in order [31 So.2d 200] to carry out the proposed settlement. The plaintiffs were colored farmers, uneducated, and for the most part illiterate. After a long and thorough explanation and discussion with them they consented to Caplow's proposal that each of them should sign an affidavit authorizing him to dismiss the three suits which Bullis had instituted in their names, and giving their reasons for desiring a dismissal of the suits.

[211 La. 1028] On the day after the affidavits were signed, or perhaps on the same day, on July 17, 1945, Caplow appeared in the district court and filed his motion to dismiss the three suits. Attached to his motion were the affidavits signed by the plaintiffs, together with the power of attorney granted by them to Caplow on December 4, 1944. In the motion to dismiss it was recited that the three suits had been filed without Caplow's knowledge and without the knowledge or authority of the plaintiffs. In their affidavits, signed by the plaintiffs, and attached to Caplow's motion to dismiss the three suits, it was stated that Bullis did not have authority from the plaintiffs to file the suits in the state court but was authorized only to file and prosecute the suit in the federal courts, which suit was eventually dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

Bullis, being in court when Caplow filed his motion to dismiss the suits, objected on the ground that Caplow was not authorized to practice law in Louisiana. In support of his objection Bullis cited Section 7 of Act No. 202 of 1932, regulating the right of a so-called visiting attorney to practice law in Louisiana. Bullis' objection was argued and submitted to the court and was overruled.

Bullis then filed a motion to strike from the record the affidavits attached to Caplow's motion to dismiss the three suits, which affidavits had been signed, respectively, by Wallace Robinson and 10 other plaintiffs [211 La. 1029] in the three suits. After hearing arguments on the motion to strike out the affidavits the judge overruled the motion. Thereupon Bullis filed an exception of no cause or right of action, to Caplow's motion to dismiss the suits, and an answer to the motion. In his answer Bullis contended that the proposed compromise settlement was undesirable, for reasons which he set forth in his answer, and he contended that Caplow's power of attorney, dated December 4, 1944, was null for lack of a consideration and because Caplow was not qualified to practice law in Louisiana. The judge overruled Bullis' exceptions and after hearing arguments on Caplow's motion to dismiss the suits, sustained the motion and ordered the suits dismissed except so far as Bullis' individual or personal interest in the subject matter of the suits was concerned. Bullis asked for an appeal on behalf of the plaintiffs in the three suits. The judge declined to grant the appeal to the plaintiffs but suggested that he would grant Bullis personally or individually an appeal from the judgments dismissing the suits. Whereupon Bullis asked for and was granted an appeal in his own behalf. That appeal...