LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008 - (Page 42)

his acceptance. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that he was put into corporeal possession of the land in lieu of express acceptance under Louisiana Civil Code Article 1541 (which states, in part, that “if the donee has been put by the donor into corporeal possession of the effects given, the donation, though not accepted, in express terms, has full effect.”), ﬁnding instead that the parties’ father lived on the property until his death, and the donation deed speciﬁcally stated that there would have been no interference with the father’s rights and privileges pertaining to the property. Chief Judge Brown dissented to the majority’s decision, taking issue with its “decision to sidestep the clear and unambiguous donative intent” of the father, and ﬁnding that by signing his name as the recipient of the donation, the defendant made clear that he intended to accept his father’s gift. It should be noted that although the 14-day period for rehearing the case has already passed, the period for ﬁling an appeal has not yet expired. Therefore, as of the date of this publication, the case is still appealable. Agreement to Sell Immovable Property Must Be in Writing The case of John W. Stone Oil Distributor, L.L.C. v. River Oaks Contractors & Developers, Inc., 2008 La. App. LEXIS 808 (La. App. 5 Cir. 5/27/08) emphasizes that, under Louisiana law, an agreement to sell immovable property must be in writing. The court in this case addressed the issue of a detrimental reliance claim on an oral contract to sell immovable property. The plaintiff was interested in purchasing a parcel of land (Parcel A) located near its company facilities, and the defendantsdevelopers wanted to purchase the adjacent parcels (Parcels B and C). Plaintiff alleged that the parties entered into an agreement whereby defendants would purchase all three parcels and then sell Parcel A to the plaintiff. When the plaintiff learned that the defendants had changed their minds about transferring the property, he sought damages under theories of detrimental reliance, breach of ﬁduciary duty, fraud and violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (LUTPA). On the detrimental reliance claim, the plaintiff argued that the reliance on defendants caused the company to sustain monetary damages. The defendant ﬁled various motions for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that a written agreement between the parties is not necessary to support its claims against defendants. The court disagreed, ruling that a party may not prevail on a detrimental reliance claim based on an alleged breach of an oral contract to sell immovable property, even if the promise was onerous and not gratuitous. Louisiana law requires that an agreement to sell immovable property be in writing. This decision serves as a reminder of the importance, under Louisiana law, of having in writing any agreement to sell, transfer or lease immovable property. This would include an agreement to grant an oil, gas and mineral lease (e.g., a mineral owner backing out of a verbal agreement to lease) or to assign an overriding royalty interest in the future (e.g., a generating geologist promised, verbally, an overriding royalty interest). If such agreements are not in writing, they are not valid or enforceable, and the courts will not permit claimants recovery by other means or causes of action. Licensee to over 47,000 square miles of 3-D seismic data, with over 36,000 square miles of volume AVO in the Offshore Gulf of Mexico Licensee or owner of over 12,100 square miles of 3-D seismic data Onshore Economically finding oil & gas reserves for its partners photo cour tesy of Diam ond Offshor e 1415 Louisiana, Suite 2400, Houston, Texas 77002 713-650-8008 houstonenergyinc.com 391046_Apache.indd 1 | LOGA INDUSTRY REPORT | FALL 2008 42 7/27/08 5:44:10 PM 388772_Houston.indd 1 7/24/08 1:23:00 PM http://www.apachecorp.com http://www.houstonenergyinc.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008

LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008 Contents Chairman's Corner President's Perspective Commissioner's Comments From the Pipeline... Supreme Court Upholds Act 312 LOGA Challenges Commission's Ad Valorem Tax Rules The Haynesville Shale - Waiting for the Gas to Come In 2008 Legislative Recap Gulf Coast Prospect Expo 2008 2nd Annual LAGCOE Open Golf Tournament Conservationist by Trade Katrina Relief Fund Update DNR Intent Natural Gas Production Surges: A Free Market At Work IPAA Washington Report Legal Updates New Members Index to Advertisers

LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.