Opinion
2022 CA 0782.
02-17-2023
CROSSTEX ENERGY SERVICES, LP, Crosstex LIG, LLC, and Crosstex Processing Services, LLC v. TEXAS BRINE COMPANY, Zurich American Insurance Company & American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company.
James M. Garner , Leopold Z. Sher , Peter L. Hilbert, Jr. , Jeffrey D. Kessler , Christopher T. Chocheles , Darnell Bludworth , New Orleans, Louisiana and Royce I. Duplessis , New Orleans, Louisiana and Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux , Lake Charles, Louisiana and Travis J. Turner , Gonzales, Louisiana and Robert Ryland Percy, III , Gonzales, Louisiana, Counsel for Appellant/Third-Party Plaintiff, Texas Brine Company, L.L.C. Roy C. Cheatwood , Kent A. Lambert , Colleen C. Jarrott , Adam B. Zuckerman , Matthew C. Juneau , Leopoldo J. Yanez , Lauren Brink Adams , New Orleans, Louisiana, Counsel for Appellee/Third-Party Defendant, Legacy Vulcan, LLC. BEFORE: HOLDRIDGE, PENZATO, AND HESTER, JJ.
James M. Garner , Leopold Z. Sher , Peter L. Hilbert, Jr. , Jeffrey D. Kessler , Christopher T. Chocheles , Darnell Bludworth , New Orleans, Louisiana and Royce I. Duplessis , New Orleans, Louisiana and Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux , Lake Charles, Louisiana and Travis J. Turner , Gonzales, Louisiana and Robert Ryland Percy, III , Gonzales, Louisiana, Counsel for Appellant/Third-Party Plaintiff, Texas Brine Company, L.L.C.
Roy C. Cheatwood , Kent A. Lambert , Colleen C. Jarrott , Adam B. Zuckerman , Matthew C. Juneau , Leopoldo J. Yanez , Lauren Brink Adams , New Orleans, Louisiana, Counsel for Appellee/Third-Party Defendant, Legacy Vulcan, LLC.
BEFORE: HOLDRIDGE, PENZATO, AND HESTER, JJ.
PENZATO, J.
This dispute is one of many arising out of the August 2012 sinkhole that appeared near Bayou Come in Assumption Parish. In this appeal, Texas Brine Company, LLC challenges a January 18, 2022 judgment that granted Legacy Vulcan, LLC's "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Texas Brine's Claims Under the Amended Operating Agreement" and dismissed Texas Brine's claims against Legacy Vulcan under the parties' Amended Operating Agreement. After review, we dismiss the appeal and remand the matter to the trial court. The motion to dismiss the appeal filed by Legacy Vulcan is denied as moot.
In a related appeal, this court recently considered a substantially similar judgment rendered by the same trial court, on the same day, in a different trial court docket number. See Pontchartrain Natural Gas System v. Texas Brine Company, LLC, 2022-0738 (La. App. 1st Cir. 12/29/22), ___ So.3d ___, 2022 WL 17983139 (No. 34,265, 23rd Judicial District Court, Assumption Parish). The judgment at issue in Pontchartrain, ___ So.3d at ___-___, 2022 WL 17983139, *2-3, also granted a "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Texas Brine's Claims Under the Amended Operating Agreement" filed by Legacy Vulcan and dismissed Texas Brine's contract claims against Legacy Vulcan under the parties' Amended Operating Agreement. Like the judgment in Pontchartrain, ___ So.3d at ___, 2022 WL 17983139, *3, the judgment before us in this appeal was designated as a final judgment pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 1915.
The appeal in Pontchartrain, ___ So.3d at ___, 2022 WL 17983139, at *4, was dismissed after a different panel of this court determined that subject matter jurisdiction did not exist. Specifically, this court concluded that the January 18, 2022 partial summary judgment did not meet the requirements of an appealable final judgment under La. C.C.P. art. 1915(B) and R.J. Messinger, Inc. v. Rosenblum, 04-1664 (La. 3/2/05), 894 So.2d 1113, 1122. Although Texas Brine and Legacy Vulcan entered into several interdependent contracts, the issue on appeal was limited to Texas Brine's claims against Legacy Vulcan for breach of the parties' Amended Operating Agreement. Therefore, any decision by this court on these limited claims, "without consideration of the remaining interdependent contracts and claims thereupon, would merely result in inefficient, piecemeal, and possibly conflicting resolution of only a minor part of the parties' related contract claims." Pontchartrain, ___ So.3d at ___, 2022 WL 17983139, at *4. See La. C.C.P. art. 2053 ("A doubtful provision [in a contract] must be interpreted in light of the nature of the contract, equity, usages, the conduct of the parties before and after the formation of the contract, and of other contracts of a like nature between the same parties.") (Emphasis added.)
After a thorough review of the record in this appeal, we find no material distinctions between the judgment and issues presented in this appeal and those presented in Pontchartrain, ___ So.3d ___, 2022 WL 17983139. For the reasons set forth in Pontchartrain, ___ So.3d ___, 2022 WL 17983139, we find the January 18, 2022 judgment at issue in this appeal does not meet the requirements of a final appealable judgment under La. C.C.P. art. 1915(B) and R.J. Messinger, Inc., 894 So.2d at 1122. Therefore, we lack subject matter jurisdiction over this appeal.
We dismiss the appeal and remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Considering our disposition of this matter, the motion to dismiss the appeal filed by Legacy Vulcan is denied as moot. All costs of this appeal are assessed equally between Texas Brine Company, LLC and Legacy Vulcan, LLC.
We issue this summary disposition in accordance with Uniform Rules—Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-16.2(A)(1), (2), (4), and (6).
MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL DENIED AS MOOT; APPEAL DISMISSED; CASE REMANDED.
Hester, J. concurs