Sandra Duhon Bernard v. Bp America Production Company

STATE OF LOUISIANA

COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

CW 07-1249

SANDRA DUHON BERNARD, ET AL.

VERSUS

BP AMERICA PRODUCTION
COMPANY, ET AL.

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ON SUPERVISORY WRITS FROM THE
THIRTY-EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
PARISH OF CAMERON, DOCKET NO. 10-16704
HONORABLE H. WARD FONTENOT, DISTRICT JUDGE

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JAMES T. GENOVESE
JUDGE

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Court composed of Marc T. Amy, J. David Painter, and James T. Genovese, Judges.

WRIT GRANTED, MADE PEREMPTORY,
REVERSED AND REMANDED.

Donald T. Carmouche
Victor L. Marcello
John H. Carmouche
William R. Coenen, III
John S. DuPont, III
Brian T. Carmouche
Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello
Post Office Box 759
Gonzales, Louisiana 70707-0759
(225) 644-7777
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/RELATORS:
Sandra Duhon Bernard, et al.

Chad E. Mudd
Mudd & Bruchhaus, L.L.C.
410 East College Street
Lake Charles, Louisiana 70605
(337) 562-2327
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/RELATORS:
Sandra Duhon Bernard, et al.

H. David Vaughan, II
Ellen B. Cogswell
Plauché, Smith & Nieset
1123 Pithon Street
Lake Charles, Louisiana 70601
(337) 436-0522
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/RELATORS:
Sandra Duhon Bernard, et al.

Patrick S. Ottinger
Paul J. Hebert
Mark D. Sikes
Stuart M. Simoneaud
Ottinger Hebert, L.L.C.
Post Office Drawer 52606
Lafayette, Louisiana 70505-2606
(337) 232-2606
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT:
KCS Resources, Inc.

George Arceneaux, III
Liskow & Lewis
822 Harding Street
Post Office Box 52008
Lafayette, Louisiana 70505
(337) 232-7424
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS:
Midgard Energy Company, and
Range Production Company of Delaware

John Michael Vernon
Jere Jay Bice
Bice, Palermo & Vernon
Post Office Box 2125
Lake Charles, Louisiana 70602
(337) 310-1600
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS:
BP America Production Company,
BP Corporation North America, Inc., and
Pan American Petroleum Corporation

Robert J. Burns, Jr.
Perry, Atkinson, Balhoff, Mengis & Burns, L.L.C.
Post Office Drawer 83260
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-3260
(225) 767-7730
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS:
Petroleum Resource Management Co., and
CTO Investments

A. J. Gray, III
Bart R. Yakupzack
The Gray Law Firm
Post Office Box 1467
Lake Charles, Louisiana 70602-1467
(337) 494-0694
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS:
River Oaks Exploration, Inc.,
Jack Lawton, Inc.,
William B. Lawton Company, Inc.,
Raville Resources, Inc.,
Yentzen Investments, Inc., and
William T. Burton Industries, Inc.

Michael J. Mazzone
Haynes & Boone, L.L.P.
One Houston Center
1221 McKinney Street, Suite 2100
Houston, Texas 77010-2007
(713) 547-2115
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT:
Nortex Corporation

Charles A. Mouton
Mahtook & Lafleur
Post Office Box 3089
Lafayette, Louisiana 70502
(337) 266-2189
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT:
Sunoco

Brett Page Furr
Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, L.L.P.
Post Office Drawer 2471
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821-2471
(225) 387-3221
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT:
KERRCO, Inc.

GENOVESE, J.

Plaintiffs-Relators, Sandra Duhon Bernard, et al., have sought supervisory

writs, challenging the trial court’s ruling in this oilfield contamination case requiring

that liability issues be tried first, followed by proceedings before the Louisiana

Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), with the trial of claims for damages in

excess of the plan resulting from the LDNR process to be held after that process has

concluded. The issues herein involve the interpretation of La.R.S. 30:29, as enacted

by 2006 La. Acts No. 312, § 1 of the Louisiana legislature. Based on this court’s

recent ruling in John L. Germany, et al. v. ConocoPhillips Co., et al., 07-1145

(La.App. 3 Cir. 3/5/08), ___ So.2d ___, and Duplantier Family Partnership v. BP

Amoco, 07-293 (La.App. 4 Cir. 5/16/07), 955 So.2d 763, writs denied, 07-1241, 07-

1265, 07-1271 (La. 9/28/07), 964 So.2d 367, 368, we grant this writ, make it

peremptory, and reverse the trial court ruling. We remand this case to the trial court

for a single trial to the fact finder of all issues before the case is referred to the LDNR.

WRIT GRANTED, MADE PEREMPTORY, REVERSED AND

REMANDED.

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