Crosstex Energy Servs., LP v. Tex. Brine Co.
Crosstex Energy Servs., LP v. Tex. Brine Co.
Opinion of the Court
In this appeal, a defendant challenges a judgment dismissing its third-party demand against a Texas resident, in her personal capacity and as trustee of a Texas trust, based on a lack of personal jurisdiction. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
This suit is one of several arising from the August 2012 appearance of a sinkhole near Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. EnLink f/k/a Crosstex
In June 1986, HECI Exploration Company (HECI), the then current CCL assignee, became the operator of the Hooker #1 well. On December 31, 1990, HECI assigned its CCL interest to Jane H. Browning and Michael G. Starnes, co-trustees of the Browning Children's Trust (BCT), a Texas trust governed by Texas law.
After the sinkhole appeared in 2012, Crosstex filed suit against Texas Brine, among others, alleging the sinkhole was caused, in whole or part, by the failure of the Oxy Geismar # 3 salt cavern and that the sinkhole damaged Crosstex's pipeline. In response, Texas Brine filed incidental demands against several parties, including Mr. Starnes, BCT co-trustee, as a past CCL assignee.
Ms. Dawson then filed a declinatory exception pleading the objection of lack of personal jurisdiction, and Texas Brine filed an opposition. After a hearing, the trial court signed a judgment on July 6, 2017, granting the exception and dismissing Texas Brine's claims without prejudice against Ms. Dawson, individually and as BCT trustee.
Texas Brine first sought review of the July 6, 2017 judgment via a supervisory writ application to this Court. Under docket number 2017 CW 1079, we refused to consider the writ because the judgment dismissing Ms. Dawson is an appealable judgment under LSA-C.C.P. art. 1915A. Texas Brine now appeals from the adverse judgment, contending the trial court erred in concluding it did not have personal jurisdiction over Ms. Dawson. On appeal, Texas Brine does not argue that Ms. Dawson herself had sufficient minimum contacts with Louisiana to support personal jurisdiction over her. Rather, in two assignments of error, Texas Brine argues the trial court should have found that Mr. Starnes, Ms. Dawson's predecessor as BCT trustee, had sufficient minimum contacts with Louisiana to support the exercise of personal jurisdiction over him and that his contacts should be imputed to Ms. Dawson.
PERSONAL JURISDICTION
The Louisiana Long Arm Statute provides for the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from having an interest in, using, or possessing a real right on immovable property in this state. LSA-R.S. 13:3201A(5). Additionally, the Long Arm Statute provides for the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident on any basis consistent with the United States *811and Louisiana Constitutions. LSA-R.S. 13:3201B; Southeast Wireless Network, Inc. v. U.S. Telemetry Corp. , 06-1736 (La. 4/11/07),
Due Process allows personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant when he has certain "minimum contacts" with the forum state such that maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of "fair play and substantial justice." International Shoe Co. v. Washington ,
The second inquiry of the Due Process test centers on the fairness of exercising jurisdiction over the nonresident defendant. Even when minimum contacts exist, the exercise of jurisdiction must comport with "fair play and substantial justice" to meet Due Process requirements. A & L Energy, Inc. ,
The party asserting that personal jurisdiction is proper has the initial burden of proving minimum contacts. See Bridges v. Mosaic Global Holdings, Inc. , 08-0113 (La. App. 1 Cir. 10/24/08),
LOUISIANA TRUST LAW
Our review of the personal jurisdiction issue begins with a review of basic principles of Louisiana trust law.
Based on these principles, we note that Mr. Starnes, as BCT co-trustee during the time Texas Brine alleges the CCL assignees were liable, had title to the BCT property, including the CCL interest, and he was the proper defendant to be named in Texas Brine's third-party demand based on contract and tort causes of action. Mr. Starnes' identity as a proper third-party defendant, however, does not answer the question of whether he is subject to a Louisiana court's jurisdiction. Thus, we now decide whether the trial court correctly found that Mr. Starnes did not have sufficient contacts with Louisiana to justify the exercise of specific jurisdiction over him.
DISCUSSION
In its incidental demands adding the CCL assignees as third-party defendants, Texas Brine generally alleged that the CCL assignees caused the sinkhole, in whole or part, and were liable to Texas Brine due to the improper drilling and operation of the Hooker # 1 well. From 1986, when the Hooker # 1 well was drilled, through 2012, when the sinkhole emerged, there were several CCL assignees *813who had an interest in the well. Texas Brine cannot aggregate factual allegations concerning multiple CCL assignees to demonstrate personal jurisdiction over Mr. Starnes alone. See Ohle ,
According to Mr. Starnes' affidavit, submitted in support of the exception of lack of personal jurisdiction, he has been a Texas resident since 1960, and as of 2016, he lived in Dallas, Texas. In 1975, Texas residents William H. and Jane H. Browning created the BCT, a Texas trust, for the benefit of their children, who were all also Texas residents. Mr. and Mrs. Browning named Mrs. Browning and Mr. Starnes as BCT co-trustees. About 15 years later, on December 31, 1990, HECI assigned its CCL interest to the BCT co-trustees, and three days later, on January 2, 1991, the BCT co-trustees assigned that same interest to Browning Oil Company. Under these assignments, the BCT co-trustees and Browning Oil Company, respectively, agreed to "assume and be subject to the proportionate share of all obligations" under the CCL.
During his three days as CCL assignee, neither Mr. Starnes as BCT co-trustee nor the BCT drilled or operated the Hooker #1 well. Although Mr. Starnes has taken two or three business trips to Louisiana, none of the trips involved a visit to the Hooker # 1 well site. He conducts no business in Louisiana and has no agents in Louisiana, other than attorneys who represent him in sinkhole-related litigation. He has visited New Orleans as a tourist about three times and visits his sister in Bossier City about once a year during a day trip for lunch. Mr. Starnes resigned as BCT co-trustee on February 13, 2001.
To support its argument that Mr. Starnes is subject to personal jurisdiction, Texas Brine relies on Benson v. Rosenthal ,
In concluding that the trustee had sufficient minimum contacts with Louisiana to warrant its exercise of personal jurisdiction over him, the Benson court first noted the trustee's arguments regarding his numerous Texas contacts: Mr. Benson and the trustee were both Texas residents when the Texas trusts were created; the trusts were governed by Texas law; the trusts owned shares in several Texas companies; and the trustee's refusal to make Mr. Benson's requested asset exchange occurred in Texas.
In this case, similar to Benson , Mr. and Mrs. Browning and Mr. Starnes were all Texas residents when the BCT, a Texas trust, was created. Here, the beneficiaries of the BCT were also Texas residents. Unlike Benson , however, there is no evidence that the BCT owned substantial Louisiana property in 1975, when Mr. and Mrs. Browning created the BCT and named Mr. Starnes as co-trustee, or at any other time when he was BCT co-trustee. To the contrary, the evidence shows that Mr. Starnes' title to the CCL interest for three days in 1990-91 is the only Louisiana property with which he was connected as BCT co-trustee. Unlike the Benson trustee, who made monthly trips to Louisiana to deal with trust-related business and handled numerous transactions involving the trusts' Louisiana property, Mr. Starnes has taken only two or three business trips to Louisiana, and none of those trips involved a visit to the Hooker # 1 well site. And, although Mr. Starnes, as a CCL assignee assumed a proportionate share of all obligations under CCL, neither he as BCT co-trustee nor the BCT drilled or operated the Hooker #1 well during his three days as the CCL assignee. Additionally, unlike Mr. Benson's claims against the trustee in that case, Texas Brine's alleged cause of action against Mr. Starnes does not arise out of his acts as BCT co-trustee. Further, according to his affidavit, Mr. Starnes conducts no other business in Louisiana and has no agents in Louisiana, other than attorneys representing him in sinkhole-related litigation.
We acknowledge that the "minimum contacts" inquiry can be satisfied by a single contact when that contact is purposefully directed to the forum state, when the litigation arises from that contact, such that the defendant should reasonably anticipate being haled into that forum. A & L Energy, Inc. ,
Because we find Texas Brine failed to prove Mr. Starnes had sufficient contacts with Louisiana, we need not address whether his contacts were imputable to Ms. Dawson as current BCT trustee, and the burden never shifted to Ms. Dawson to prove that the exercise of personal jurisdiction failed the fairness inquiry of the Due Process test. See Broussard v. Diamond Aircraft Industries, Inc. , 10-1611 (La. App. 1 Cir. 5/3/11),
CONCLUSION
For the above reasons, we affirm the trial court's July 6, 2017 judgment, granting Averille Browning Dawson's declinatory exception pleading the objection of lack of personal jurisdiction, and dismissing Texas Brine's claims without prejudice against Averille Browning Dawson, individually and as trustee of the Browning Children's Trust. We assess costs of this appeal to Texas Brine.
AFFIRMED.
The original petition was filed by multiple Crosstex entities whose names later changed to multiple Crosstex entities. Here, we refer to the plaintiffs in the underlying litigation as Crosstex. See Crosstex Energy Svcs., LP v. Texas Brine Co., LLC , 17-0863 (La. App. 1 Cir. 12/21/17),
In the original petition, Crosstex named Texas Brine Company, LLC, as the defendant who operated the wells. In later pleadings, Crosstex additionally named others allegedly related to Texas Brine Company, LLC, as defendants. Here, we refer to the defendants collectively as Texas Brine. See Crosstex Energy Svcs., LP ,
In 1975, William H. and Jane H. Browning, Texas residents, created five trusts for the benefit of their five children, and named Mrs. Browning and Mr. Starnes as co-trustees of the trusts. In 2001, when Averille Browning Dawson became trustee, four of the five trusts had terminated, because the Browning children had either died or reached the age at which the trusts terminated. Ms. Dawson became trustee only of the sole remaining trust, the Robert H. Browning Trust. Here, we refer to the trusts in the singular form as the Browning Children's Trust.
Texas Brine also named Mrs. Browning in the incidental demand, in her individual capacity, and as BCT co-trustee, and/or the Estate of Jane H. Browning. The status of that claim is not at issue here.
The parties do not discuss the nature of a trust under Texas law. Because no party has shown that Texas law differs from that of Louisiana as to the ownership of trust property, we will presume that Texas law is the same as Louisiana law. See LSA-R.S. 9:2262.4 and In re Succession of LeBeau, 10-2317 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1/12/12),
Signatures appearing on the HECI-BCT co-trustee assignment and on the BCT co-trustee-Browning Oil Company assignment show Mr. Starnes' capacity with regard to each entity.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.