Free Proposed Findings of Uncontroverted Fact - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:00-cv-00512-FMA

Document 54

Filed 09/02/2008

Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ____________________________________ ) PETRO-HUNT, L.L.C., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) No. 00­512 L v. ) ) Honorable Francis M. Allegra UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________)

DEFENDANT'S PROPOSED FINDINGS OF UNCONTROVERTED FACT PURSUANT TO RCFC 56(h)(1)

The Defendant, in support of its Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, respectfully requests that the Court make the following findings of fact: 1. In the early 1930s, Bodcaw Lumber Company of Louisiana ("Bodcaw Lumber")

and Grant Timber & Manufacturing Company of Louisiana, Inc. ("Grant Timber") owned approximately 180,000 acres of land in Grant, Winn, and Natchitoches parishes in Louisiana. Amd. Cmplt. (Dkt. 51) ¶¶ 10, 13. 2. From 1932-1934 Bodcaw Lumber and Grant Timber transferred the mineral

interests underlying the 180,000 acres to a third party, Good Pine Oil, to do oil and gas exploration. Id. ¶¶ 13-16. The mineral interests transferred to Good Pine Oil constituted 96 mineral servitudes. Id. ¶ 19. 3. From 1934-1937, Bodcaw Lumber and Grant Timber sold the surface rights to the

180,000 acres of land, on which the 96 mineral servitudes were situated, to the United States. Id. ¶¶ 37-39.

Case 1:00-cv-00512-FMA

Document 54

Filed 09/02/2008

Page 2 of 3

4.

In 1948 the United States brought an action for declaratory relief against Nebo

Oil, the successor to Good Pine Oil, arguing that, with respect to 1 of the 96 servitudes, the mineral interests had prescribed to the United States as surface owner as the result of ten years of non-use. (This servitude is referred to herein as the "Nebo Oil Servitude"). Petro-Hunt II, 365 F.3d at 391, citing United States v. Nebo Oil Co., 190 F.2d 1003, 1010 (5th Cir. 1951). 5. Beginning in the late 1980s the United States began offering leases on the United

States land on which some of the 96 servitudes were or had been located. Petro-Hunt II, 365 F.3d at 393-94; see also Petro-Hunt I, 179 F. Supp. 2d at 675. See also Amd. Cmplt. (Dkt. 51) ¶ 60. 6. Petro-Hunt disputed several of the leases issued by the United States in the 1990s.

Petro-Hunt I, 179 F. Supp. 2d at 675; Amd. Cmplt. (Dkt. 51) ¶ 61. 7. On February 18, 2000, Petro-Hunt and its partners (Hunt Petroleum, Corp. and

Kingfisher Resources, Inc.) filed a quiet title action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana seeking to be declared the owners of the 96 mineral servitudes. Petro-Hunt II, 365 F.3d at 394; Petro-Hunt I, 179 F. Supp. 2d at 675; Amd. Cmplt. (Dkt. 51) ¶ 66. 8. The District Court held that Plaintiff was the owner of the Nebo Oil Servitude;

and, based upon a stipulation of the parties, that 90 of the remaining 95 servitudes had prescribed and were therefore owned by the United States. See Petro-Hunt v. United States, 2007 WL 715270, *1 (5th Cir. 2007) ("Petro-Hunt III"). 9. The District Court held that the remaining 5 servitudes ­ which were numbered

one through five in the district court's judgment ­ had not prescribed and were owned by

2

Case 1:00-cv-00512-FMA

Document 54

Filed 09/02/2008

Page 3 of 3

Plaintiff and its partners as of the date of the judgment. See Petro-Hunt v. United States, Civ. No. 00-303 (W.D. La., Dec. 7, 2005), Judgment (Dkt. 228) (Ex. A to Def.s' MSJ). 10. During the late 1980s and 1990s the United States issued a single lease on the

Nebo Oil Servitude (Jaquette Dec. ¶ 3.a., Ex. B to Def.'s MSJ), 11 leases on servitude number two (Id. ¶ 3.c.), and 3 leases on servitude number five (Id. ¶ 3.f.). 11. 12. 10 of the 15 leases were issued prior to August 24, 1994. Id. ¶ 3. All 15 leases have been cancelled or terminated by the Bureau of Land

Management, or have expired as a result of the stated term coming to an end. Id. September 2, 2008 Respectfully submitted, RONALD J. TENPAS Assistant Attorney General Environment & Natural Resources Division /s/ James D. Gette JAMES D. GETTE Natural Resources Section Environment & Natural Resources Division Department of Justice P.O. Box 663 Washington, DC 20044-0663 Tel: 202-305-1461 Fax: 202-305-0267 Email: [email protected]

Of counsel: Timothy H. Baker Office of the Solicitor Division of Mineral Resources Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W., Mail Stop 4230 Washington, D.C. 20240

Of counsel: Jay McWhirter Office of the General Counsel Department of Agriculture 1718 Peachtree St., NW, Suite 576 Atlanta, Georgia 30309-2437

3