Tureau v. 2H, Inc.

Full title: JUSTIN DALE TUREAU v. 2H, INC., ET AL.

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA ALEXANDRIA DIVISION

Date published: Apr 1, 2016

CIV. ACT. NO. 13-2969 (W.D. La. Apr. 1, 2016)

Opinion

CIV. ACT. NO. 13-2969

04-01-2016

JUSTIN DALE TUREAU v. 2H, INC., ET AL.

JUDGE DRELL

MAG. JUDGE PEREZ - MONTES

JUDGMENT

For the reasons contained in the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge previously filed herein, and after independent (de novo) review of the record including the objections filed herein, and having determined that the findings and recommendations are correct under the applicable law; it is hereby

ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that Defendant Hess Corp.'s motion to dismiss, (Doc. 125) is GRANTED in part, such that Plaintiff's purported claims under La. Civ. C. Arts. 576, 577, 645, 2317 and 2322 and DENIED and DISMISSED with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiff's motion is further GRANTED as to Plaintiff's purported claim under the post-amendment version of La. Civ. C. Art. 667. Hess Corp.'s motion is DENIED in all other respects.

In so finding, we note that we agree with the one objection filed by Hess Corp. (Doc. 134), but do not find that the dicta contained in the Report and Recommendation regarding prospective remediation is binding on any future proceeding. As argued by Hess Corp., any finding of a duty to remediate and the scope of that duty is a fact-intensive inquiry for the trial court and would lie outside the scope of the Report and Recommendation at issue. La. R.S. 30:29; Marin v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 48 So.2d 234, 259 (La. 2010) (recognizing that the lessee engaging in disposal and storage of oilfield waste has a duty to remediate to pre-lease condition, minus normal wear and tear, but that determining what constitutes "necessary wear and tear" in each case is fact-specific and subject to the Louisiana Mineral Code's "prudent operator" standard). Out of an abundance of caution, however, the court will adopt the Report and Recommendation with the exception of this particular statement which, again, we find to be dicta: "...and if proven, allow for restoration of the property to its original, pre-lease condition." (Doc. 131 at p. 8).

THUS DONE AND SIGNED at Alexandria, Louisiana this 1^st day of April, 2016.

/s/ _________

DEE D. DRELL, CHIEF JUDGE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE