     Case: 10-30810        Document: 00511522879              Page: 1       Date Filed: 06/28/2011




           IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT  United States Court of Appeals
                                                    Fifth Circuit

                                                                                         FILED
                                                                                        June 28, 2011

                                             No. 10-30810                               Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                             Clerk

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

LOUISIANA LAND & EXPLORATION COMPANY, an entity organized
under the laws of a state other than Louisiana and a wholly owned subsidiary
of ConocoPhillips, a Delaware Corporation,

               Defendant - Appellee

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

BURLINGTON RESOURCES OIL & GAS COMPANY, L.P., an entity
organized under the laws of a state other than Louisiana and a wholly owned
subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, a Delaware corporation,

               Defendant - Appellee

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,
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                                             No. 10-30810

               Plainitff - Appellant

v.

FOREST OIL CORPORATION, an entity organized under the laws of a state
other than Louisiana,

                Defendant - Appellee

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY, an entity organized under the laws of a
state other than Louisiana,

               Defendant - Appellee

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

MERIT ENERGY COMPANY, L.L.C., an entity organized under the laws of a
state other than Louisiana,

               Defendant - Appellee

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,


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                                             No. 10-30810

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

MARITECH RESOURCES, INCORPORATED, an entity organized under the
laws of a state other than Louisiana,

               Defendant - Appellee

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

MERIDIAN RESOURCES & EXPLORATION CORPORATION, an entity
organized under the laws of a state other than Louisiana, also known as
Meridian Resources (USA), Incorporated,

               Defendant - Appellee

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

APACHE CORPORATION, an entity organized under the laws of a state
other than Louisiana,

               Defendant - Appellee

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




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                                             No. 10-30810

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

TEXAS PETROLEUM INVESTMENT COMPANY, an entity organized under
the laws of a state other than Louisiana,

               Defendant - Appellee

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENE P. BONVILLAIN, in his capacity as Assessor for the Parish of
Terrebonne, State of Louisiana,

               Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

CASTEX ENERGY, INCORPORATED, an entity organized under the laws of
a state other than Louisiana,

               Defendant - Appellee




                      Appeals from the United States District Court
                          for the Eastern District of Louisiana
                                  USDC 2:09-CV-3540


Before DAVIS, PRADO and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*

        *
         Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.

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                                  No. 10-30810

      Gene P. Bonvillain, in his capacity as the Assessor for Terrebonne Parish,
filed a number of suits, which have now been consolidated, against a number of
companies domiciled outside of Louisiana to recover delinquent ad valorem
taxes. The suits primarily named corporations (and their executive officers)
engaged in exploration, drilling or production of oil and gas in or out of
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
      Plaintiff’s petition alleged that the defendants, who are required to self
report the location and value of their movable property located in the Parish,
either failed to report the property or under reported its value. Plaintiff alleged
that the inaccuracies were deliberate and fraudulent.
      After the suits were consolidated, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss
the complaint on a number of grounds, including lack of capacity by the plaintiff
as assessor to sue for the collection of taxes. The district court granted the
motion on the ground that, under Louisiana law, the parish sheriff is the only
party with capacity to sue for collection of ad valorem taxes and that the
assessor had no authority to bring these suits.
      For reasons carefully explained by the district court, the capacity of a
plaintiff other than an individual or corporation to sue or be sued is governed by
state law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b). The district court carefully outlined the
Louisiana constitutional and statutory provisions as well as Louisiana Supreme
Court jurisprudence that make it clear that a parish assessor has no authority
to sue for collection of ad valorem taxes. The authority to file such suits is
granted solely to the sheriff of the parish.
      Plaintiff also sought to recover the taxes based on a fraud theory. Plaintiff
has provided no authority that such artful pleading can avoid clear Louisiana
law that plaintiff has no authority to sue for collection of ad valorem taxes.




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                                No. 10-30810

      For the above reasons and those assigned by the district court in its
thorough Order and Reasons of March 29, 2010, the judgment of the district
court is affirmed.
      AFFIRMED.




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