United States Fifth Circuit

A judgment finding that the federal government's mineral royalty, attached to mineral servitudes on certain land, had, with a small exception, prescribed in accordance with Louisiana law because of a lack of qualifying production for a period in excess of ten years, is vacated and remanded where: 1) federal law controls the royalty right, including its prescriptibility; and 2) it was unclear whether state law should be borrowed as the federal rule of decision.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/12/2006
• Published 12/13/2006

Judges

• EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:, Before JOLLY, SMITH and GARZA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John Smeltzer (argued), U.S. Dept. of Justice, ENS Div., Washington, DC, for U.S.


• For Appellees:
  
• Richard E. Gerard, Jr. (argued), John B. Scofield, C. Eston Singletary, Scofield, Gerard, Veron, Singletary & Pohorelsky, Lake Charles, LA, for Plaintiffs-Appellees., Robert L. Cabes (argued), Milling, Benson & Woodward, Lafayette, LA, for Intervenor Plaintiffs-Appellees.