State v. Sonat Exploration Co.

liPRICE, Judge Pro Tem.

In this oil and gas litigation, two consolidated appeals have been taken from two summary judgments dismissing the claims of the State of Louisiana and Vector Investments (the State) against Franks Petroleum, Inc., John Franks, Fred Plitt, A. Thomas Dickerson, Randal Lewis, Williams Jarrett and Hersehel Downs (the Franks defendants). Although the plaintiffs’ petition named numerous defendants and raised questions concerning the navigability of Bayou D’Arbonne and the proper payment of mineral production revenues attributable to the bed of Bayou D’Arbonne, the more…