Gestio Scenario

In Self v. BPX Operating Co., the Fifth Circuit confronted a claimed conflict between Louisiana’s forced-pooling laws and a civilian doctrine called “negotiorum gestio,” andi certified (over a dissent) the question to the Louisiana Supreme Court. I was unfamiliar with the doctrine and the case offers this summary for the uninformed attorney from a common-law tradition:

On the other hand, negotiorum gestio—or management of affairs—“is a typically civilian institution that derives from the Romanist tradition and is found in all civil codes.” La. Civ. Code art. 2292 cmt. (a). Negotiorum gestio applies when a person, the manager or gestor, acts 1) without authority, 2) to protect the interests of another, and 3) in the reasonable belief that the owner would approve of the action if made aware of the circumstances. La. Civ. Code art. 2292. The gestor must have “undertake[n] the management with the ‘benefit’ of the owner in mind” and not have “act[ed] in [its] own interest or contrary to the actual or presumed intention of the owner.” Id. cmts. (c)-(d) … Only if all these requirements are met does a person qualify as a gestor such that “[t]he owner whose affair has been managed is bound to fulfill the obligations that the manager has undertaken as a prudent administrator and to reimburse the manager for all necessary and useful expenses.” La. Civ. Code art. 2297. Negotiorum gestio is “rooted in altruism,” and its purpose is to “encourage people to assist friends and neighbors in need.”

No. 22-30243 (Sept. 8, 2023).