Court Opinion

ID: 9680883
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:40:31.452145+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:29.774954
License: Public Domain

*188KEM THOMPSON FROST, Justice,
dissenting.
The question before the court is a sensitive one because it compels us to choose between the law our own legislature enacted for operations in Texas oilfields and the law of a neighboring state whose legislature chose a different path for oilfield operations within its territorial boundaries. The question is a significant one not only because it tests the measure of our deference to another state’s right to make the rules within its borders, but also because it impacts some of the most valued qualities in our own civil justice system- — freedom of contract, fulfillment of justified contract expectations, and predictability in the enforcement of contractual provisions.
Although, ideally, conflict-of-laws rules should be simple and easy to apply1, application of the Restatement test to the choice-of-law provision in these consolidated cases requires a multi-tiered analysis and the balancing of many factors. The members of this court have labored earnestly to resolve this challenging and multifaceted issue, giving careful scrutiny to the arguments of the parties and the logic of the learned trial judges who trod this same ground in reaching two different conclusions. The close vote and spirited discussion are testament not only to the complexity of the task but also to the strength of the arguments on both sides of this important issue.
The result the court reaches is not unfair or unreasonable, but the path the majority takes to get there strays too far from the course the Texas Supreme Court has charted for resolution of conflict-of-laws issues. Some of the majority’s policy arguments are quite compelling, but its legal analysis is flawed and out of step with most other jurisdictions that have considered the issue. More importantly, the road the court takes today compromises the principles our high court has adopted for deciding conflict-of-laws issues. The road not taken is the one that would further them.
For Louisiana law to apply to the indemnity provisions in this consolidated appeal, all three of the following must be true: (1) Louisiana law would apply to the facts of this case under section 188 of the Restatement (Seoond) of Conflict of Laws, ignoring the provision of the drilling contract choosing Texas law; (2) the application of Texas law would be contrary to a fundamental policy of Louisiana; and (3) Louisiana has a materially greater interest than Texas in determining whether these indemnity provisions are enforceable. See DeSantis v. Wackenhut Corp., 793 S.W.2d 670, 678 (Tex.1990); Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 187(2)(b) (1971). AlS explained in Justice Wittig’s dissent and amplified below, each of these statements is true; therefore, Louisiana law should apply. The court errs in holding that Texas law applies.

Louisiana law would apply under section 188.

The majority erroneously concludes that Texas law would apply under section 188 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws in the absence of the choice-of-law provision. In performing the analysis under section 188, the court must determine “the place of performance.” See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188(2) (1971). The majority concludes *189that the place of performance is Texas because that is where Danny Alms and Dennis Fritz filed suit. The majority opinion cites no authority for this proposition. Although this appears to be an issue of first impression under Texas law, the majority rule from jurisdictions that have addressed the issue is that the state in which the indemnitee is sued is not the place of performance under section 188(2)(c). See McCall v. Columbia Gas Dev. Corp., 635 F.Supp. 49, 52 (W.D.La.1986) (holding that place of performance under § 188 for an indemnity provision is where services contract was performed); Hebert v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 618 F.Supp. 767, 772-73 (W.D.La.1985) (holding that Texas law applied and that Texas was place of performance because work order was wholly performed on Outer Continental Shelf off coast of Texas — a jurisdiction governed by Texas law — even though plaintiff sued in-demnitee in Louisiana); Palmer G. Lewis Co., Inc. v. ARCO Chem. Co., 904 P.2d 1221, 1223-27 (Alaska 1995); (holding that place of performance under § 188(2)(c) is state in which contract containing the indemnity provision was performed rather than state where indemnitee is sued); Dillard v. Shaughnessy, Fickel and Scott Architects, Inc., 943 S.W.2d 711, 714-17 (Mo.Ct.App.1997) (same); see also Reding v. Texaco, Inc., 598 F.2d 513, 515-18 (9th Cir.1979) (holding that contract was performed in Wyoming and that Wyoming anti-indemnity statute applied where well was drilled in Wyoming, even though (1) parties were from Texas and New York; (2) parties executed drilling contract in Colorado and Texas; and (3) indemnitee was sued in California); but see Grossman v. Aristech Chem. Corp., 882 F.Supp. 110, 113 (W.D.Mich.1994) (stating that place of performance of indemnity is the state in which the indemnitee was sued); Chrysler Corp. v. Skyline Indus. Servs., Inc., 448 Mich. 113, 528 N.W.2d 698, 704-05 (1995) (indicating that place of performance of an indemnity may have been the state in which the indemnitee was sued). Though the majority does not see why Louisiana “should set the rules for [this] fight,” other courts addressing this issue have found that the state where the services were performed had the most significant relationship to the transaction and the parties, as to the enforceability of an indemnity provision covering litigation in a different state. See Hebert, 618 F.Supp. at 772-73; Dillard, 943 S.W.2d at 714-17; see also Reding, 598 F.2d at 515-18.
Furthermore, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has applied Texas confhct-of-laws rules in a way that is contrary to the majority’s analysis. In Gorsalitz v. Olin Mathieson Chem. Corp., the contract containing the indemnity was executed in Texas; however, the services under the contract were performed in Louisiana. 429 F.2d 1033, 1048 (5th Cir.1970). The Fifth Circuit held that Louisiana law applied to the indemnity provision because Louisiana was the place of performance, even though the personal-injury plaintiff sued the indemnitee in Texas. See Gorsalitz, 429 F.2d at 1035-36, 1048. The Gorsalitz court ruled that, when conducting a conflict-of-laws analysis as to an indemnity provision, the place of performance is where the service contract containing the indemnity was performed, not where the indemnitee was sued. See Gorsalitz, 429 F.2d at 1035-36, 1048. The Gorsalitz case was decided before Texas adopted the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws. Nonetheless, in Maxus Exploration Co. v. Moran Bros., Inc., the Texas Supreme Court cited Gorsalitz as good law. 817 S.W.2d 50, 53 (Tex.1991).
Notwithstanding the Texas Supreme Court’s reliance on Gorsalitz in Maxus, the majority finds the Roberts case more persuasive. Compare Roberts v. Energy *190Dev. Corp., 235 F.3d 935, 938-43 (5th Cir. 2000), with Gorsalitz, 429 F.2d at 1035-36, 1048. The Roberts case seems to indicate that the place of performance was where the services under the contract were performed, rather than where the indemnitee was sued. See Roberts, 235 F.3d at 941-43. After stating that it must consider several factors, including the place of performance, the Roberts court stressed several times that the accident occurred in Louisiana and that the work order at issue pertained to work to be performed exclusively in Louisiana. See id. The Roberts court never mentioned the fact that the personal-injury plaintiff happened to have filed suit in Louisiana. See id. Therefore, Roberts does not support the majority opinion on this issue.2 See id. More importantly, inasmuch as our high court relied on Gorsalitz in Maxus, it is Gorsalitz’s holding — that the place of performance for an indemnity is not the place where the indemnitee is sued — that should merit this court’s attention. The majority, however, goes in the opposite direction.
Today the court creates a rule of law new to Texas — that the place of performance for indemnity issues is the place where the indemnitee is sued. The court’s new rule is contrary to the Texas Supreme Court’s emphasis on the place of performance in deciding conflict-of-laws issues. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 53-57. Though the Maxus court chose not to expressly decide whether the place of performance as to an indemnity issue is the place where the indemnitee is sued, it analyzed the indemnity provision of a drilling contract under section 196 of the Restatement (Seoond) of Conflict of Laws, which governs contracts for personal services. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 53-57; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 196 (1971); see also Hughes Wood Products, Inc. v. Wagner, 18 S.W.3d 202, 206 n. 2 (Tex.2000) (describing Maxus as an opinion “invoking section 196 to determine the law governing contracts for personal services”). The Maxus court stated that “[i]n the case of a contract for the rendition of services, section 196 accords the place of performance paramount importance.” Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 53 (emphasis added). The majority states that the place of performance is the place where attorneys performed legal services defending Nabors, the indemnitee. Therefore, under today’s new rule, the place where the in-demnitee is sued becomes of “paramount importance” in the conflict-of-laws analysis. See id. Consequently, that which is unknown at the time of contracting — ■ where a future lawsuit might one day be filed — is accorded superior weight and influence in the majority’s analysis. Under this approach, the law applicable to oilfield indemnities, as well as the extent to which these indemnities are enforceable, will vary depending on the jurisdiction in *191which the indemnitee is sued. The place of performance for an indemnity will always be a mystery until suit is filed and then that place — wherever it may be — -will become of “paramount importance” in determining which state’s law applies. Given that happenstance will govern the outcome, it is difficult to characterize this means of determining place of performance as anything but “purely fortuitous.” See ante, op. at p. 172, n. 16 (majority opinion). Moreover, this methodology contradicts the Restatement (Seoond) of Conflict of Laws, which indicates that the place of performance points to no particular state if, at the time of contracting, the place of performance is unknown or uncertain.3 See Restatement (Seoond) of Conflict of Laws § 188 cmt. (e), at 580; accord Hebert, 618 F.Supp. at 772.
The majority opinion also seems to imply that the fourth factor — the location of the subject matter of the contract — does not apply in this case because this factor is important only for contracts dealing with a specific physical thing, such as land or a chattel, or with protection against a localized risk. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188 cmt. (e), at 580-81; ante, op. at p. 170, n. 13. The majority also states that, even if the location of the contract’s subject matter is an important factor, this factor points to Texas under the same analysis the majority uses for the place-of-performance factor — because the personal-injury plaintiff sued the indemni-tee in Texas. See ante, op. at p. 170, n. 13. Although section 188 states that factors are to be evaluated according to their rela-five importance with respect to the particular issue, the fourth factor is still the location of the contract’s subject matter— not the location of the subject matter of the particular issue. The only contract involved in this case is the drilling contract under which the Burns 7-1 (Re) well was drilled in Louisiana.4 This contract deals with a specific physical thing, such as land or a chattel — the Burns 7-l(Re) well in Louisiana. Therefore, the location of this well — in Louisiana — must be significant for the court’s eonflict-of-laws analysis. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188 cmt. (e), at 580-81. The majority misses the mark in concluding that the location of the subject matter of this drilling contract is Texas. The subject matter of the drilling contract did not change because an indemnitee was sued in Texas.
If the place of performance and location of the contract’s subject matter were determined based on where the indemnitee is sued, as the majority concludes, then these factors would point to no particular state because, at the time of contracting, the parties had no way of knowing where any future suit might be brought against any indemnitee under the contract. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188 cmt. (e), at 580; accord Hebert, 618 F.Supp. at 772. Nevertheless, the majority concludes that Texas is both the place of performance and the location of the contract’s subject matter. This conclusion is contrary to the Restatement analysis the Texas Supreme Court has adopted.
*192Additionally, the majority’s methodology for determining which state’s law applies contravenes the- need for certainty, predictability, and uniformity of result. See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONFLICT OF LAWS § 6(2)(f) (1971). To change the conflict-of-laws analysis, and quite possibly the law applicable to the contract, based on where the plaintiff happens to file suit against the indemnitee is random and arbitrary. Moreover, it adds uncertainty, unpredictability, and variety of result to an area of the law already burdened with these unwelcome qualities. See Dillard, 943 S.W.2d at 717. As Justice Edelman points out in his dissenting opinion, there is a compelling need for certainty, predictability, and uniformity of result in the conflict-of-laws area. Though parties may find the laws of states in which they conduct oilfield operations problematic or undesirable, without the majority’s new rule, at least they would have the security of knowing the law by which they will be bound if and when suit is filed. With that knowledge, there is some measure of predictability; without it, there is none.
Although certainty, predictability, and uniformity of result do not determine the place of performance, the lack of these qualities undermines the principles the Restatement test is designed to further. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6. Recognizing that predictability is a valid consideration in the analysis, the majority asserts that its new rule fosters predictability by enforcing the law chosen by the parties. Unquestionably, as to parties with choice-of-law provisions in their contracts, the rule that would provide the most uniformity, certainty, and predictability would be a rule that always enforced the parties’ choice of law; however, for policy reasons, the Restatement and the Texas Supreme Court have not chosen this rule. See DeSantis, 793 S.W.2d at 677-78; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 187. Under the Restatement rule adopted by the Texas Supreme Court, we are to analyze the three factors contained in section 187(2)(b) of the Restatement, one of which is the determination of the law that would apply under section 188 if there were no choice of law by the parties. Instead of doing this, the majority is concerned with giving “judicial respect” to the parties’ choice of law and thwarting any attempt to “undo the result” of this bargain. Though it is quite tempting to rely on the parties’ contractual choice of law in analyzing this thorny issue, it is not appropriate to do so as part of a section 188 analysis. See DeSantis, 793 S.W.2d at 677-78; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 187. By giving “judicial respect” to the parties’ choice-of-law provision, the majority considers the very thing the Texas Supreme Court has said we should ignore. See DeSantis, 793 S.W.2d at 677-78; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 187.
Even if it were proper to consider the parties’ choice of Texas law and their expectation that Texas law would apply based on the insurance and indemnity provisions of the drilling contract, the result the majority reaches would not necessarily follow. Significantly, the Restatement refers to “protection of justified expectations.” Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6(2)(d) (emphasis added). As a general rule, contracting parties should expect that the provisions of their contracts will be binding on them and that courts will enforce the bargains they have struck. However, that is not always the case. For example, parties who enter into contracts that contain provisions which are illegal or against public policy have no legitimate expectations that them contracts will be enforced because courts declare such contracts void. See e.g., In re Kasschau, 11 S.W.3d 305, 312-14 (Tex.App.-Houston *193[14th Dist.] 1999, orig. proceeding) (concluding the trial court was justified in finding settlement agreement void where agreement included provision illegally requiring parties to destroy evidence in a potential criminal proceeding). Consequently, in those cases, the parties’ contract hardly reflects justified expectations for it is not logical or reasonable that a party should expect a court to enforce a contract that the law declares void. In such cases, it is more accurate to say that the contract reflects the parties’ agreement, hope, and desire but not necessarily their justified expectations.
Here, the parties apparently were aware of the enforceability issue regarding the oilfield indemnities. They apparently recognized that they were drilling for oil in a state whose law voids provisions in drilling contracts that indemnify parties against their own negligence. Wanting to exploit Louisiana oil but not be bound by the laws of the Louisiana oilfield, these sophisticated parties contracted for Texas law to apply instead.5 Whether this would prove an effective or successful strategy remained to be seen. Under these circumstances, the parties’ oilfield indemnity provision may be a strong indication of their agreement, hope, and desire, but it does not necessarily reflect their justified expectations. Nor does the parties’ oilfield indemnity provision compel the majority’s conclusion that we cannot disregard the indemnity language the parties chose and the insurance they agreed to purchase in order to make their indemnities enforceable. Ante, op. at p. 176. Applying that logic, one might just as easily argue that we should also enforce illegal contracts (which the law also views as void) lest we disappoint the expectations of the parties who crafted them.
In cases such as this, the parties’ attempt to avoid the oilfield laws of the state where the oilfield operations are conducted does not necessarily translate into a justified expectation. Chesapeake and Nabors might well have expected that, notwithstanding their efforts to bring another state’s oilfield statutes to the Louisiana oilfield, the court hearing this dispute would refuse to enforce the oilfield indemnity in light of Louisiana’s Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute and the strong public policy that underlies it. As Justice Wittig points out in his dissent, the parties to a drilling contract for a well in Louisiana can reasonably anticipate that Louisiana law might apply to issues arising under their contract. Certainly, it would not be unreasonable for them to expect that Louisiana law might apply despite their having “drafted indemnity clauses and purchased insurance to meet ... Texas law.” Ante, op. at p. 176.
Whatever the parties’ true expectations were with respect to the oilfield indemnities in this case, those expectations must yield when the “value of protecting the expectations of the parties is substantially outweighed in the particular case by the interest of the state with the invalidating rule in having this rule applied.” See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188 cmt. (b), at 577. Though it is especially difficult to disregard a bargain eon-*194tracting parties have struck, it is even more difficult to honor it when doing so would trample on a sister state’s sovereign right to establish and enforce public policy within its own borders. As discussed more fully in the sections that follow, Louisiana, like Texas, has a strong and compelling interest in regulating activity in its oilfields. That interest outweighs the value of protecting expectations of parties in the enforcement of a contractual provision Louisiana’s law declares void. In this context, even if it were proper to consider the parties’ choice of Texas law in this part of the analysis, and even if the insurance, indemnity, and choice-of-law provision could be fairly characterized as a justified expectation of the parties that Texas law would govern, the balance still tips in favor of applying Louisiana law.
Regarding the seventh principle in section 6 of the Restatement, the majority claims the Maxus court held that the “ease of determination and application of the law” points to applying the law of the state where the injured party brought suit. See ante, op. at p. 177-78; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6(2)(g). The Maxus court did not so hold; rather, it stated that “Kansas law is easily determined and applied.” Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57. The majority states that this seventh principle cannot be known with certainty until the injured party files suit. The majority implies that this principle supports its analysis based on factors that cannot be determined until the injured party sues the indemnitee, e.g., the majority’s interpretation of place of performance and location of the contract’s subject matter. This principle does not support the majority’s position.
The Restatement says only the following about the seventh principle: (1) it expresses the goal that conflict-of-laws rules (not the substantive law chosen under these rules) should be simple and easy to apply; and (2) this principle should not be overemphasized, because it is obviously of greater importance that the conflict-of-laws rules lead to desirable results. Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6(2)(g) & cmt. (j). Because this principle expresses only the need for simple and easy-to-apply conflict-of-laws rules, it can be applied at the time of contracting and does not support the majority’s analysis. See NL Indus., Inc. v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 65 F.3d 314, 328-29 (3d Cir.1995) (seventh principle deals with simplicity of conflict-of-laws rules); In re Air Crash Disaster Near Chicago, Illinois on May 25, 1979, 644 F.2d 594, 616 (7th Cir.1981) (same). Although this court has not addressed the issue in a published case, this interpretation of the seventh principle is the only one that comports with the plain language of the comment to section 6 of the Restatement. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6, cmt. (j).
The Texas Supreme Court did not explain why it concluded that Kansas law could be easily determined and applied in the Maxus case. It may have been referring to the simplicity of its conflict-of-laws analysis or to the simplicity of determining applicable Kansas law. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57. If, as the majority concludes, the Maxus court viewed this seventh principle as referring to the ease in determining the substantive law of Kansas, it still would not affect the analysis in this case because Texas courts would have no difficulty applying the law of a bordering state like Louisiana. Indeed, Texas courts have had no trouble determining and applying the substantive law of foreign countries such as Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Taliban-era Afghanistan. See, e.g., Falcoal, Inc. v. Turkiye Komur Isletmeleri Kurumu, 660 F.Supp. 1536, 1541-2 (S.D.Tex.1987) (applying Turkish law); Bridas Corp. v. Unocal *195Corp., 16 S.W.3d 893, 900-06 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, pet. denied) (applying laws of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan and stating that the laws of these countries can be readily and reliably ascertained). Surely, then, if the majority is correct in concluding that this seventh principle of section 6 means the ease of determining the substantive law, it would be entitled to almost no weight. And what little weight the court could legitimately accord it would hardly tip the balance in favor of applying Texas law. Therefore, the seventh principle of section 6 does not support the majority’s analysis.
Today’s decision also creates other problems and incongruities in the conflict-of-laws analysis. As explained above, if the place of performance and location of the contract’s subject matter is where the in-demnitee is sued, as the majority holds, then these factors point to no particular state under the conflict-of-laws analysis.6 See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188 cmt. (e), at 580; accord Hebert, 618 F.Supp. at 772. If the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws is properly applied to the majority’s analysis, these important factors will be absent from the section 188 analysis for indemnity issues. Therefore, the majority’s conflict-of-laws analysis for indemnities is really based on only three of the section 188(2) factors. In most cases, including the two involved in this consolidated appeal, these three factors reduce down to a single factor — the domicile, residence, nationality, place of incorporation, and place of business of the parties. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 188(2). This “citizenship analysis” does not promote certainty, predictability, or uniformity of result in this area of the law. Instead, the majority’s analysis only creates problems, as shown by Justice Wittig’s dissent.
For example, if a Texas contractor entered into a drilling contract with an Oklahoma operator and that contract contained indemnities and no choice-of-law provision, the citizenship analysis under section 188 would hold that the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute applies, even if the contract were for a well in Louisiana (because the place-of-performance and location-of-the-subject-matter factors do not apply inasmuch as the parties could not have known where any indemnitee would be sued). This result is contrary to the Texas Supreme Court’s territorial approach to anti-indemnity statutes under section 188. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57. Furthermore, what if the Texas contractor assigns the contract to a Louisiana contractor and the indemnities are enforceable under the Texas anti-indemnity statute but not under the Louisiana anti-indemnity statute? Under the well-established principle that an assignee receives the full rights of the assignor, the Louisiana contractor should receive the enforceable indemnities contained in the drilling contract that its predecessor assigned to it. See Jackson v. Thweatt, 883 S.W.2d 171, 174 (Tex.1994). The citizenship analysis forces courts either to violate the well-settled principle that the assignee receives the full rights of the assignor or allow parties to evade anti-indemnity statutes by assignment. The latter would frustrate, not further, the policies of states with anti-indemnity statutes. See La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2780 (West 1991); N.M. Stat. Ann. § 56-7-2 (Michie 2001); Tex. Civ. PRAC. & Rem.Code § 127.001, et seq.; Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 30-1-131 (Michie 2001).
*196Another inconsistency common to both the majority’s approach and the citizenship analysis is that they both would void similar indemnities in subcontractors’ contracts based only on the citizenship of the subcontractor. The records in this appeal illustrate as much. They show the following: (1) to perform the work required under its drilling contract for the Burns 7-l(Re) well in Louisiana, Chesapeake entered into subcontracts with various entities, including Reeled Tubing, Inc. (“RTI”), a Louisiana company and Quality Pressure Testing (“QPT”), a Texas company; (2) under applicable master service agreements, Chesapeake’s contract with both RTI and QPT contained identical indemnity provisions under which these subcontractors would indemnify Chesapeake against personal-injury claims by their respective employees, regardless of Chesapeake’s negligence; (3) these indemnities were similar to the indemnities between Chesapeake and Nabors in the drilling contract; (4) the indemnities in the subcontracts appear to be enforceable under Oklahoma and Texas law but unenforceable under Louisiana law; and (5) the injuries to Alms and Fritz are covered by the respective indemnities from RTI and QPT in favor of Chesapeake. Under the citizenship analysis, the same indemnification provision for work under the same drilling contract on the same Louisiana well would appear to be void and unenforceable in RTI’s subcontract (under Louisiana law) but valid and enforceable in QPT’s subcontract (under Texas or Oklahoma law), based on the citizenship of the subcontractors.
Another ramification of the majority’s section 188 analysis is that it effectively withdraws protections for Texas contractors working in states that have more stringent anti-indemnity statutes than Texas, i.e., Louisiana, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Compare La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2780; N.M. Stat. Ann. § 56-7-2; Wm Stat. Ann. § 30-1-131 with Tex. Civ. PRAC. & Rem.Code § 127.001, et seq.; see also Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57. Under the Texas Supreme Court’s territorial approach in Maxus, Texas contractors enjoy the protections provided by these states’ anti-indemnity statutes as to oilfield contracts for wells in these states. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57. But, under the majority’s citizenship approach, Texas contractors no longer will enjoy the protections enacted by the legislatures of these states, unless one of the other parties to the contract is a citizen of the state where the well is located. Although the majority’s approach arguably would increase protection of Texas contractors in states like Oklahoma, by extending the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute into that state for work performed by Texas contractors, it is likely to decrease protection for Texas contractors in other states. Given the large volume of oilfield work in Louisiana and offshore Louisiana, as well as the work performed in New Mexico and Wyoming, the net effect of today’s decision will almost certainly be a decrease in protection of Texas contractors from the sort of evils the majority concedes were declared against the public policy of both Texas and Louisiana.7 *197Though the learned justices in the majority find this point perplexing, there is no denying the rippling effects of the majority’s citizenship-based analysis. Nor is there any escape from the incongruities it produces.
More importantly, as pointed out in Justice Wittig’s dissent, focusing on the citizenship of the parties is contrary to the Texas Supreme Court’s approach in Max-us. Our high court rejected a Texas party’s plea for the application of the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute to an indemnity in a drilling contract negotiated and executed in Texas between two Texas parties. See Maxus, at 51-57. The majority opinion states that the Texas and Louisiana anti-indemnity statutes apply to all oilfield contracts everywhere, regardless of where the company or well is located. Neither statute expressly addresses its territorial reach. Nonetheless, the Texas Supreme Court has expressly addressed this issue as to the Texas statute:
One can argue that the Texas Legislature’s purpose in enacting [the Texas oilfield anti-indemnity statute] is to protect Texas contractors who work on mineral wells and mines wherever they may be situated, but we think it more plausible that it had the more limited objective of protecting contractors who drill wells in Texas. We do not read the statute to have an extraterritorial reach, absent some agreement between the parties.
See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57 (emphasis in original). For purposes of the section 188 analysis in this case, we must ignore the choice-of-law provision, and therefore, we also must ignore the Texas Supreme Court’s reference to the possibility of an enforceable choice-of-law provision. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 187(2)(b); see also DeSantis, 798 S.W.2d at 678.
The citizenship analysis and all the mischief it invites can be avoided by adhering to the territoriality approach — the Texas Supreme Court’s approach in Maxus. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57. Consistent with section 188 and the comments thereto, this approach assigns primary importance to the place of performance of the drilling contract (Louisiana) and the location of the contract’s subject matter (Louisiana). It also presumes that oilfield anti-indemnity statutes were intended to cover all wells in that state (Louisiana) and not to cover wells outside of the state, absent a choice-of-law provision enforceable under section 187. See id. Though the majority initially acknowledges that this approach would be easier to apply, our esteemed colleagues ultimately conclude that this approach is not as simple as it might appear and that there are potential problems with determining the place of performance of master service contracts. These concerns notwithstanding, courts have had no difficulty applying Texas conflict-of-laws principles and determining the place of performance in situations involving master services contracts. See, e.g., Hebert, 618 F.Supp. at 772-73. In any event, any difficulty courts might encounter in grappling with these matters seems a small price to pay for some measure of certainty and predictability in the enforceability of oilfield indemnities. The majority’s section 188 analysis is a significant step away from the Texas Supreme Court’s approach in Maxus and a clear departure from the certainty, predictability, and uniformity of result that approach tends to foster.

*198
Application of Texas law would be contrary to a fundamental policy of Louisiana.

The majority strains to conclude that, even if Louisiana law would be applied under section 188, the choice of Texas law still prevails because Texas law does not contravene any policy of Louisiana. This conclusion is based on the dubious notion that the policies of the Louisiana and Texas anti-indemnity statutes are the same. The majority presumes that Louisiana’s policy regarding its oilfield anti-indemnity statute is fundamental, as required by section 187(2)(b); however, the majority implausibly concludes that the policies of Texas and Louisiana in the area of oilfield indemnities are equivalent. The majority bases this conclusion on the similarity between section 127.002(a) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and the first sentence of section 9:2780(A) of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. See Tex. Civ. PRAC. & Rem.Code § 127.002(a); LaRev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2780(A). The majority, however, does not address the second sentence of section 9:2780(A), which also states the relevant Louisiana policy:
It is the intent of the legislature by this Section to declare null and void and against public policy of the state of Louisiana any provision in any agreement which requires defense and/or indemnification, for death or bodily injury to persons, where there is negligence or fault (strict liability) on the part of the indem-nitee, or an agent or employee of the indemnitee, or an independent contractor who is directly responsible to the indemnitee.
La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2780(A). Under this second sentence, the Louisiana legislature articulates Louisiana’s fundamental policy against enforcing indemnities for personal injury where there is negligence, fault, or strict liability on the part of the indemni-tee. See id.
Under the unambiguous language of the Louisiana statute, the indemnity in favor of Nabors contravenes the fundamental policy of Louisiana if Nabors had any negligence, fault, or strict liability in causing the personal injuries to Fritz or Alms. As the majority points out, the jury found Nabors negligent in the Fritz case, and Nabors has not shown that it was free from negligence in the Alms case. For the purposes of this appeal, we must presume that Nabors was at fault and that indemnity in favor of Nabors violates the Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute. See La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2780. Therefore, the indemnity in favor of Nabors also violates Louisiana’s fundamental policy as stated in this statute. See id. at 9:2780(A). As the majority acknowledges, the application of Texas law would result in the enforcement of this indemnity. The inescapable conclusion is that the application of Texas law to the indemnity in favor of Nabors would be contrary to a fundamental policy of Louisiana. The majority’s conclusion to the contrary is ill-founded.
Moreover, it is no answer to say the policy of the two states is the same and that it is only the means of implementing the policy that differs, particularly when those different means yield entirely different ends. Even the most ingenious application of the Restatement test does not permit us to embrace the stated policy (or some portion of it) as identical to our own and simultaneously reject the means our sister state’s legislature crafted to implement the policy. That approach offends the letter as well as the spirit of the Restatement test the Texas Supreme Court has adopted for resolving conflict-of-laws issues. See DeSantis, 793 S.W.2d at 677-78.

*199
Louisiana has a materially greater interest than Texas in determining these issues.

The majority concludes that Louisiana does not have a materially greater interest than Texas in determining Louisiana oilfield indemnity issues. After referring to its analysis under section 188, the majority discusses two possible purposes of the Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute and one possible purpose of the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute. None of these three possible statutory purposes are mentioned in these statutes or in any cited legislative history. There is no value in speculating about possible purposes for these laws that are not reflected in the statutes. See Nat’l Liab. & Fire Ins. Co. v. Allen, 15 S.W.3d 525, 527 (Tex.2000).
If this court determined that Louisiana law would apply under section 188 in the absence of a choice-of-law provision, and that the application of Texas law would be contrary to a fundamental policy of Louisiana, then it almost certainly would conclude that Louisiana has a materially greater interest than Texas in determining whether the oilfield indemnity provisions in this case are enforceable. The Texas Supreme Court has adopted a territorial approach to anti-indemnity statutes and has indicated that the place of performance is of great importance in service contracts like the drilling contract at issue in this case. See Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 51-57. The territoriality concept woven through Maxus recognizes that the place where the contract is to be performed has a substantial interest in the resolution of legal issues relating to that performance. See id. After all, every state has the right to define its own fundamental public policy and to set the ground rules for implementing it, and it is this right to govern conduct and set policy within its own borders' — and in its own oilfields — that makes its interest materially greater than another state’s interest.
It is hardly debatable that Louisiana has a keen interest in making the rules that govern oilfield operations on its lands and in protecting contracting parties engaging in drilling operations there. Given these considerations, the court should find that Louisiana has a materially greater interest than Texas in determining these issues. See DeSantis, 793 S.W.2d at 679 (holding that, under § 187(2)(b), Texas—the place where services were performed—had a materially greater interest in determining whether to enforce the noncompetition agreement). Certainly, the citizens of this state can only hope that Louisiana courts would do the same if the roles were reversed. Undoubtedly, more than a few Texas feathers would be ruffled were Louisiana courts to declare that Louisiana has a materially greater interest in Texas oilfield drilling contract issues than Texas. Indeed, if the Texas legislature passed a law that rendered certain contracts covering activity on Texas soil void and unenforceable for fundamental policy reasons, would it advance our state’s policy to allow those contracts as long as the parties went beyond our borders to enforce them? No. Would a neighboring state have a materially greater interest in those contractual issues just because the enforcement actions landed- there? No. Louisiana has the greater interest in making the rules for operation of Louisiana oilfields, including rules for such things as oilfield indemnities. This territoriality approach not only follows our high court’s path in Maxus, it preserves the important principle of comity regarding other states’ laws, a principle compromised by the court’s decision today.
For the reasons stated above, this court should reverse and remand the granting of the motion for summary judgment in Cause Number 14-00-00173-CV, the Alms *200appeal, and affirm the denial of Nabors’s cross-claim in Cause Number 14-00-00580-CV, the Fritz appeal.

. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6(2)(g) & cmt. (j).

. The Roberts court refused to enforce the parties’ choice-of-law provision and held that the Louisiana anti-indemnity statute applied. See id. at 938-44. This was a correct holding. Although there are comments in the Roberts case that support the majority's emphasis on the citizenship of the contracting parties, these comments are not necessary to the holding in that case. See Roberts, 235 F.3d at 942-43. The Roberts court distinguished the Fifth Circuit's prior affirmance, without opinion, of an unpublished decision in American Ins. v. Apache Corp. See id. at 943; American Ins. v. Apache Corp., 95 F.3d 1149 (5th Cir. 1996). Though Roberts indicates that American Ins. involved two Texas contractors, it is difficult to evaluate American Ins. and the Roberts court's discussion of it, because there is no opinion from the Fifth Circuit in American Ins. and because the district court's opinion is unpublished and not available on electronic databases. See American Ins., 95 F.3d at 1149. To the extent that Roberts supports an analysis based on the citizenship of the contracting parties, it is unpersuasive for the reasons explained below.

. According to the majority, the Maxus court held that the "ease in determination and application of the law to be applied” (the seventh principle in § 6 of the Restatement) points to applying the law of the state where the injured party brought suit. See ante, op. at p. 177-78. The Maxus court did not so hold; rather it stated that “Kansas law is easily determined and applied.” Maxus Exploration Co., 817 S.W.2d at 57.

. As noted in the majority opinion, both lawsuits consolidated into this appeal involved the same International Association of Drilling Contractors drilling contract.

. The majority asserts that the only reason for a choice-of-law clause is to avoid application of some other law. See ante, op. at p. 178, n. 29. Though that may be a motivating factor in many cases, there are other reasons for including such clauses in contracts, for example, to avoid uncertainty about which jurisdiction’s law will apply when a contract involves contacts with many different jurisdictions. See DeSantis, 793 S.W.2d at 677. Nevertheless, even if we presume that the only reason Nabors and Chesapeake included the choice-of-law provision in their drilling contracts was to avoid the application of Louisiana law, that still does not settle the justified expectations issue.

. Under the majority’s approach, this would appear to be the result in every conflict-of-laws analysis for an indemnity provision.

. Of course, our function is not to question the wisdom of the anti-indemnity statutes; rather, we must apply them as written. See Nat’l Liab. & Fire Ins. Co. v. Allen, 15 S.W.3d 525, 527 (Tex.2000); Lee v. City of Houston, 807 S.W.2d 290, 293 (Tex.1991). Several parts of the majority opinion indicate that the majority views these statutes with disfavor. For example, the majority speculates that the Texas Supreme Court favored Kansas law in Maxus to avoid invalidating the indemnity under the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity statute. See ante, op. at p. 175. The Maxus opinion contains nothing that would support *197this speculation and, in any event, this court should decide this case without regard to any view it may have of the wisdom of anti-indemnity statutes. See Nat’l Liab. & Fire Ins. Co., 15 S.W.3d at 527; lee, 807 S.W.2d at 293.