American Adjustment Co. v. Batiste

79 So. 2d 337, 1955 La. App. LEXIS 718
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 25, 1955
DocketNo. 3955
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 79 So. 2d 337 (American Adjustment Co. v. Batiste) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Adjustment Co. v. Batiste, 79 So. 2d 337, 1955 La. App. LEXIS 718 (La. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinion

ELLIS, Justice.

This is a suit on a note made by the defendant, payable to the. order of “myself” and by her endorsed in blank in the amount of $341.25, payable in fifteen installments of $22.75 each, beginning on November 6, 1948.

Plaintiff alleged that it was “the holder and owner for valuable consideration”, and that the note was matured by the non-payment of the January 6, 1949 installment.

To this petition the defendant filed an exception of vagueness in that the petition did not set forth with particularity the amount that had been paid on the note nor the dates the payments were made, and, secondly, that the petition did not set forth when plaintiff acquired the note, from ■whom, and how much was due on the note at the time plaintiff acquired same. -

In response to the exception of vagueness the plaintiff amended its petition and alleged that only $45.50 had been paid on the note, being $22.75 paid on November 5, 1948, $17.75 paid on December 5, 1948, and $5 ‘ having been paid on October 3, 1952. It further set forth that plaintiff acquired the note on September 8, 1952 from the Contract Acceptance Corporation, New Orleans, Louisiana, at which time there was $300.75 due'on the note.

The defendant generally denied the petition except by admitting only that plaintiff was the holder of the note and set up that if plaintiff paid valuable consideration for the note it was purchased by plaintiff during the year 1952, long after the maturity date stipulated on said note, thus making plaintiff holder for value of the said note and not a holder in due course. It further set up payment during the year 1949 and that inasmuch as plaintiff was only a holder for value, after maturity payment would constitute a bar to.his recpvery.

■ Defendant further, in the.alternative, answered that she'was .never delinquent in the payments on the note and made payments regularly until September 1950 at which , tifne the original payee, George Strickland, Jr., with whom she maintained an open account, informed her that he was going to file bankruptcy proceedings and could not [338]*338accept any more payments from her until same had been completed.

The defendant further in the alternative plead that shortly after plaintiff obtained the note demand was made upon defendant for payment and that she went directly to plaintiff’s office and made an agreement through plaintiff’s president and manager whereby she was to pay and plaintiff was to accept the sum of $5 every two weeks on the. claim until such time as it was paid in full. The defendant paid regularly for a period of several months in the manner suggested above and plaintiff accepted such payments until October 17, 1952, at which time plaintiff refused to accept the money explaining that they wished the entire balance and, therefore, filed suit.

The defendant therefore prayed for the rejection of plaintiff’s demand at plaintiff’s cost, and in the alternative, should the court find that plaintiff was entitled to collect on the note, that there be judgment rendered in favor of the defendant against the plaintiff giving full force and effect to the agreement relative to paying the claim off at the rate of $5 every two weeks.

The case was tried and the City Judge rendered judgment with written reasons in favor of the defendant and against the plaintiff, dismissing plaintiff’s suit at its cost. From this judgment the plaintiff has appealed.

The case was tried and the testimony of the witnesses was not taken by a stenographer or a Clerk of the City Court and is, therefore not available.

The Clerk of the City Court certified to a true copy of the minutes of the City Court of the City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There was no agreed statement of facts as provided by Article 602 of the Code of Practice, nor a statement of facts by the Judge as provided under Article 603. Under Article 601 of the Code of Practice, either party may require the Clerk to take down the testimony in writing, however, this was not done.

In the case of Williamson v. Enterprise Brick Co., Inc., 190 La. 415, 182 So. 556, 558, the Supreme Court with Chief Justice O’Niell as its organ reversed a judgment of the Court of Appeal which remanded the case for trial de novo, where the testimony had not been taken down in writing by a stenographer or a clerk of court, nor an agreed statement of facts under Article 602, C. P. made, nor a statement by the Judge as provided under Article 603, C. P. The Supreme Court in reversing the Court of Appeal and sustaining a motion to dismiss stated:

“Our opinion, however, is that the only appropriate method by which a litigant may enforce his right, in an ap-pealable case, to have the testimony taken down in writing, if the judge refuses to enforce it, is to ask the appellate court to issue a mandamus in aid of its appellate jurisdiction, or to invoke the general supervision and control which the supreme court has over the other courts. If the litigant in such a case submits to a trial of the case without the testimony being taken down — even though he submits under protest — he knows that if he appeals from the final decision of the case on its merits it will be impossible for the appellate court to consider the merits of the case unless he, the appellant, obtains from the appellee or his attorney, or from the presiding judge, a statement of the facts that were proved— as provided in articles 602 and 603 of the Code of Practice. The only relief that could be hoped for, from the appellate court, by a litigant whose case depends upon verbal testimony, and who goes to trial without having the testimony taken down, and intends not to avail himself of articles 602 and 603 of the Code of Practice if he appeals from the final judgment, is to have two trials instead of one trial of the case on its merits in the court of original jurisdiction. If the record filed in an appellate court does not contain a transcript of the testimony, or a statement [339]*339of facts agreed to by the parties or furnished by the judge, and the correctness of the judgment appealed from depends upon the verbal testimony that was heard, the appellate court must dismiss the appeal. Cooley v. Broad, 29 La.Ann. 71.”

In Chelette v. Roberts, 185 So. 678, the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, followed the Williamson case, supra, where the facts were the same. Also in Campbell v. Marshall, La.App., 28 So.2d 296, the ruling of the Williamson and Chelette cases, supra, were followed where the record filed therein contained no transcript of testimony nor statement of facts agreed to by parties or furnished the trial judge, and correctness of judgment appealed from depended on the verbal testimony heard.

In the case of Hydrotex Industries, Inc., v. Cartwright, La.App., 45 So.2d 93, 94, with Judge Taliaferro as organ of the Court, it was stated:

“Either party to a suit has the right (in cases appealable) to require the Clerk of Court to take down the testimony adduced on trial thereof. Article 601. And, when this is not done, the party intending to appeal ‘must require the adverse party or his advocate, to draw, jointly with him, a statement of facts proved in the cause/ to be used on appeal. Article 602. And when the parties cannot agree on the statement, then either has the right to request the Court to make such statement which shall serve on appeal. Article 603. It is conceded that neither of said courses was pursued in the present case.

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Bluebook (online)
79 So. 2d 337, 1955 La. App. LEXIS 718, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-adjustment-co-v-batiste-lactapp-1955.