Blake v. Mosquito Control Board

470 So. 2d 193, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 8803
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 8, 1985
DocketNo. CA 3005
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 470 So. 2d 193 (Blake v. Mosquito Control Board) 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
Blake v. Mosquito Control Board, 470 So. 2d 193, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 8803 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

GARRISON, Judge.

This is an appeal by the New Orleans Mosquito Control from a decision of the City Civil Service Commission dated July 9, 1984. The Commission reinstated August J. Blake to his position as Engineering Aide with Mosquito Control (M.C.). M.C. applied for and was denied a rehearing before the Commission. M.C. then perfected the instant appeal. Blake answered the appeal seeking the following:

“1) The Decision of the Civil Service Commission for the City of New Orleans is true and correct, and should be affirmed by this Court, with the following amendments.
2) Appellee is damaged aggrieved and prejudiced by the Commission’s failure to award to him legal interest on all back pay due him, and all costs of asserting the Civil Service Appeal including a reasonable attorney's fee.
3) Appellee is damaged by the Commission’s failure to designate to NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL a date by which appellee must be accepted back in the employ of NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL, and the Commission’s failure to designate sanctions against NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL should it fail to accept appel-lee properly as its employee.
4) The appeal filed on behalf of NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL is frivolous, capricious, and without merit, in that no evidence in the record of the Commission proceedings indicates that the Commission’s decision was rendered in bad faith, was manifestly erroneous, or was arbitrary. Appellee is damaged as a result of this unfounded appeal, to include all costs incurred by the appellee relative thereto, including attorney’s fees paid to respond to said frivolous appeal.
5)Appellee is damaged by unnecessary and prejudicial delays in the resolution of this appeal, due to an extension of the return date of this appeal, granted on behalf of NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL within which to pay costs of this appeal, extending the same from August 27 until October 25, including the costs in attorney’s fees necessary to oppose any further extensions of time. WHEREFORE, appellee, AUGUST J. BLAKE, prays that the Decision appealed from be amended to allow appellee legal interest on the back pay due him, all costs of his Civil Service Appeal (including a reasonable attorney’s fee), and to fix a date by which NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL must accept ap-pellee back to his previous employ and designate sanctions for NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL’S failure to do so; further, that appellee be awarded damages as a result of NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL having filed and pursued a frivolous appeal; and further, that appellee be awarded damages as a result of NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL having filed and pursued a Request for an Extension of Time to pay the costs of appeal, resulting in unnecessary prejudicial delays to appellee; and, as amended, that the Decision of the Civil Service Commission of the City of New Orleans be affirmed and that appellant be condemned to pay all costs incurred herein.”

On December 11,1984, Blake additionally filed an “Objection to Further Extensions of Time to File Appellant’s Brief” as follows:

[195]*195“I.
The Motion for Suspensive Appeal on behalf of the NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL was filed herein on August 7, 1984.
II.
The record of this proceeding was lodged in the Fourth Circuit, on or about October 25, 1984. The court assigned the due date of November 19, 1984, to appellant, for the filing of its brief. On November 16, 1984, this Court allowed an extension of fifteen (15) days to appellant, until December 4, 1984, within which to file its brief.
III.
On December 4, 1984, this Court allowed an additional delay of fifteen (15) days, until December 19, 1984, to appellant, within which to file this appellant brief.
IV.
Appellee, AUGUST J. BLAKE, JR. has been, is, and continues to be unreasonably prejudiced by any and all delays in these appellant proceedings, and any further extension or extensions of time granted to NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL within which to file its brief, will prejudice AUGUST J. BLAKE, JR., further.”
******

On December 19, 1984, M.C. filed a brief consisting of two pages of “Argument,” one and a quarter pages of “Assignments of Error” and “Issues on Appeal” and one half page of the “Statement of the Case.”

On January 31, 1985, Blake filed an “Ex Parte Motion to Limit Oral Argument of New Orleans Mosquito Control” which provided:

“I.
This matter is before this Court on appeal from the findings of the Civil Service Commission for the City of New Orleans, reinstating appellee and cross-appellant, AUGUST J. BLAKE, to his previous employ as an Engineering Aide by appellant and cross-appellee, NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL.
II.
NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL filed a motion for a Suspensive Appeal August 7, 1984, and the undersigned filed an Answer to Appeal on behalf of AUGUST J. BLAKE subsequent thereto.
III.
NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL filed its original brief on December 19, 1984.
IV.
On January 18, 1985, the undersigned filed, on behalf of AUGUST J. BLAKE, an original brief, in response to NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL’S original brief, and additionally, briefing the issues raised by AUGUST J. BLAKE in his Answer to Appeal.
V.
Under the provisions of Rule 2-12.7, Uniform Rules — Courts of Appeal, NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL had ten (10) calendar days after the appel-lee’s brief was filed, within which to file a reply brief.
VI.
As of January 29, 1985, more than ten (10) calendar days after the filing of the brief of AUGUST J. BLAKE, NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL had not filed a reply brief.
VII.
Under the provisions of Rule 2-12.12, Uniform Rules — Court of Appeal, AUGUST J. BLAKE is entitled to an Order of this Court, limiting any right of NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL to [196]*196argue in response to the issues raised in AUGUST J. BLAKE’S Answer to Appeal, due to NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL’S failure to file a reply brief to AUGUST J. BLAKE’S original brief timely.
WHEREFORE, AUGUST J. BLAKE prays that this Court issue an Order prohibiting NEW ORLEANS MOSQUITO CONTROL from presenting oral argument in response to the issues made the basis of the Answer to Appeal filed on behalf of AUGUST J. BLAKE.
* * # * * *

The Civil Service Commission provided the following excellently written decision:

“The appellant, August J. Blake, a former Engineering Aide with New Orleans Mosquito Control, was demoted to an Automotive Mechanic III on June 2, 1983 for being unwilling ‘to assume full responsibility for the aviation program.’ On July 19, 1983, he was suspended for five (5) hours in a dispute over his. job tools. On the next day, July 20, 1983 lie was terminated for:

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Related

Stumpf v. Richardson
748 So. 2d 1225 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
Blake v. New Orleans Mosquito Control
472 So. 2d 921 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
470 So. 2d 193, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 8803, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blake-v-mosquito-control-board-lactapp-1985.