Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University v. Dixie Brewing Co.

131 So. 3d 130, 2013 WL 6328511
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 4, 2013
DocketNos. 2013-CA-0250, 2013-CA-0251, 2013-CA-0252
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 131 So. 3d 130 (Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University v. Dixie Brewing Co.) 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
Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University v. Dixie Brewing Co., 131 So. 3d 130, 2013 WL 6328511 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

MADELEINE M. LANDRIEU, Judge.

hOn February 25, 2011 the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University (“LSU”), instituted proceedings to expropriate certain property, including a lot and building owned by Dixie Brewery Company, Inc. (“Dixie”), in connection with the development and construction of LSU’s new University Medical Center (“UMC”) and the adjacent Veterans Affairs Medical Center (“VAMC”).1 Since then, Dixie has filed multiple motions and petitions seeking to enjoin LSU on constitutional grounds from selling or leasing the expropriated property (“the Dixie parcel”) to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (“V.A.”)] for use as part of the VAMC. The last two of those petitions, one filed in January, 2012, and one in October, 2012, are pertinent here. For purposes of this opinion, these will be referred to as the “first” petition and the “second” petition, respectively.

This appeal is taken from the trial court’s November 16, 2012 judgment, [132]*132which dismissed with prejudice Dixie’s second “Petition for Permanent Injunction and Request for Preliminary Injunction.” The trial court granted the exception of |2res judicata filed on behalf of LSU and its former president, John Lombardi.2 The court concluded that its February 7, 2012 judgment, which had denied Dixie’s first petition for injunctive relief against the same two defendants, precluded consideration of the current petition.3

ISSUE

The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by dismissing Dixie’s petition on the basis of res judicata.

DISCUSSION

In reviewing the granting or denial of an exception res judicata, the appellate court must determine whether the trial court’s decision is legally correct or incorrect. Myers v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Louisiana, 2009-1517, p. 5 (La.App. 4 Cir. 5/19/10), 43 So.3d 207, 210.

The doctrine of res judicata precludes re-litigation of claims and/or issues arising out of the same factual circumstances when a valid final judgment exists. Id. Louisiana’s res judicata statute is La. R.S. 13:4231, which states:

Except as otherwise provided by law, a valid and final judgment is conclusive between the same parties, except on appeal or other direct review, to the following extent:
(1) If the judgment is in favor of the plaintiff, all causes of action existing at the time of final judgment arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the litigation are extinguished and merged in the judgment.
Ia(2) If the judgment is in favor of the defendant, all causes of action existing at the time of final judgment arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the litigation are extinguished and the judgment bars a subsequent action on those causes of action.
(3)A judgment in favor of either the plaintiff or the defendant is conclusive, in any subsequent action between them, with respect to any issue actually litigated and determined if its determination was essential to that judgment.

Also relevant is Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 425, entitled “Preclusion by judgment,” which provides, in pertinent part: “A party shall assert all causes of action arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the litigation.” The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that in order to preclude a second action under the theory of res judi-cata, five elements must be satisfied:

(1) the judgment is valid; (2) the judgment is final; (3) the parties are the same; (4) the cause or causes of action asserted in the second suit existed at the time of final judgment in the first litiga[133]*133tion; and (5) the cause or causes of action asserted in the second suit arose out of the transaction or occurrence that was the subject matter of the first litigation.

Burguieres v. Pollingue, 2002-1385, p. 8 (La.2/25/03), 843 So.2d 1049, 1053.

In the case before us, Dixie concedes in its brief that the first three elements have been met: namely, that the trial court’s February 7, 2012 judgment [“the first judgment”] is a valid, final judgment between the same parties. That judgment denied Dixie’s “request for a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining [LSU] from selling or leasing the property referred as [sic] Square 556 or the Dixie Brewery Parcel.” Dixie did not seek review of that judgment.

Dixie filed this second petition for injunction on October 12, 2012, praying for exactly the same relief as it had in the first petition. The trial court dismissed the second petition on the basis of res judica-ta. In reviewing that decision, the Lpertinent questions are whether Dixie’s second petition asserted a cause of action that 1) arose out of the same transaction or occurrence that was the subject matter of the first petition, and 2) existed at the time the first judgment was rendered. The trial court concluded that these two elements had been satisfied. We agree.

Both Dixie’s first and second petitions sought to enjoin LSU from transferring the subject property to the V.A. because, according to Dixie, any such transfer would violate Article I, Section 4(H)(1) of the Louisiana Constitution. That section provides, in pertinent part: [T]he state or its political subdivisions “shall not sell or lease property which has been expropriated and held for not more than thirty years without first offering the property to the original owner....”4 (Emphasis supplied). Thus, the “transaction or occurrence” that is the subject of Dixie’s petitions is the transfer of the property in question to the V.A., which Dixie was seeking to prevent.

Dixie contends, however, that the second petition for injunction asserted a cause of action that arose out of a different set of operative facts than those upon which the first petition was based. Therefore, Dixie argues, the cause of action asserted in the second petition did not arise from the same transaction or occurrence as did the cause of action asserted in the first petition. The basis for Dixie’s argument is that in its first petition, it relied upon a “Right of Use” agreement between LSU and the V.A. as evidence that the transfer would constitute an illegal sale or lease, whereas, in its second petition, Dixie relied upon a subsequent “Act of Exchange” as such evidence. In its first petition, Dixie ^asserted it would suffer irreparable harm if its property was unconstitutionally transferred by LSU to the V.A. The trial court declined to grant an injunction. In its second petition, Dixie again asserted that it would suffer irreparable harm if its property was unconstitutionally transferred by LSU to the V.A., and sought the same injunctive relief. The fact that Dixie cited the Right of Use agreement as evidence of unconstitutionali[134]*134ty in the first petition and cited the Act of Exchange as evidence in the second petition is of no moment. As this court has noted, the fact that a plaintiff “seek[s] to rely upon different evidence to support the same legal principles” does not state a new cause of action. Bulot v. Intracoastal Tubular Services, Inc., 2004-0398, 0399, 0400, p. 8 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/29/04), 883 So.2d 1146, 1151. In Cooper v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
131 So. 3d 130, 2013 WL 6328511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/board-of-supervisors-of-louisiana-state-university-v-dixie-brewing-co-lactapp-2013.