Burglass v. Villere

147 So. 727, 1933 La. App. LEXIS 1662
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 24, 1933
DocketNo. 14289.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 147 So. 727 (Burglass v. Villere) 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
Burglass v. Villere, 147 So. 727, 1933 La. App. LEXIS 1662 (La. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

HIGGINS, Judge.

In this proceeding the plaintiff, Burglass, claimed from the intervener, Loyacano, both actual and statutory damages and also attorney’s fees growing out of the alleged wrongful issuance of a preliminary writ ot injunction. Loyacano filed a plea of prescription of one year and an exception of no right or cause of action. There was judgment, on May 18, 1928, in favor bf Bur-glass and against Loyacano, dissolving the writ of injunction, and judgment in favor of Loyacano and against Burglass, sustaining the plea of prescription and dismissing Burglass’s claims. Burglass alone has appealed.

The reeoid shows that Loyacano owned the premises No. 1320 Canal street and rented them to Mrs. Septime Villere for a period of twenty-four months commencing October 1, 1922, and ending September 30, 1924, at a rental of $160 per month. Mrs. Villere paid the rent for the first three months and defaulted in the payment of the next two rent *728 installments. As a result oí this breach of the contract of lease, under an acceleration clause therein, the unexpired portion thereof became due at the option of the lessor, Loyacano. Pie elected to sue Mrs. Villere for the installments that were then due and also for the whole of the unexpired portion of the lease and obtained a money judgment on April 19, 1923, for $3,360, with recognition of his lessor’s lien and privilege on the furniture and effects provisionally seized.

On March 19, 1923, Burglass sued Mrs. Villere for $1,667, the balance due on furniture which he had sold to her and which she had placed in the leased premises, whele it was seized by Loyacano under his lessor’s lien, in the above referred to suit. Mrs. Vil-lere confessed judgment in favor of Burglass and judgment was entered in his favor for the amount claimed on March 19, 1923. Bur-glass then had issued a writ of fieri facias against Mrs. Villere and seized the right of occupancy of the premises No. 1329 Canal street, which .he alleged was vested in her, and the civil sheriff advertised that the sale would take place on June 19, 1923. On June 16, 1923, Loyacano filed a petition of intervention in the case of Burglass v. Villere, alleging that he, as lessor, had the right of occupancy of the premises and not the lessee because the lease had been dissolved, and praying that Burglass and the civil sheriff be restrained from proceeding further under the writ of fieri facias and selling the right'of occupancy. On the same day the court granted a preliminary writ of injunction and the right was never sold.

On June 29, 1923, Burglass answered the petition of intervention of Loyacano, denying the allegations thereof, and in reconvention asked that the court assess 20 per cent, of the amount of his judgment of $1,667, as damages, together with 8 per cent, interest thereon, upon the dissolution of the writ of injunction.

On June 7, 1923, Loyacano filed a suit against Mrs. Villere and Burglass seeking the annulment and cancellation of the lease on the ground that the tenant had defaulted in the payment of the rent and that the landlord was entitled to the right of cancellation of the lease and the occupancy of the premises, because “the lease provides that should the lessee violate any of the conditions of the said lease the lessor reserved to himself the right of cancelling it, the lessee expressly waiving any notice to vacate the premises, and without being put in default.’’

The defendant, Burglass, filed a plea of es-toppel on the ground that plaintiff, Loyacano, having previously obtained judgment for the unexpired term or portion of the lease, and thereafter, under a writ of fieri facias, having seized and sold the effects and furniture belonging to the lessee in the premises, was thereby estopped from seeking the cancellation of the lease. Burglass also filed an exception of no right or cause of action. The trial judge sustained the exceptions of estop-pel and no right or cause of action and plaintiff, Loyacano, appealed devolutively to this court.' We sustained the ruling of the trial court on February 28, 1927, holding (syllabus): “When a landlord, having secured judgment against tenant and surety on lease for .rent during unexpired term, seizes and sells under fi. fa. the furniture, but not the right of occupancy, which is then seized by another judgment creditor of the tenant, he cannot then sue to cancel lease, because all his rights are crystallized in the judgment.’’ Loyacano v. Villere and Burglass, 6 La. App. 37.

Loyacano then applied to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari which was refused on April 26, 1927.

On December 27,1927, Burglass filed a supplemental answer and reconventional demand to the petition of Loyacano for the writ of injunction, alleging in substance that, as a result of Burglass being restrained from selling the right of occupancy to the premises, Loyacano illegally took possession thereof and rented them for $150 per month for the unexpired term of the lease, or a period of fifteen months, and therefore Burglass was entitled to actual damages sustained as a result of the illegal issuance of the injunction and that those damages amounted to $1,667. with legal interest from March 19, 1923, and all costs of court, being the full value of his-judgment against Mrs. Villere.

On March 29, 1928, Loyacano filed a plea of prescription of one year to Burglass’s. claims in reconvention and also filed an exception of no right or cause of action thereto. On May 18, 1928, the trial judge dissolved the writ of injunction, but sustained the plea of prescription of one year to Bur-glass’s reconventional demands for damages. Burglass appealed from the judgment and this court, on December 16, 1929, reversed the judgment of the lower court awarding 20 per cent, statutory damages, but sustained the plea of prescription as to actual damages (14 La. App. 314, 125 So. 144). A writ of cer-tiorari was'granted by the Supreme Court and on June 2, 1930, that court reversed the decisions of the trial court and this court,, overruling the plea of prescription in toto, and ordered the case remanded to the civil' district court “for trial of the reconventional demand of Abraham Burglass for damages, in his supplemental answer, as well as in his original answer to the petition of Anthony P. Loyacano for an injunction” (170 La. 805, 129 So. 209, 212).

When the case was called for trial in the-district court, counsel for Loyacano attempted to argue certain points under the excep *729 tion of no right or cause of action filed to Burglass’s reconyentional demands, but counsel for Burglass objected on the ground that Loyacano had failed to appeal from the judgment dissolving the injunction on May 14, 1928, and hence all other issues passed out of the case, except the plea of prescription, which was finally overruled by the Supreme Court, which remanded the case solely for the purpose of receiving evidence as to the quantum of damages.

On April 22, 1932, the trial judge rendered judgment in favor of Burglass for statutory damages amounting to $333.40, or 20 per cent, of $1,667, with legal interest thereon from judicial demand until paid and costs, and also a judgment against the surety on the bond in the sum of $250, which amount was to be considered included in the larger amount of $333.40. Burglass appealed from the judgment in so far as it did not allow the amount of his claim in excess of $333.40. Loy-acano did not appeal and has not answered the appeal.

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

Related

Clay-Dutton, Inc. v. Coleman
219 So. 2d 307 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1969)
Hollier v. Boustany
180 So. 2d 591 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1965)
Bill Garrett Leasing, Inc. v. General Lumber & Supply Co.
164 So. 2d 364 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1964)
Succession of Israel
154 So. 487 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1934)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 So. 727, 1933 La. App. LEXIS 1662, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burglass-v-villere-lactapp-1933.