Cantelupe v. City of Bossier

322 So. 2d 344, 1975 La. App. LEXIS 3398
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 6, 1975
DocketNo. 12728
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 322 So. 2d 344 (Cantelupe v. City of Bossier) 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
Cantelupe v. City of Bossier, 322 So. 2d 344, 1975 La. App. LEXIS 3398 (La. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

BURGESS, Judge.

Plaintiff, Jerry Cantelupe, is appealing from the judgment of the district court in a mandamus proceeding which rejected his demand that defendant, City of Bossier City, be ordered to issue him a liquor permit for the year 1975. The trial court found that Cantelupe failed to meet the requirements of Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:79, subd. A(5) in that he had been convicted of the crime of attempted contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. We reverse the judgment of the district court [345]*345and order the issuance of a liquor permit for the year 1975 to plaintiff, subject to his compliance with any and all other applicable provisions of the law.

Cantelupe was the holder of a valid city retail liquor permit for the calendar year of 1974 in connection with the operation of a lounge in Bossier City and had applied for a 1975 permit.

By letter dated December 17, 1974, the mayor of Bossier City informed Cantelupe that his application had been, disapproved by the Commissioner of Public Safety and that a hearing on his application would be held by the City Council on December 30, 1974. The mayor’s letter set forth the following grounds for disapproval of the application :

“a. Failure to meet the qualifications of the Code of Ordinances of Bossier City, Louisiana, Section 5-22 and Section 5-30;
“b. Failure to meet the qualifications of Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:79 and 26:279: conviction of the crime of attempted contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile;
“c. Violating the provisions of the Code of Ordinances of Bossier City, Louisiana, Section 5-31 and Section 5-7; employing or permitting a person under eighteen (18) years of age on the premises.”

A hearing was held on December 30, 1974, which resulted in the denial of plaintiff’s application for a liquor permit. On December 31, 1974, plaintiff filed a “petition for mandamus” in the district court requesting that the City Council show cause why it should not be ordered to issue a 1975 liquor permit to plaintiff. Plaintiff also requested and was granted an order staying the enforcement of the City Council’s resolution and permitting him to operate his lounge until final determination of his application for a license. The city answered plaintiff’s petition in the form of a general denial but made no objection to the use of the mandamus form of procedure.

Trial of the mandamus proceeding was held on January 10, 1975. Evidence at trial consisted of several stipulations and documentary evidence. The parties stipulated that Cantelupe had been convicted of the crime of attempted contributing to the delinquency of juveniles; that this conviction was a responsive verdict to a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile; that the only evidence that Cante-lupe had employed a person under the age of 18 was in the transcript of the criminal trial; and that his conviction was not a felony. The documentary evidence consisted of the letter from the mayor which stated that Cantelupe’s application had been disapproved and gave notice of the reasons for the denial; the ruling of the city council at the hearing on December 30, 1974; and the bill of information, minutes, and transcript of Cantelupe’s criminal trial. The latter documents were admitted in evidence subject to the objection of Cante-lupe’s counsel.

The trial court took the matter under advisement. Judgment rejecting plaintiff’s request for mandamus was signed on February 11, 1975. In his written reasons for judgment the trial judge based his refusal to order the issuance of a 1975 license solely on the ground that plaintiff had been convicted of attempting to contribute to the delinquency of a juvenile. The trial judge stated that La.R.S. 26:79, subd. A(5) requires that an applicant for a liquor permit shall not have been convicted of contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. He reasoned that “an attempted crime is, by its own definition, not a different crime from the intended crime, but is a lesser grade of the same crime. Therefore, the city council was justified, upon proof of conviction of the crime of attempted contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, in denying petitioner’s request for a license renewal.”

After the district court’s rejection of his demands, Cantelupe petitioned this court [346]*346for a stay order, which application was denied with one judge dissenting. Plaintiff then applied to the Supreme Court for an order staying the closing of his lounge pending final determination of his appeal. The Supreme Court granted the stay order.

In his appeal to this court Cantelupe argues the district court erred in holding that the city council properly refused his application for a permit on the ground that plaintiff failed to meet the requirements of R.S. 26:79, subd. A(5).

Defendant contends the judgment below is correct for the reasons expressed by the trial judge in his written opinion. Defendant also argues that the refusal of the city council to issue a 1975 permit was justified under the authority of R.S. 26:79, subd. A(5) and R.S. 26:88(1), (3), (8). These statutes provide that an applicant may not have been adjudged to be in violation of any of the provisions of Title 26, Chapter I, .among which provisions are sections prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 and the employment of anyone under the age of 18 when the sale of alcoholic beverages constitutes the main business. This was not one of the grounds for denial of plaintiff’s application for a 1975 permit enumerated by the mayor in his letter to Cantelupe on December 17, 1974, nor was it argued at the trial of the mandamus proceeding in the district court.

This appeal presents two issues: (1) is the conviction of the attempt to contribute to the delinquency of a juvenile grounds for the denial of a liquor permit under R. S. 26:79, subd. A(5) ; (2) may defendant argue for the first time in this court that the application was properly denied for plaintiff’s failure to meet the requirements of R.S. 26:79, subd. A(7) by reason of his alleged violation of R.S. 26:88(1), (3), (8)?

Before considering these issues, it is important to note that the letter informing plaintiff that his application had been denied listed failure to meet requirements of and the violation of several ordinances of Bossier City. On appeal the city has not urged these ordinances as grounds to support the denial of plaintiff’s permit. The ordinances were never filed in evidence and are not part of the record. There has been no allegation that the terms of La.R.S. 13:3712(B) have been complied with so that this court might take judicial notice of the ordinances of Bossier City. Therefore, this court may not consider the ordinances as grounds to deny plaintiff’s 1975 liquor permit since they are not part of the record of this case.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:79, subd. A(5) provides:

“A. Applicants for state and local permits of all kinds shall meet the following qualifications and conditions:
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(5) Has not been convicted in this or in any other state or by the United States or any other country of soliciting for prostitution, pandering, letting premises for prostitution, contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, keeping a disorderly place, or illegally dealing in narcotics.
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Bluebook (online)
322 So. 2d 344, 1975 La. App. LEXIS 3398, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cantelupe-v-city-of-bossier-lactapp-1975.