D & O CONTRACTORS, INC. v. St. Charles Parish

778 So. 2d 1285, 0 La.App. 5 Cir. 882, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 452, 2001 WL 253939
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 28, 2001
Docket00-CA-882
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 778 So. 2d 1285 (D & O CONTRACTORS, INC. v. St. Charles Parish) 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
D & O CONTRACTORS, INC. v. St. Charles Parish, 778 So. 2d 1285, 0 La.App. 5 Cir. 882, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 452, 2001 WL 253939 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

778 So.2d 1285 (2001)

D & O CONTRACTORS, INC.
v.
ST. CHARLES PARISH, et al.

No. 00-CA-882.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

February 28, 2001.
Rehearing Denied March 26, 2001.

*1286 Joel T. Chaisson, Chaisson & Chaisson, Destrehan, Louisiana, Catherine Leary, Westwego, Louisiana, for plaintiff-appellant.

Alan Zaunbrecher, Law Office of Alan A. Zaunbrecher, Metairie, Louisiana, Robert L. Raymond, St. Charles Parish, Destrehan, Louisiana, for defendants-appellees.

Chris P. Pierce, Wray & Pierce, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for intervenor, Magnolia Construction Co., Inc.

Court composed of Judges SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, CLARENCE E. McMANUS and JAMES C. GULOTTA, Pro Tempore.

*1287 McMANUS, Judge.

This matter is an appeal from the granting of a summary judgment in favor of Appellees and dismissing Appellant's suit. We agree with the trial judge's ruling that Appellant, an unsuccessful bidder on a public works contract, has not demonstrated the conditions necessary to maintain a cause of action for damages against Appellee, and we therefore affirm the judgment.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On July 22, 1999, Appellant, D & O Contractors, Inc., filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Damages against Appellees St. Charles Parish, the St. Charles Parish Council, through its chairman, Terry Authement, and Chris Tregre, in his official capacity as president of St. Charles Parish. On August 4 the Parish, the council, and Tregre filed a Dilatory Exception of Improper Use of Summary Proceedings, arguing that because D & O's opportunity to forestall the council's approval of another bid on the project in question had been forfeited as of the date on which the contract had been awarded, their only remaining promise of relief lay in ordinary proceedings. On August 6, Magnolia Construction Company, Inc., the successful bidder, was granted leave to intervene in the proceedings against the Parish.

The exception was heard August 9, 1999; judgment sustaining the exception was rendered on that date. Judgment was signed September 1: the signed judgment specifically denied the writ of mandamus; the judgment also gave D & O fifteen days in which to remove from its petition the request to proceed by summary proceedings.

On August 9 D & O filed a First Supplemental and Amending Petition, and in this pleading, explained why they had not filed a timely injunction to prevent the parish from awarding the contract to Magnolia: D & O alleged that they had been unable to timely file an injunction in advance of the council meeting during which the contract had been awarded to Magnolia because they had expected to be awarded the contract at this same meeting. A second supplemental petition was filed September 1, 1999, converting the matter into an ordinary proceeding. The second supplemental petition also included the claim that LSA-R.S. 38:2220B is unconstitutional because, under the facts of this case, there had not been enough time for D & O to seek injunctive relief before the contract was awarded to Magnolia.

On September 30, the Parish, the council, and Tregre filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, alleging that there were no unresolved issues of material fact requiring trial of the matter. The summary judgment was heard November 18, 1999; the judgment was signed January 31, 2000: the judgment rejected D & O's request for permission to file a third amending petition and dismissed "all claims" of D & O. D & O's third amending petition included a claim for injunctive relief.

In his reasons for judgment, the trial judge noted specifically that "since plaintiffs suit will be dismissed as a result of the granting of the Motion for Summary Judgment, plaintiffs arguments on the alleged unconstitutional actions of defendants and preclusion of summary proceedings by this Court will not be addressed herein."

D & O now presents the following assignments of error:

1. Whether D & O's efforts to seek relief were timely under La.R.S. 38:2220;
2. Whether the July 6 award of the contract to Magnolia was illegal in violation of the Home Rule Charter;
3. Assuming that the trial court correctly applied La.R.S. 38:2220 to the facts of the case, whether La.R.S. 38:2220 is constitutional as applied;
4. Whether the trial court acted properly in dismissing D & O's claim against the parish and its insurer for *1288 ultra vires acts by the parish president.

FACTS

The record contains the following facts surrounding D & O's bid for the contract in question and their attempts to prevent St. Charles Parish from awarding the job to another contractor.

This suit arises out of the bidding process to award St. Charles Parish project No. S-980105, construction of the Montz and Norco Pump Stations and Force Mains, called for as part of the St. Charles Parish Wastewater Regionalization Program. The bids were opened on May 28, 1999, and the Bid Tabulation form, prepared by the project engineer, Camp Dresser & McKee Inc., shows Magnolia Construction's as the lowest bid, with D & O as the next lowest bidder.

The record contains a copy of a letter, dated May 28, from D & O to the St. Charles Parish Council and the parish president, care of Camp Dresser & McKee, in which D & O "formally" protested awarding of the contract to Magnolia, noting that Magnolia's bid package lacked some forms pertaining to the hiring of minority and female-owned sub-contractors.[1] A letter from D & O, dated June 7, again addressed to the Parish and the project engineer, stated that D & O regretted hearing of "[the Parish's] intention to attempt to award" the project to Magnolia and their willingness to "waive" the irregularities in Magnolia's bid.

A letter from Camp Dresser & McKee Inc., dated June 9, and addressed to Richard P. Wright, the Director of the Department of Public Works/Wastewater for the parish, informed other parish officials that while Magnolia had turned in the lowest bid, the bid package was incomplete.

A letter of June 11 to Rick Wright from the parish attorney, Randy O. Lewis, informed Mr. Wright that the defects in the Magnolia bid were waivable, and asked that Mr. Wright award the contract to Magnolia, the lowest bidder for the job. This letter was copied to D & O, and they do not deny that they received their copy.

At the hearing on the Parish's exceptions, the parties entered into stipulations to the effect that the ordinance to approve the Magnolia bid had been introduced at a council meeting held June 7.

The parties also stipulated that Magnolia's bid had been on the agenda for approval at the June 21 meeting, and that the public hearing required for the ordinance's passing had been held on this date. The video of the meeting[2] shows that Magnolia's bid was discussed extensively. An attorney representing D & O was present at the meeting; D & O's objections to Magnolia's bid were again voiced. The parish attorney advised the council that the irregularities in Magnolia's bid were waivable; Magnolia's president informed the council that the omission did not actually constitute a flaw in the bid, that the forms in question are not due until after a bid has been accepted. In the end, as some council members continued to express concern about problems with Magnolia's bid package, the bid was withdrawn from consideration by the council.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
778 So. 2d 1285, 0 La.App. 5 Cir. 882, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 452, 2001 WL 253939, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/d-o-contractors-inc-v-st-charles-parish-lactapp-2001.