Dileo v. Horn

189 So. 3d 1189, 15 La.App. 5 Cir. 684, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 509, 2016 WL 1078588
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 16, 2016
DocketNo. 15-CA-684
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 189 So. 3d 1189 (Dileo v. Horn) 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
Dileo v. Horn, 189 So. 3d 1189, 15 La.App. 5 Cir. 684, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 509, 2016 WL 1078588 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

HANS J. LILJEBERG, Judge.

| .Plaintiff, Santo A- DileOj Sr., appeals the trial court’s December 5, 2014 : Judgment in his favor in. the amount of $6,134.72 on a cause of action for the conversion of furniture and rugs.. Mr. Dileo seeks an increase in the amount of the special damages awarded to $23,106.00. Mr. Dileo also contends the trial court erred by failing to award him general damages for his inconvenience, humiliation and aggravation, as well as his court costs.

Defendant, Dottie Boudreaux, appeals the trial court’s October 16, 2013 Judgment, which denied her exception of no right of action, as well as the trial court’s pre-trial ruling which precluded her from [1194]*1194pursuing unrelated reconventional demands against Mr. Dileo and. evidentiary-rulings rendered during the trial. Ms. Boudreaux also appeals the December 5, 2014 Judgment and contends the trial court erred by failing to assess comparative fault between herself and co-hdefendant, Connie Slaven Horn.1 For the following reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mr. Dileo filed this lawsuit to recover damages he allegedly suffered from the alleged conversion of several pieces of furniture and two rugs he owned. In his petition for damages, Mr. Dileo alleged that his sister, Dottie Boudreaux, and his former girlfriend, Connie Slaven Horn, conspired to convert the following items:

1) Mahogany entertainment center pur- . chased in October 1993, for $4,249.50 from the .Gatehouse Gift Shop at the Biltmore Estate located in Asheville, North Carolina.
2) Two Martha Washington wingback fabric and wood chairs purchased in October 1993, for $606.00 from Wil-dermere, Inc. in Hickory, North Carolina.
3) Qum runner rug (measuring 4.9" x 18.1") purchased in December 1991, for $1,591.40 from Parvizian, Inc. in New Orleans, La.
4) Indian rug (measuring 12" x 15") purchased in December 1991, for $3,270.00 from Tachdjian Oriental - Rugs in New Orleans, La.'

In response to the petition for damages, Ms. Boudreaux and Ms. Horn filed exceptions of no right of action alleging that Mr. Dileo was no longer the owner of the furniture and rugs because he abandoned them. The trial court held an extensive evidentia-ry hearing on these exceptions and heard testimony from several witnesses, including Ms. Horn, Mr. Dileo and Ms. Bou-dreaux. The trial court denied the exceptions and signed a judgment on . October 16, 2013, which stated “that petitioner at no time abandoned the furniture and rugs forming the basis of this lawsuit to either defendants, (sic) Connie Slaven Horn or Dottie Boudreaux.:., ” Therefore, according to the trial court, Mr. Dileo maintained ownership of the furniture and rugs. The parties tried the matter before the trial 14court on April 28, 2014, and September 30, 2014.2 Prior to and during the trial, the trial court stated it would not relitigate the decision regarding' abandonment.

At trial, Mr. Dileo testified that he entered into a relationship with Ms. Horn in late -2008. Shortly after entering into the relationship, Mr. Dileo retrieved the furniture and rugs described above from stor-age at Ms. Boudreaux’s property, and moved them into Ms. Horn’s home. Mr. Dileo ended his relationship with Ms. Horn in January 2010, but did not remove his furniture and rugs from her home at that time.

Ms. Horn testified that at some point in 2010, she wanted to remove the furniture from her spare bedroom to allow her granddaughter to move in with her. Ms. Horn attempted to contact Mr. Dileo by phone several times to ask him to remove the furniture and rugs from her home, but claimed she was unable to reach him and left a voicemail. Ms. Horn testified that at some point she - communicated with Mr. Dileo and he told her to place the furniture on the curb. •

[1195]*1195Later in the trial, Ms, Horn provided contradictory testimony and stated she never spoke to Mr. Dileo about the furniture. She stated a woman named Pam Giambelluea contacted her and indicated that Ms. Boudreaux wanted the furniture and had a place to store it. Ms. Horn then contacted Ms. Boudreaux and asked if she would take the furniture. Ms. Boudreaux agreed and arranged for a van to pick up the furniture and rugs in January 2011.' When she took possession of the items, Ms. Boudreaux signed a piece of paper which stated, “Pick up Furniture.” According to Ms. Horn, Ms. Boudreaux removed the furniture and two rugs outlined above. However, Ms. Boudreaux denied taking the Qum runner' rug. During her cross-examination of Ms. Boudreaux, Ms. Horn attempted to obtain an ^admission from Ms. Boudreaux that she knew Ms. Horn did not have the authority to give Ms. Boudreaux ■ the furniture and rugs.

Mr. Dileo denied receiving any calls or messages from Ms. Horn about moving the furniture and rugs from her home. He also denied telling Ms. Horn to put the furniture and rugs on the curb. Mr. Dileo testified that once he had a place to which he could move the furniture and rugs,' he contacted a mutual friend, Aline Foreman, in June 2011, and asked her to contact Ms. Horn about retrieving his furniture and rugs. After talking to Ms. Horn, Ms. Foreman informed Mr. Dileo that Ms. Horn had given the furniture and rugs to Ms. Boudreaux.

On June 15, 2011, Mr. Dileo sent an email to Ms. Horn's sister, Vivian Twil-beck, and asked Ms. Twilbeck to convince Ms. Horn to return his furniture to him. Ms. Twilbeck confirmed that Ms. Bou-dreaux picked up the furniture and rugs months ago. She further stated, “Pam told your sister about the furniture. Your sister called Connie demanding the furniture and then showed up at her house with a truck, and two men.” Mr. Dileo testified that Ms. Twilbeck also sent him a copy of the paper which Ms. Boudreaux signed when she removed the furniture from Ms. Horn’s home. .

Mr. Dileo further testified that after he received the receipt signed by Ms. Bou-dreaux when she took possession of the furniture, he confronted his sister. He claimed she initially denied having any knowledge regarding the furniture and rugs, but later admitted she had the items, but refused to return them to him. -

Ms. Boudreaux testified that she thought Ms. Horn had the authority to transfer the furniture and rug to her based on Mr. Dileo’s instruction to place them on the curb. She admitted she was no longer in possession of the entertainment center, because shortly after removing the items from Ms. Horn’s home in January 2011, Ms. Giambelluea moved the entertainment center to her home in Florida. bShe further testified that Ms. Giambelluea told her that Mr. Dileo said she could have the entertainment center. However, Ms. Bou-dreaux also admitted she provided contradictory information in her interrogatory answers where she stated she still had possession of the furniture and rug at her home in Ponchatoula, La. Ms. Boudreaux testified that she still maintained possession of the two chairs and Indian rug, but they were moldy and damaged from being in storage. It is unclear what happened to thesecond rug.

The trial court took the matter under submission. On December 5, 2014, it entered a judgment in favor of Mr. Dileo and “against defendants, Dottie Boudreaux and Connie Horn, jointly and in solido, in the full and true amount of Six Thousand One Hundred Thirty .

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
189 So. 3d 1189, 15 La.App. 5 Cir. 684, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 509, 2016 WL 1078588, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dileo-v-horn-lactapp-2016.