Fidelity Bank and Trust Co. v. Hammons

540 So. 2d 461, 1989 La. App. LEXIS 338, 1989 WL 20724
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 28, 1989
Docket87 CA 1832
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 540 So. 2d 461 (Fidelity Bank and Trust Co. v. Hammons) 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
Fidelity Bank and Trust Co. v. Hammons, 540 So. 2d 461, 1989 La. App. LEXIS 338, 1989 WL 20724 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

540 So.2d 461 (1989)

FIDELITY BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
v.
James H. HAMMONS.

No. 87 CA 1832.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

February 28, 1989.
Rehearing Denied April 19, 1989.
Writ Denied June 2, 1989.

*462 Sidney J. Abdalla, Jr., Slidell, for appellee, plaintiff.

H.P. Rowley, III, Covington, for appellant, defendant.

Before CARTER, LANIER and LeBLANC, JJ.

CARTER, Judge.

This is an appeal from a trial court judgment on a promissory note and chattel mortgage.

FACTS

On March 4, 1986, Fidelity Bank and Trust Company (Fidelity) filed a petition for executory process against James H. Hammons. In its petition, Fidelity alleged that it was a holder of a promissory note executed by Hammons, dated March 7, 1985, and that the note was secured by a chattel mortgage on a 1964 Cessna airplane. The airplane was thereafter seized on March 7, 1986.

On March 13, 1986, Hammons obtained a temporary restraining order and filed a petition to enjoin the sale of the airplane, alleging that Fidelity was not entitled to proceed by executory process because of the lack of certain authentic evidence. Fidelity subsequently converted its petition to proceed by ordinary process.[1] Hammons then answered Fidelity's petition, denying the allegations contained therein and alleging improper acceleration, failure to rebate, and novation, and filed a reconventional demand against Fidelity as follows:

7. Plaintiff has violated the Truth in Lending Act by:
(a) Not disclosing to Defendant that the waiver of exemptions from seizure was a security interest,
(b) Making vague, ambiguous and incomplete disclosures about the delinquency charges imposed in the event of partial payment by Defendant;
(c) Not making other disclosures which will be proved at trial.
8. As a result of Plaintiff's violation of the Truth in Lending Act, Defendant has sustained damages in the amount of $1,000.
9. The seizure of Defendant's airplane by Plaintiff in the executory proceeding was wrongful, was a breach of the contract between Plaintiff and Defendant, and was an unfair and deceptive act and practice.
10. As a result of the acts referred to in Paragraph 9, Defendant has sustained damages in the amount of $2,000 for embarrassment, inconvenience and mental anguish, and Defendant retained an attorney to arrest the seizure and sale of the property.

11. Plaintiff's conversion of the executory proceeding to an ordinary proceeding after Defendant's airplane had been seized, after Defendant had obtained a *463 temporary restraining order which arrested the seizure and sale of the airplane, and after a motion for preliminary injunction was set for hearing later on the same day was an abuse of process and an unfair trade practice because the ulterior motive of Plaintiff was to avoid paying damages and attorney's fees to Defendant.

12. As a result of the acts referred to in Paragraph 11, Defendant has sustained damages in the amount of $1,000 for embarrassment, inconvenience and mental anguish.

After trial, the trial judge rendered judgment on the main demand in favor of Fidelity for $5,394.38, together with per diem interest of $2.48 after March 7, 1986, awarded Fidelity attorney's fees of 25% of the amount due, and cast Hammons for all costs, dismissing Hammons' reconventional demands.

From this adverse judgment, Hammons appeals, assigning the following errors:

1. The city [court] erred and abused its discretion by refusing to award damages and attorney fees to Hammons for wrongful seizure of the airplane.
2. The city court erred and abused its discretion by finding that Hammons did not suffer any compensable damage as a result of the wrongful seizure of the airplane.
3. The city court erred and abused its discretion by dismissing Hammons' reconventional demands.
4. The city court erred and abused its discretion by dismissing Hammons' affirmative defenses.

DAMAGES FOR WRONGFUL SEIZURE

LSA-C.C.P. art. 2751 provides:

The defendant in the executory proceeding may arrest the seizure and sale of the property by injunction when the debt secured by the mortgage or privilege is extinguished, or is legally unenforceable, or if the procedure required by law for an executory proceeding has not been followed.
In the event injunctive relief is granted to the defendant, if the court finds the seizure in the executory proceeding to be wrongful, it may allow damages to the defendant. Attorney's fees for the services rendered in connection with the injunction may be included as an element of the damages.

Comment (f) to this article indicates that when the second paragraph of LSA-C.C.P. art. 2751 was enacted in 1981, it was intended to give the trial judge the discretion to award damages and attorney's fees where the seizure through executory process was wrongful. As the comment notes, the statute was not intended to require that damages and attorney's fees be awarded in every case where an injunction is issued. For example, where an injunction is issued because of a technical deficiency or a technical error, a trial court may determine that an award of damages and attorney's fees is not proper.

Generally, the burden of proving damage suffered is upon the party claiming damages. See Borden, Inc. v. Howard Trucking Company, Inc., on rehearing, 454 So.2d 1081 (La.1984). In cases where it is established that a party requesting damages has suffered some damages as a result of a loss, though the amount is not definitely ascertainable, the court must fix the amount of damages as best it can, and in this connection the trial judge is vested with much discretion. Hyorth v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, 460 So.2d 22 (La.App. 1st Cir.1984). Moreover, in the absence of proof of actual damages, the court may make an award of nominal damages. See Hyorth v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, supra.

In the instant case, the trial judge exercised the discretion afforded him in LSA-C.C.P. art. 2751 and declined to award damages and attorney's fees. In his reasons for judgment, the trial judge stated:

While the pleadings and the memorandum of defendant called for damages suffered by the defendant as a result of the seizure, there was no testimony adduced at the trial which would indicate that Mr. Hammons did, in fact, ever suffer any compensable damage as a result *464 of the seizure. The seizure was in fact terminated.

Hammons did not testify as to the amount of attorney's fees or any other expenses incurred in connection with the petition for injunction. Hammons introduced a letter from his attorney specifying the agreement between Hammons and his attorney with regards to compensation. The letter sets forth an hourly fee of $100.00 along with an assignment of all rights against Fidelity for attorney's fees. However, there is no evidence of the amount of time Hammons spent in obtaining the temporary restraining order.

Further, while Hammons testified that the seizure elevated his blood pressure and caused headaches, lack of appetite, and embarrassment and inconvenience, Hammons stated:

Q. Did this seizure of the aircraft inconvenience you in any way?

A. It did.

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

Related

Bank of New York v. Parnell
32 So. 3d 877 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Schwegmann Bank and Trust Co. v. Dunne
693 So. 2d 349 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
McInnis v. McInnis
618 So. 2d 672 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
Fidelity Bank & Trust Co. v. Hammons
544 So. 2d 402 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
540 So. 2d 461, 1989 La. App. LEXIS 338, 1989 WL 20724, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fidelity-bank-and-trust-co-v-hammons-lactapp-1989.