First National Bank of Lafayette v. Edwards

465 So. 2d 983, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 8407
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 6, 1985
DocketNo. 84-21
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 465 So. 2d 983 (First National Bank of Lafayette v. Edwards) 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
First National Bank of Lafayette v. Edwards, 465 So. 2d 983, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 8407 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

FORET, Judge.

The defendant, Vaughn C. Edwards, appeals the judgment of the trial court rendered against him and in favor of First National Bank of Lafayette (FNB) in the amount of $88,767.88. The material issue in this appeal is FNB’s entitlement to the damages sought and the reasonableness of the damages awarded. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

On January 8, 1982, FNB entered into a three-year lease with the defendants, Gran-ger Machine Works, Inc., Wilbur Granger, and Vaughn C. Edwards, for certain movable equipment owned by FNB. The rent was to be paid in quarterly installments of $16,865.63 for the first and second quarters, $10,221.70 for the third and fourth quarters, and $9,341.24 for the fifth through twelfth quarters. The rent was due on the eighth day of every third calendar month.

Under the terms of the lease, if the lessee failed to pay within five days of the date when due, he would be obligated to pay 18% per annum on any sums which were past due. Lessee was also bound to pay 25% of the amount due as attorney’s fees for the collection of past due rental and enforcement of the terms and conditions of the lease. In the event the lessee failed to pay the rent due within ten days after the lessor made demand for payment, the lessee would be considered as being in default of the lease.

The default provisions of the lease expressly provide that:

[984]*984“(b) Lessee agrees that: (1) upon the expiration of this lease, or, (2) the commission of any of the acts of default set forth in this lease, that, within five days after receipt of notice of the termination, default, or breach, delivered by registered or certified mail at the Lessee’s address shown on the lease contract or the Lessee’s last known address, or within five days of mailing of such notice, whichever is earlier, the Lessee shall, at the sole option of the Lessor, surrender possession of the leased movable to the Lessor, by delivering it at Lessee’s expense, packed and ready for shipment, to such place or carrier as Lessor may specify.
Additionally, the Lessee hereby agrees and consents to the Lessor, at any time, taking possession of the leased property if the Lessee fails to surrender such, wherever the leased property be located, and may enter upon any premises of the Lessee, whether owned or leased, for this purpose.
(c)Upon any default, Lessor shall have the right, at its option, but shall not be obligated, to do any one or more of the following: (1) in addition to the right granted herein, and by law, to sequester the leased property, upon the Lessee’s failure to surrender it or the Lessee’s voluntary surrender of the leased property, the Lessor may sue for and the Lessee hereby specifically agrees and consents to the payment of all of the rentals then due, plus any and all future rentals under the lease contract; (2) the Lessor may sue for, and the Lessee agrees to pay an amount in liquidated damages equal to the amount of the rent thereafter accruing under the lease contract from the time of default until the termination of the lease agreement, had the Lessee not defaulted in or breached the performance of the lease agreement; (3) Lessor may institute any rule or proceeding for sequestration, or seizure of the leased equipment, or take possession of any and all of the equipment, wherever it may be located, without demand or notice, with or without any court order of other process of law, and without incurring any liability to the Lessee for any damages occasioned by such taking of possession; (4) Lessor may sell at private sale any and all of the equipment for cash or on credit and then file an ordinary proceeding to recover from Lessee all of the costs of taking possession, storing, repairing, and selling of the equipment, plus an amount representing liquidated damages in the sum of the rental payments thereafter accruing under the terms of the lease until the termination of the lease, had the Lessee not defaulted on the lease obligation, less the net proceeds of such sale; (5) Lessor may terminate this lease as to any or all items of equipment; (6) if Lessor elects to terminate this lease as to any or all items of equipment, to recover from Lessee as to each item subject to termination the worth at the time of termination, of the excess, if any, the amount of rent reserved herein for that item for the balance of the term hereof over the then reasonable rental value of the item for the same period of time; (7) Lessor may pursue any other remedy now or hereafter existing at law or in equity.
(d) Notwithstanding any action taken by Lessor including taking possession of any or all of the equipment, Lessee shall remain liable for the full performance of all its obligations hereunder.
(e) In addition, Lessee shall pay to Lessor all costs and expenses incurred by Lessor in exercising any of its rights or remedies hereunder including the payment of reasonable attorney fees to be fixed at 25% of the amount owed to Lessor including the past due rentals, plus those rentals thereafter accruing until the termination of the lease agreement, or of liquidated damages, or the sum of $100, whichever is more.”

FNB filed suit on June 6, 1983, to recover past due rents and to recover possession of the property leased. The defendants were given notice of their default on March 23, 1983, in a letter demanding payment of sums past due. FNB’s petition alleged [985]*985that the defendants were in default of the lease for having failed to pay three quarterly installments of rent totalling $29,-784.64, plus 18% interest. In addition, FNB demanded the sum of $56,047.44 representing future rentals due under the lease term from the date of acceleration, April 3,1983. FNB also prayed that a Writ of Sequestration be issued. The writ was issued and the property repossessed pursuant to the writ and the provision of the lease.

Edwards, a co-defendant, answered generally, denying the allegations of the petition and asserted, as an affirmative defense, that the act of lease executed by the bank was an ultra vires act. (FNB obtained a judgment by default against Wilbur Granger.)

FNB subsequently filed its Motion for Summary Judgment with accompanying affidavits. Edwards submitted an affidavit to the Court attesting to the fact that the equipment had been sold by FNB. The trial court heard arguments on the motion and granted judgment on the motion in favor of FNB.

The defendant relies heavily upon the case of Ouachita Equipment Rental Co., Inc. v. Baker Brush Co., 388 So.2d 477 (La.App. 2 Cir.1980), as authority for its position that a lessor may not demand liquidated damages in the form of future rentals if it has seized and sold the movables and that a summary judgment was inappropriate in this instance.

We find nowhere in Ouachita any mandate that a trial on the merits must be conducted in cases in which liquidated damages, as provided for in a lease, are demanded by a lessor. A summary judgment is appropriate in any case, except as provided by law, in which the mover can show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. C.C.P. Article 966.

We believe that Ouachita and LSA-R.S. 9:3261 et seq. govern only the determination of reasonableness of the liquidated damages demanded, not a party’s entitlement to those damages if a lease expressly provides for such damages. The fact situation in Ouachita

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
465 So. 2d 983, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 8407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-national-bank-of-lafayette-v-edwards-lactapp-1985.