FLETTRICH v. Touro Infirmary

13 So. 3d 1196, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 1621, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 958, 2009 WL 1464966
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 20, 2009
Docket2007-CA-1621
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 13 So. 3d 1196 (FLETTRICH v. Touro Infirmary) 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
FLETTRICH v. Touro Infirmary, 13 So. 3d 1196, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 1621, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 958, 2009 WL 1464966 (La. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

LANDRIEU, Judge.

hThe plaintiff, David C. Flettrich, a professional engineering corporation (“Mr. Flettrich”), appeals a summary judgment rendered in favor of the law firm, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein, McAlister & Hilbert, L.L.C. (“Sher Garner”), dismissing his claims against the firm. We reverse the trial court judgment and remand the matter for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mr. Flettrich filed a petition for suit on open account, attorney’s fees and unjust enrichment against Sher Garner and its client, Touro Infirmary (“Touro”). In his petition, Mr. Flettrich alleges that Sher Garner solicited his professional services as an expert consultant and witness for Touro, in the matter of Touro Infirmary v. Sizeler Architects, C.D.C. No. 02-6220, a suit brought by Touro for alleged design deficiencies in its Woldenberg Nursing Home/ Assisted Living Facility. Mr. Flettrich further alleges that Sher Garner solicited his professional services on several prior projects dating back to 2001.

In correspondence dated July 18, 2003, Mr. Flettrich submitted an invoice for $98,946.76 and its fee structure to Frank Folino (“Mr. Folino”), Vice President of Touro, for the services rendered on the Woldenberg litigation. In separate ^correspondence also dated July 18, 2003, he submitted the same invoice to Sher Garner, asking that Touro be billed.

In correspondence dated August 29, 2003, Mr. Flettrich’s counsel, David Dalia (“Mr. Dalia”), made a formal demand for payment of the invoice enclosed in the earlier correspondence. Believing Mr. Flettrich’s fees were exaggerated, Touro paid him $10,000.00 for the services rendered on the Woldenberg litigation. Having received no payment from either Touro or Sher Garner for the outstanding balance, Mr. Flettrich filed the instant action.

Sher Garner filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Mr. Flettrich’s claims against the firm should be dismissed for the following reasons: 1) Sher Garner was Touro’s disclosed agent and, therefore, was exempt from liability under La. C.C. art. 3016; 2) Sher Garner and Mr. Flettrich never agreed to the price of his professional engineering services and, thus, no contract existed between them; and, 3) Sher Garner was not enriched by the services and, therefore, Mr. Flettrich has no claim for unjust enrichment. Mr. Flettrich opposed the motion.

Following a hearing, the trial court rendered a summary judgment in favor of Sher Garner. In written reasons for judgment, the trial court set forth his findings of fact, stating:

... Sher Garner is insulated from liability against Flettrich’s claims. It is undisputed that Sher Garner is Touro’s disclosed agent, Flettrich was on notice of this principal-agent relationship, Sher Garner did not bind itself personally to Flettrich, and Sher Garner did not ex[1198]*1198ceed the scope of its authority granted by Touro.
Flettrich has failed evidence (sic) showing otherwise. Indeed, Flettrich has conceded in its Petition that Sher Garner is Touro’s “agent.” Further, Flettrich concedes in its paragraph 21 of its Petition that Sher | ^Garner “instructed the Petitioner [Flettrich] to bill defendant Touro Infirmary, to the attention of Mr. Frank Folino.” Additionally, the e-mail of May 26, 2003 from Sher Garner to Flettrich shows that the engagement of Flettrich’s services, if any, was made by Touro and that Sher Garner merely acted as Tour’s disclosed agent.

On appeal, Mr: Flettrich contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment, because a genuine issue of material fact remains as to whether or not Sher Garner exceeded the scope of its authority granted by Touro with respect to the use of his professional services in the Woldenberg litigation.

DISCUSSION

Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo under the same criteria that govern the district court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate: whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. King v. Parish Nat’l Bank, 04-0337, p. 7 (La.10/19/04), 885 So.2d 540, 545. A motion for summary judgment will be granted “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” La. C.C.P. art. 966(B). Favored in Louisiana, the summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action, and should be construed to accomplish those ends. La. C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2). La. C.C.P. art. 966(C)(2) provides, in pertinent part:

The burden of proof remains with the movant. However, if the movant will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the matter that is before the court on the motion for summary judgment, the movant’s burden on the motion does not require him to negate all essential elements of the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense, but rather to point out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to |4the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense. Thereafter, if the adverse party fails to produce factual support sufficient to establish that he will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial, there is no genuine issue of material fact.

La. C.C. art. 3016 provides that “[a] mandatary who contracts in the name of the principal within the limits of his authority does not bind himself personally for the performance of the contract.” Pursuant to La. C.C. art. 3019, “a mandatary who exceeds his authority is personally bound to the third person with whom he contracts, unless the person knew at the time the contract was made that the man-datary had exceeded his authority or unless the principal ratifies the contract.”

Mr. Flettrich contends that even if Sher Garner was Touro’s disclosed agent when the firm obtained his services as a forensic expert witness for Touro in the Wolden-berg litigation, neither Touro nor the law firm ever expressed a “limit” as to the amount of time and/or money that he was to expend on the matter. As alleged in his original petition, Mr. Flettrich claims that Sher Garner initially solicited his services through a telephone conversation initiated by Martha Curtis, an attorney with Sher [1199]*1199Garner. According to him, Sher Garner had used his services on three other projects 1 and, as a result of a dispute concerning his fees, he filed a collection suit against Sher Garner in February 2003. With that in mind, he advised Sher Garner that he would provide his services in the Woldenberg litigation only under certain conditions. Specifically, Mr. Flettrich would invoice his services on an hourly basis in accordance with his published forensic rates in effect at the time of each billing; the terms of payment would be net due upon receipt of invoice; and, interest would be charged for at the rate of 15% per annum |Ron the unpaid balance (1.25% per month), commencing 10 days after the date of the invoice. Mr. Flettrich reminded Sher Garner that the three conditions were identical to the same conditions provided to the firm on February 19, 2003, in the Phillip Sowa residence project.2

Mr.

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13 So. 3d 1196, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 1621, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 958, 2009 WL 1464966, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flettrich-v-touro-infirmary-lactapp-2009.