FMC Enterprises, L.L.C. v. Prytania-St. Mary Condominiums Ass'n

117 So. 3d 217, 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 1634, 2013 WL 2102684, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 948
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 15, 2013
DocketNo. 2012-CA-1634
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 117 So. 3d 217 (FMC Enterprises, L.L.C. v. Prytania-St. Mary Condominiums Ass'n) 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
FMC Enterprises, L.L.C. v. Prytania-St. Mary Condominiums Ass'n, 117 So. 3d 217, 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 1634, 2013 WL 2102684, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 948 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROSEMARY LEDET, Judge.

| plaintiff, FMC Enterprises, L.L.C. (“FMC”), appeals the trial court’s final judgment rendered on August 8, 2012, including the interlocutory judgments rendered in this action on August 15, 2011 and February 28, 2012, which all were found in favor of defendant, Prytania-St. Mary Condominiums Association, Inc. (“PSMCA”). For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On June 6, 2006, FMC, represented by its members Jacob Garofalo and F. Thomas Crowley, Jr., agreed to purchase an apartment building containing four apartments located at 1916-1922 Prytania Street, New Orleans, Louisiana (the “Pry-tania Street Building”) from Prytania Historic Properties, LLC (“PHP”), represented by its members Christian Amedee and Ian Hardcastle. At the time, PHP owned the Prytania Street Building and two other adjacent apartment buildings on St. Mary Street. The three buildings contained a total of 23 apartments.

| ¡.Before the sale of the Prytania Street Building to FMC, PHP decided to turn the three buildings it owned into a condominium regime. On July 24, 2006, the PSMCA was created by the condominium regime’s Act of Declaration (“the PSMCA Declaration”). The PSMCA consisted of 23 units; the 23 apartments, contained in the three buildings. On September 1, 2006, instead of purchasing the entire Prytania Street Building as originally agreed, FMC purchased only the four condominium units in the building.

Following the sale, FMC began to renovate its four units. FMC asserts that they also performed significant work to the common elements of the Prytania Street Building, including rewiring 90% of the electrical system; replacing the plumbing; building exterior stairways, porches and roofs over the porches; repairing the roof of the main building; and removing and replacing approximately 20% of the exteri- or siding.

Shortly after renovations began, FMC discovered a small access panel in the ceiling of Unit 1918 of the Prytania Street Building. The access panel led to an unframed, floorless attic space. FMC deter[221]*221mined that there was sufficient space in the attic for it to be converted into an additional condominium unit if a permanent means of access to the space was created, the space was framed, floors were laid, and electricity and plumbing were installed.

Mr. Garofalo approached Mr. Amedee, the then-president of the PSMCA, about the possibility of adding a fifth unit to the Prytania Street Building, which would make the PSMCA a 24-unit condominium regime. FMC proposed creating |sa fifth unit by converting and renovating the newly found attic space and constructing a set of stairs to be built for the purpose of accessing the unit.

At that time, PHP and FMC owned all 23 units; they represented 100% of the unit owners of PSMCA. PHP and FMC orally agreed that in exchange for the work FMC was doing to renovate PSMCA’s common elements, PSMCA would transfer ownership of the attic space, the fifth unit, to FMC and amend the condominium documents to reflect this agreement and provide for an additional 24th unit to the condominium regime. Following the agreement between PHP and FMC, FMC asserts that it took possession of the attic space and began to convert it into a condominium unit. However, the amendment to the PSMCA Declaration was never filed. FMC asserts that they became aware that the declaration was never amended in 2009 when it neared completion of conversion of the attic space into a unit, and began marketing it for sale.

Since June 2010, FMC has been leasing the attic space as Unit 1918-A. However, PSMCA told FMC that the PSMCA Declaration will not be amended. Further, PSMCA has attempted to evict FMC and its tenant from the unit, cancel the insurance on the unit, and has indicated that it has no intent of transferring title of the unit to FMC.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On October 12, 2010, FMC filed a Petition for Damages or Alternatively Transfer of Ownership. FMC asserted in its petition causes of action for reimbursement for construction by a good faith possessor, failure to pay for 1,(improvements to the common elements of the PSMCA, breach of contract to create a unit and transfer of ownership, and defamation.1 On April 28, 2011, PSMCA filed its answer and a recon-ventional demand against FMC.

FMC seeks review of the trial court’s ruling on several summary judgments that were filed in this case. First, on June 15, 2011, PSMCA filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment seeking to have FMC declared a bad faith possessor of the attic space. PSMCA’s motion argued that FMC does not possess the attic space pursuant to an act translative of ownership and that FMC knew or should have known the defects of its alleged ownership in the attic space. Following oral argument on the matter, the trial court, on August 15, 2011, granted PSMCA’s motion and declared FMC a possessor in bad faith of the attic space.

Second, on December 5, 2011, PSMCA filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment seeking dismissal of FMC’s claim for the cost or value of any improvements it allegedly made to the common elements of the Prytania Street Building and dismissal of FMC’s claim for breach of contract or under any theory by which it is asserting title to the attic space. In response, FMC filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judg-[222]*222merit and Motion for New Trial and/or Reconsideration of the trial court’s August 15, 2011 judgment.

On January 6, 2012, Judith Hembling, John Hembling, Judith Law, and David Turgeon (collectively referred to as “the Intervenors”) intervened in the proceeding to defend their ownership in the attic space as a common element of the 1 fiPSMCA. Subsequently, the Intervenors filed a motion in opposition to FMC’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment setting forth an argument under the Public Records Doctrine.

On February 9, 2012, the trial court heard both PSMCA’s and FMC’s motions. On February 28, 2012, the trial court granted PSMCA’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and denied FMC’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Motion for New Trial and/or Reconsideration of the trial court’s August 15, 2011 order.

Third, on April 25, 2012, PSMCA filed its third and last Motion for Summary Judgment seeking a dismissal of the suit and requesting FMC to be ordered to remove any tenant it has in the attic space and to demolish the improvements made to the attic space. Following a hearing on PSMCA’s third summary judgment, the trial court rendered a final judgment on August 8, 2012 dismissing FMC’s suit against PSMCA in its entirety with prejudice. The trial court further ordered FMC to remove its tenant; however, the judgment indicates that PSMCA agreed to refrain from demolishing or demanding demolition of improvements made to the attic space by FMC pending resolution of the instant appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Appellate courts review the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo, using the same criteria applied by the trial courts to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. Roach v. Kamath, 02-1309, p. 4 (La.App.6 4 Cir. 12/30/02), 837 So.2d 118, 120. The summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of actions. Harvey v. Francis, 00-1268, p. 1 (La.App. 4 Cir. 3/21/01), 785 So.2d 893, 895. The procedure is favored and shall be construed to accomplish these ends. Id.; La. C.C.P. art. 966 A(2).

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117 So. 3d 217, 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 1634, 2013 WL 2102684, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 948, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fmc-enterprises-llc-v-prytania-st-mary-condominiums-assn-lactapp-2013.