Fowler v. Jordan

397 So. 2d 24, 1981 La. App. LEXIS 3787
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 23, 1981
DocketNo. 14467
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 397 So. 2d 24 (Fowler v. Jordan) 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
Fowler v. Jordan, 397 So. 2d 24, 1981 La. App. LEXIS 3787 (La. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

JASPER E, JONES, Judge.

Defendant, Charlie W. Jordan, appeals a judgment rendered against him in the amount of $200 as attorney’s fees and $20 as expenses in favor of James M. Fowler, plaintiff. The judgment also rejected a reconventional demand for attorney’s fees asserted by defendant, Charlie W. Jordan. We reverse that portion of the judgment against Charlie W. Jordan, reject plaintiff’s demands, and as amended affirm the judgment on the reconventional demand.

On March 14, 1980 Simon Herold, attorney for appellant, gave written notice to James M. Fowler for the purpose of taking Fowler’s deposition pursuant to LSA-C.C.P. art. 1438; in a cause of action styled “James M. Fowler, et al vs. Charlie W. Jordan, et al, # 24907” then pending on the docket of the Second Judicial District Court, Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The notice of the taking of the deposition provided that it would be taken at 2:00 p. m. on April 14,1980. When Fowler received the notice, he contacted his attorney, Albert E. Loomis, III, and advised Mr. Loomis that because of a previous conflicting court appearance date it would be impossible for him to appear at the deposition at the time and place set forth in the notice, and requested Mr. Loomis to contact Mr. Herold and seek to arrange a later date for the taking of the deposition. Mr. Loomis testified at the trial of these proceedings that he contacted Mr. Herold by telephone and they mutually agreed that the deposition of James M. Fowler would be taken by Mr. Herold at 9:30 a. m. on May 2, 1980 at the Bienville Parish Courthouse in Arcadia.

The evidence established that on May 2, 1980 at the appointed time and place, plaintiff, James M. Fowler, his attorney, Mr. Loomis, and a court reporter secured by Mr. Fowler, all appeared for the purpose of permitting Mr. Herold to take Mr. Fowler’s deposition, and that neither Mr. Herold nor his client, Charlie W. Jordan, appeared. Mr. Herold was then contacted by telephone and he advised he was unaware that the deposition was scheduled and he could not be available.

Plaintiff instituted this action for attorney fees and expenses contending he was entitled to them under the provisions of LSA-C.C.P. art. 1447:

“A. If the party giving the notice of the taking of a deposition fails to attend and proceed therewith and another party attends in person or by attorney pursuant to the notice, the court may order the party giving the notice to pay to such other party the reasonable expenses incurred by him and his attorney in attending, including reasonable attorney’s fees. * * * 11

Plaintiff contends that the written notice to take-his deposition given him on March 14 by Jordan’s attorney, which set the date of the deposition as April 14 and its time at 2:00 p. m., was orally amended by the telephone conversation between Mr. Loomis and Mr. Herold to set the date of May 2, at 9:30 a. m. Plaintiff contends that the written notice as amended constitutes the notice required by LSA-C.C.P. art. 1447(A), and that when neither Jordan nor his attorney appeared to take the deposition, that plaintiff became entitled to his attorney’s fees and expenses incurred for the appearance at the aborted deposition.

A review of the written reasons of the trial court establishes that it found as a fact that Mr. Loomis and Mr. Herold agreed on the telephone for Mr. Herold to take Mr. Fowler’s deposition on May 2, 1980. The trial court concluded that the written notice of the taking of the deposition on April 14 was modified by the oral agreement consummated upon the telephone and that plaintiff was entitled to the attorney’s fee and expense award under LSA-C.C.P. art. 1447.

[26]*26Appellant filed a reconventional demand seeking a judgment against Fowler for his attorney's fees incurred defending Fowler’s suit on the theory that Fowler’s claim against him for attorney’s fees and expenses was unauthorized by LSA-C.C.P. art. 1447 because there had been no written notice given to take the deposition on May 2. The trial court rejected appellant’s re-conventional demand.

The issue is does an oral agreement to amend the written notice for the deposition meet the requirements of LSA-C.C.P. art. 1447 so as to entitle Fowler to attorney’s fees and expenses when the appellant who has initiated the notice for the deposition failed to appear and take the deposition on the date agreed upon orally?

The secondary issue is whether the appellant is entitled to attorney’s fees if Fowler’s claim is found to be without merit.

LSA-C.C.P. art. 1438 sets forth the requirements of notice with which a party must comply when desiring to take a deposition:

“A party desiring to take the deposition of any person upon oral examination shall give reasonable notice in writing to every other party to the action. The notice shall state the time and place for taking the deposition and the name and address of each person to be examined, if known, and, if the name is not known, a general description sufficient to identify him or the particular class or group to which be belongs.... ”

In the decision of Highstreet v. Regency Apartment Hotel, 337 So.2d 536 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1976), defendant had attempted to place into evidence a deposition which was taken after plaintiff was given only oral notice of the time and place of the deposition. The court there discussed the written notice requirement of LSA-C.C.P. art. 1451, which was the source of LSA-C.C.P. art. 1438. The rationale of the court was as follows:

“The deposition of Habighorst is, also, of substantially diminished evidentiary value. Reasonable written notice of the deposition was lacking and cannot be substituted by oral communication with plaintiff’s attorney’s office. The requirements of LSA-C.C.P. articles 1428 and 1451 were not met. See Silva v. Allen, 256 So.2d 447 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1972). Since the source of the discovery articles are, generally, the similar provisions in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, we look to them: In Associated Transport, Inc. v. Riss and Company, 8 F.R.D. 99 (N.D. Ohio, 1948), the court in suppressing use of a deposition, stated:
‘The purpose of Rule 30(a) is plainly to give a party full notice of the time and place that a deposition is to be taken. If the other party is required to postpone the taking of the deposition . .. for any ... reason, then the notice originally given becomes meaningless and a new notice is needed. There is nothing in the Rules to indicate that one written notice satisfies the requirement even though the deposition is not taken until a later date.. . One of the very purposes of the rule with respect to written notices is to make it unnecessary to go to such lengths, as here, to determine whether or not one of the parties knew a deposition was to be taken.’ ” Id. at 539 (emphasis added).

While the Highstreet case is concerned with the requirement of notice in connection with the use of the deposition of a party not available for trial under the provisions of LSA-C.C.P. art. 1428, now LSA-C.C.P. art. 14501, there is no distinction [27]*27between the type of notice required for a deposition to be admissible in evidence and the type of notice required as a prerequisite to a cause of action under LSA-C.C.P. art. 1447.

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Bluebook (online)
397 So. 2d 24, 1981 La. App. LEXIS 3787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fowler-v-jordan-lactapp-1981.