France v. American Bank

505 So. 2d 1175, 1987 La. App. LEXIS 9329
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 13, 1987
Docket86-CA-703, 86-CA-704
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 505 So. 2d 1175 (France v. American Bank) 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
France v. American Bank, 505 So. 2d 1175, 1987 La. App. LEXIS 9329 (La. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

505 So.2d 1175 (1987)

Eric B. FRANCE, et al.
v.
AMERICAN BANK.

Nos. 86-CA-703, 86-CA-704.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

April 13, 1987.
Rehearing Denied May 18, 1987.

Patrick D. Breeden, New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellant.

Donald A. Meyer, Robert J. Brilliant, New Orleans, for defendant-appellee.

Before CHEHARDY, GAUDIN and WICKER, JJ.

WICKER, Judge.

This appeal arises from the granting of a motion for summary judgment in favor of defendant/appellee, American Bank and against plaintiffs/appellants, Eric B. France and/or Hilda Miller (France), dismissing the consolidated actions filed by France seeking inter alia to annul sheriff's sales conducted pursuant to executory process. We affirm.

France filed suit against American Bank on January 23, 1986 seeking to annul the Sheriff's sales of certain immovable and movable property which had been seized and sold through executory process.[1] The *1176 Sheriff's sales were recorded in the conveyance records of the Parish of St. Charles on June 27, 1985 (# 28-823) and on August 2, 1985 (# 28-822). France also seeks damages for the allegedly wrongful seizure.

American Bank filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that there was no issue of material fact. In addition, the bank sought to cancel the Notice of Lis Pendens filed against the property by France.

The trial judge granted the Motion for Summary Judgment, dismissing with prejudice the consolidated petitions. In addition, the court also cancelled the Notice of Lis Pendens.

Appellant now specifies the following errors:

1. That the trial court erred in holding that a variance in the date of the paraph of the note and the date of the collateral mortgage was a procedural defect;
2. That the trial judge erred in holding that Louisiana Revised Statute 13:4112 applied to substantive error as was involved in this case relative to the paraph, and
3. That the trial court erred in holding the Louisiana Revised Statute 13:4112 barred a suit for damages due to this illegal seizure and sale of France property.

VARIANCE IN DATE OF PARAPH OF NOTE AND DATE OF COLLATERAL MORTGAGE

Both counsel agree that the date on the paraph of the collateral mortgage note (November 4, 1983) is at variance with the date on the demand note and the date on the act of collateral mortgage (November 9, 1983).

We note at the outset that some of the property consists of both moveables and immovables. We therefore address each type separately.

With regard to immovable property, the applicable statute is L.S.A.-R.S. 13:4112 which provides in pertinent part as follows:

[n]o action may be instituted to set aside or annul the judicial sale of immovable property by executory process by reasons of any objection to form or procedure in the executory proceedings, or by reason of the lack of authentic evidence to support the order and seizure, where the sheriff executing the foreclosure has either filed the process verbal of the sale or filed the sale for recordation in the conveyance records of the parish. Nothing herein shall be construed to affect legal defenses otherwise available to any person against whom a deficiency judgment is sought after the public sale of immovable property through executory proceedings. [Emphasis supplied].

In Brown v. Everding, 357 So.2d 1243 (La.App. 2nd Cir.1978), the court held that "[i]f there are substantive defects in the executory proceedings the sale may be attacked as a nullity even though the debtor failed to exercise his right to take a suspensive appeal or enjoin the sale provided the creditor is the adjudicatee at the sale. Reed v. Meaux, 292 So.2d 557 (La.1974)." *1177 [Emphasis supplied]. Brown, supra, 357 So.2d at 1246. See also Taurus Leasing Corp. v. Chalaire, 400 So.2d 303 (La.App. 4th Cir.1981), writ denied 406 So.2d 604 (La.1981).

Therefore, although France did not seek an injunction on the grounds he asserts in the suit to annul, nor has taken an appeal from the order directing the seizure and sale, he nonetheless can raise certain defects in his suit to annul when the property remains as in the instant case in the hands of the seizing creditor. Brown, supra; Reed, supra.

Moreover, the Brown court construed L.S.A.-R.S. 13:4112 to mean that compliance with the statute through recordation of the sale serves to cure any procedural defects.

In the instant case, the Sheriff has filed the sales for recordation. Thus, the sales of the immovables which remain in the hands of the foreclosing creditor can only be annulled for a substantive defect. L.S.A.-R.S. 13:4112; Brown, supra; Taurus, supra; Reed, supra.

While France asserts that the error is a substantive one, American Bank contends that it is procedural. Since L.S.A.-R.S. 13:4112 does not define "procedural" or "substantive" we turn to our jurisprudence.

In Reed, supra our Louisiana Supreme Court considered a suit to annul a sheriff's sale when the property remained in the hands of the seizing creditor. The Reed court determined that an action to annul can only be maintained if the defect is fundamental to the executory process.

The Louisiana Supreme Court in Reed did not clearly define those elements which are fundamental to executory process so as to constitute grounds for an annulment of a sale. However, the Reed court did provide a few examples of certain fundamental factors. It noted that:

[t]he requirements of authentic evidence under Article 2635 of the Code of Civil Procedure are limited to evidence of: 1) the mortgage or privilege on the property sought to be seized and sold; 2) the amount of the indebtedness sought to be enforced; and 3) the creditor's right to enforce the mortgage and privilege under executory process. Buckner v. Carmack, 272 So.2d 326 (La.1973). [appeal dismissed by Carmack v. Buckner, 417 U.S. 901, 94 S.Ct. 2594, 41 L.Ed2d 207 (1974) ]. Reed, supra 292 So.2d at 573.

Although our Louisiana Supreme Court has not yet considered whether such a discrepancy in the date is fundamental to executory process and constitutes a substantive error, it did indicate in dicta in Reed v. Meaux, 292 So.2d 557, 572 (La.1973) that such a discrepancy would not nullify the executory proceeding. It therefore disagreed with the third circuit which had concluded that such a defect nullifies the executory proceeding. Reed v. Meaux, 262 So.2d 570 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1972).

American Bank has filed two affidavits in support of its motion for summary judgment attesting to the error being a typographical error. The notary averred that all documents were in fact confected on November 9, 1983 and that the "Ne Varietur" language giving the date of November 4, 1983 was a typographical error. In addition, the individual who prepared the documents also attested to the notary's statements that the documents were all prepared on the same date and that the typographical error was made on the paraph.

No counter-affidavits were filed by France. However, we note that "[s]upporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein." [Emphasis supplied]. L.S. A.-C.C.P. Article 967.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
505 So. 2d 1175, 1987 La. App. LEXIS 9329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/france-v-american-bank-lactapp-1987.