Ghannam v. City of Alexandria

957 So. 2d 356, 7 La.App. 3 Cir. 23, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 882, 2007 WL 1345997
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 9, 2007
DocketCA 07-23
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 957 So. 2d 356 (Ghannam v. City of Alexandria) 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
Ghannam v. City of Alexandria, 957 So. 2d 356, 7 La.App. 3 Cir. 23, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 882, 2007 WL 1345997 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

957 So.2d 356 (2007)

Mahmoud M. GHANNAM, et al.
v.
CITY OF ALEXANDRIA.

No. CA 07-23.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 9, 2007.

Randal Bryan Tannehill, Tannehill & Sylvester, L.L.C., Pineville, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee, Mahmoud M. Ghannam.

Brandon Ashley Sues, Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell, Alexandria, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, City of Alexandria.

Court composed of JOHN D. SAUNDERS, JIMMIE C. PETERS, and GLENN B. GREMILLION, Judges.

SAUNDERS, Judge.

Defendant appeals the grant of a permanent injunction in favor of Plaintiff, an alcohol beverage licensee, and three of his *358 convenience stores, which were cited and penalized for the illegal sale of liquor to minors. The permanent injunction, which was granted by the trial court, enjoined the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission from imposing part of the penalty incurred, a thirteen-day suspension of Plaintiff's liquor license. We reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant, City of Alexandria, appeals the trial court's grant of a permanent injunction that enjoined the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission's (Commission) penalty imposed upon an alcoholic beverage licensee, Mr. Mahmoud M. Ghannam, the owner of several convenience stores in which alcohol was illegally sold to minors in violation of the laws of the state. Due to these violations, three of Mr. Ghannam's convenience stores, namely A & M of Cenla, A & M Mini Mart, Inc., and A & M High Tech, Inc., received citations from the Commission.

On March 28, 2005, a hearing regarding the issuance of the citations was held before the Commission. After the Commission heard and considered the evidence presented, it imposed a $500.00 fine upon both A & M High Tech, Inc. and A & M Mini Mart, Inc., as well as a $1,000.00 fine upon A & M of Cenla, Inc. The penalty imposed on A & M of Cenla was greater, as it had previously been cited for the same violation. The Commission further imposed a suspension of Mr. Ghannam's City of Alexandria liquor license for a total of thirteen days. Mr. Ghannam was notified of the penalties via certified mail on May 11, 2005.

On May 19, 2005, Mr. Ghannam filed a petition seeking a preliminary injunction to restrain enforcement of the administrative rulings of the Commission and a reduction in penalties on behalf of A & M of Cenla, Inc., A & M Mini Mart, Inc., and A & M High Tech, Inc. The preliminary injunction was granted on June 20, 2005, enjoining the suspension of the liquor license until trial.

The matter came to trial on October 3, 2006. The trial court granted a permanent injunction enjoining the Commission's penalty, reasoning that the imposition of the suspension of Plaintiff's liquor license was excessive under the circumstances and that the fining of his convenience stores was a "sufficient deterrence."

Defendant, in turn, filed a motion for devolutive appeal on November 3, 2006, requesting that the court reverse the trial court ruling and reinstate the previous penalty, thereby denying the injunction.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR:

1) The trial court committed legal error in granting a permanent injunction when the plaintiff offered no evidence to meet his burden of proof.
2) The trial court committed legal error in finding that the suspension of the liquor license was excessive when the Alexandria Code clearly allows such a penalty within the discretion of the commission.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A trial court's factual determinations are subject to the manifest error standard of review and may not be overturned unless they are found to be "manifestly erroneous" or "clearly wrong." Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989). "Nevertheless, when the court of appeal finds that a reversible error of law or manifest error of material fact was made in the trial court, it is required, whenever possible, to redetermine the facts de novo from the entire record and render a judgment on the merits." Ferrell v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., et al., 94-1252, p. 4 (La.2/20/95), 650 So.2d 742, 745.

*359 LAW AND ANALYSIS

Timeliness of Appeal

In his reply brief, Plaintiff contends that Defendant did not file its motion for devolutive appeal within the time delays set forth in La.R.S. 26:106(B), which states:

Within ten calendar days of the signing of the judgment by the district court in any such appeal case, the commissioner or the applicant for a permit or permitee, as the case may be, may devolutively appeal the judgment to the appellate court of proper jurisdiction. These appeals shall be perfected in the manner provided for in civil cases and shall be devolutive only. If the district court determines that the decisions of the commissioner or of the local authorities in withholding, suspending, or revoking the permit was in error, the decisions of the commissioner or local authorities shall not be voided if the commissioner or local authorities take an appeal to the court of appeals in the time provided for suspensive appeals.

Plaintiff asserts that since the district court signed the judgment on October 26, 2006, and Defendant filed its devolutive appeal on November 3, 2006, eighteen days after the signing of the judgment, the appeal was untimely. We find, however, that Defendant's appeal was timely under 26:106(B), as the trial court found that the Commission's suspension of Plaintiff's liquor license was in error, and Defendant, a local authority, took an appeal to the court of appeal within the time provided for suspensive appeals. Under La.Code Civ.P. art. 2123, a party has thirty days from either the expiration of the delay for applying for a new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict or the date of mailing of notice of the court's refusal to grant a new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict to file an appeal. In the instant case, Defendant filed its appeal eighteen days after the signing of the judgment, which is clearly within the time delays provided for in La.Code Civ.P. art. 2123. Accordingly, we find that Defendant's appeal was timely filed.

Assignment of Error No. 1:

In its first assignment of error, Defendant argues that Plaintiff did not meet his burden of proving that the penalties imposed upon him by the Commission were excessive and therefore, the trial court committed legal error in granting Plaintiff's motion for a permanent injunction. Defendant contends that Plaintiff "did not present a single piece of evidence to meet his burden of proof." Defendant asserts that at trial, Appellee refuted the suspension of his license by simply stating that he had terminated the employee who had violated the law, that he had trained his other employees not to sell alcohol to minors, and that he had paid the fines imposed by the Commission as penalties for the violations. Plaintiff replies to this argument in his brief, stating, "the commission likewise, presented no evidence at trial to substantiate its claims" and further reiterated the fact that remedial efforts had been made.

The manifest error standard applies to the appellate review of the issuance of a permanent injunction. Mary Moe, LLC v. La. Bd. of Ethics, 03-2220 (La.4/14/04), 875 So.2d 22; Metro Ambulance Serv., Inc. v. Med Life Emergency Med. Servs., Inc., 39,440 (La.App. 2 Cir. 3/17/05), 900 So.2d 184. Therefore, the factual determination of the trial court may not be set aside by a reviewing court absent a finding that the determination was manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong. Stobart v. State Through Dept. of Transp.

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Bluebook (online)
957 So. 2d 356, 7 La.App. 3 Cir. 23, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 882, 2007 WL 1345997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ghannam-v-city-of-alexandria-lactapp-2007.