Guiffrida v. Bourque

374 So. 2d 1265, 1979 La. App. LEXIS 2931
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 30, 1979
DocketNo. 7095
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 374 So. 2d 1265 (Guiffrida v. Bourque) 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
Guiffrida v. Bourque, 374 So. 2d 1265, 1979 La. App. LEXIS 2931 (La. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

STOKER, Judge.

This appeal presents the issue of whether a partial judgment of dismissal may be granted on an exception of no cause of action. More specifically, where alternative demands are asserted, may an exception of no cause of action be sustained as to the primary demand, reserving to the plaintiff the right to pursue the alternative demand? The trial court adopted such a course in this case. As we believe this was error, we reverse.

The petition of plaintiff-appellant, Jack-lynn Guiffrida, alleges that she entered into a verbal agreement with defendant, Donald J. Bourque. Under the agreement plaintiff gave defendant a $3,000 bank money order, and defendant agreed to purchase, in plaintiff’s name, a Ve interest in certain immovable property located in Lafayette Parish. The money order was made payable to defendant. He did purchase the interest in the property but has refused to convey the Ve interest to plaintiff. In her petition plaintiff seeks to be recognized as owner of an undivided Ve interest in the subject property. She also seeks to have defendant account for all rentals received by him from the property and $10,000 in damages.

Alternatively, plaintiff-appellant prays for a return of her $3,000 and for $10,000 in damages with judicial interest and costs.

In a first amending petition, plaintiff alleges that defendant’s action constituted fraud. In her brief plaintiff urges that the element of fraud authorizes the admission of parol evidence to prove the verbal agreement.

Defendant filed a peremptory exception of no cause of action on the ground that plaintiff seeks to enforce a contract for an interest in immovable property not embodied in a written instrument.

The trial court sustained the exception of no cause of action and dismissed it with full prejudice “except to the extent that plaintiff’s petition states a cause of action for the rescission of the contract and a return of plaintiff’s money.” Thus, the trial court’s judgment consisted of a partial dismissal only. Plaintiff then amended her petition1 to allege that defendant had made “legal” delivery of the property to plaintiff as contemplated by LSA-C.C. art. 2275, but defendant continued to refuse to make actual delivery by acknowledging her ownership in the public records. The trial court sustained an exception of no cause of action as to this amendment. The second judgment dismissing plaintiff’s suit as amended contained a savings clause similar to that contained in the first judgment reserving to plaintiff the right to pursue her action for rescission of the contract and return of her money.

SPECIFICATION OF ERROR

As specification of error plaintiff sets forth in her brief the following: “The trial court was manifestly erroneous in concluding that under the facts, as pleaded, plaintiff was not entitled to be declared owner of the property described in the petition.”

[1267]*1267Argument in plaintiff’s brief amplifies plaintiff’s theory of error. Plaintiff points to its pleading (embodied in all amendments) that delivery was made to her and defendant was guilty of fraud. She urges, therefore, that the trial court erroneously applied the rule of LSA-C.C. art. 2275 making parol evidence inadmissible to prove a contract relating to immovables. Instead, argues plaintiff, this article of the Civil Code and the following article, Article 2276, contain exceptions to the general rule excluding parol evidence.2 Plaintiff urges that under Article 2275, with delivery having been alleged, she is entitled to show that defendant confessed his use of her money on her behalf through a sworn deposition given on December 27, 1977. Plaintiff urges that Article 2276 is inapplicable when fraud is alleged. Therefore, plaintiff urges it was error for the trial court to fail to consider her demands that she be declared a Vi owner of the property in question.

In its reasons for judgment the trial court did not address itself to the question of the alleged exceptions to the parol evidence rule. It simply held that parol was inadmissible to prove an ownership interest in the property.

Irrespective of the merits of plaintiff-appellant’s position and, therefore, the correctness of the trial court’s ruling, we do not regard this as the issue on which the case should turn at this stage of the proceedings.3 As we see the matter a different issue is presented by this appeal.

MAY A PARTIAL JUDGMENT BE GRANTED UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS CASE?

The issue here is whether plaintiff-appellant’s primary demand may be eliminated by a partial judgment as was done in this case. The trial court correctly recognized that the alternative demand as stated supports a cause of action.

An exception of no cause of action questions the sufficiency of the petition as a whole, and therefore, as stated by our Supreme Court in Little v. Haik, 246 La. 121, 163 So.2d 558 (La.1964), should be overruled where plaintiff’s allegations set forth a cause of action as to any part or portion of the demand. In that case, the plaintiff’s demands were very similar to those of plaintiff in the case before us. Plaintiffs had prayed that Haik be ordered to convey to them a % interest in certain mineral leases which stood solely in his name, allegedly purchased for the joint account of all parties. Alternatively, plaintiffs sought the recovery of the amount of their personal expenditure in rendering professional services on the basis of quantum meruit. There the exception of no cause of action was overruled by the trial court. On review the Supreme Court stated:

This [overruling of the exception of no cause of action] was correct since plaintiffs had alleged in their alternative demand, based on a quantum meruit for services rendered and monies advanced, a cause of action provable by parol evidence.1

Footnote number 1 in Little v. Haik, supra, reads:

1. It is well settled that a petition stating a cause of action as to any ground for or portion of the demand will not be dismissed on an exception of no cause of action. Ane v. Ane, 225 La. 222, 72 So.2d 485; Waterworks District No. 3 v. City of Alexandria, 231 La. 908, 93 So.2d 211 and cases there cited.

[1268]*1268The course adopted in the trial court in the case before us was considered and rejected by this court in Bailey v. Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company, 134 So.2d 339 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1961). There the plaintiff demanded (1) that he be decreed owner of overriding royalty interests in certain oil, gas, and mineral leases, and (2) that he obtain judgment against defendant for a brokerage fee. The trial court sustained the exceptions of no right and no cause of action and dismissed plaintiff’s entire suit. All agreements relating to the matter were verbal. On appeal, counsel for defendant conceded that plaintiff had alleged facts sufficient to state a cause of action as to the brokerage fee. However, inasmuch as parol evidence was inadmissible to establish the transfer of a mineral interest, defendant contended that the trial court was correct in sustaining the exceptions on the portion of the demand seeking transfer of the mineral interest. Hence, defendant contended it was proper to grant a partial judgment dismissing the one demand but not the other.

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Bluebook (online)
374 So. 2d 1265, 1979 La. App. LEXIS 2931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guiffrida-v-bourque-lactapp-1979.