Gurvich v. New Orleans Private Patrol Service, Inc.

578 So. 2d 195, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 768, 1991 WL 55385
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 16, 1991
DocketNo. 90-CA 0980
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 578 So. 2d 195 (Gurvich v. New Orleans Private Patrol Service, Inc.) 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
Gurvich v. New Orleans Private Patrol Service, Inc., 578 So. 2d 195, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 768, 1991 WL 55385 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

CIACCIO, Judge.

Plaintiff, William H. Gurvich, now deceased and substituted by Billie Jean Gur-vich, the testamentary executrix of the Succession of William H. Gurvich, No. 91-30128, 22nd Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Tammany, appeals from a judgment of the trial court granting defendants’ motion for a preliminary injunction. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

On December 29, 1989, William H. Gur-vich filed a petition in Civil District Court entitled “Petition for Damages and Rule for Injunction” naming as defendants New Orleans Private Patrol Service, Inc. (“NOPPSI”), Leonard Gurvich, Sr., Louis [196]*196Gurvich, Jr., and Helen June Lazará. NOPPSI is a family owned business established to provide uniformed guards and private investigators to the public. Plaintiff alleges that he owns twenty-five percent of NOPPSI stock, and that the defendants own the remaining shares.

This lawsuit arose out of the July, 1989 removal of plaintiff from his positions as President and member of the Board of Directors of NOPPSI. Gurvich alleged in his petition that this removal was unlawful and sought damages in connection therewith. Gurvich further sought an injunction preventing defendants from taking or destroying corporate documents or documents belonging to plaintiff. He also requested that defendants be enjoined from harassing plaintiff, from issuing income tax notices without distributing corporate funds sufficient to pay these taxes and from bringing criminal charges against him as a result of any corporate assets in plaintiffs possession.

In response to this petition, on January 30, 1990 defendants filed an answer and reconventional demand seeking damages for Gurvich’s possession of corporate property and further sought a preliminary injunction ordering the return of a 1987 GMC Suburban Van owned by NOPPSI and any other movable property belonging to NOPPSI allegedly in plaintiffs possession. On February 6, 1990 defendants filed a motion for temporary restraining order to prohibit Gurvich from operating the 1987 GMC Suburban Van and the court granted the temporary restraining order. The court set the hearing on the preliminary injunction for February 6, 1990 and ordered the matter to be submitted on affidavits. A preliminary injunction was issued on February 6, 1990 ordering William Gurvich to return the GMC van to NOPPSI. Gur-vich complied with this order and returned the van.

Thereafter, on February 21, 1990, defendants filed a supplemental motion of preliminary injunction seeking the return of additional property which defendants alleged was owned by NOPPSI yet in the possession of William Gurvich. A rule to show cause on this injunction as well as on the injunction requested by plaintiff in his original petition was set for March 2, 1990. The court ordered that the trial of the injunctions would be heard on affidavits only, and this order was served on William Gurvich on February 28, 1990.

In support of its supplemental motion for preliminary injunction, defendants’ introduced the affidavit of Louis S. Gurvich, Jr., NOPPSI’s Secretary/Treasurer, which stated that William Gurvich was in possession of and had refused to return certain NOPPSI property, specifically:

1. A 1979 Dodge Van, whose vehicle identification number, on information and belief is V.I.N. B21JF9K340484,
2. A nine millimeter automatic pistol;
3. A .38 caliber revolver with 2" barrel, nickel or steel finish, and brown wooden grips;
4. Two thirty-five millimeter cameras with telephoto and other lenses, plus camera tripod and photographic processing equipment;
5. Assorted recording equipment, including tape players using standard and micro-cassette formats; and
6. Other tangible things, including documents, manuals, papers, equipment, and other movable property of NOPPSI which are currently in the actual or constructive possession of William H. Gurvich or any of his family members, employees, or companies, or businesses.

Attached to the affidavit was a certificate of title and the registration for the Dodge Van, as well as a letter which indicated that the nine millimeter automatic pistol may have been in the possession of William Gurvich’s son, Steven.

William Gurvich submitted a counter-affidavit to the court which stated that he was in possession of the Dodge Van, but that it was not in operable condition. He further stated that he had numerous revolvers in his possession but was unable to distinguish which one belonged to NOPPSI. He denied possessing a nine millimeter automatic pistol. He admitted in the affidavit that he possessed “an old camera tripod” [197]*197and “an old Concord 400 foot reel-to-reel machine” which he stated were provided to him by NOPPSI following his removal, and denied possessing any other property belonging to NOPPSI.

The trial court rendered judgment on March 6, 1990 granting an injunction in favor of plaintiff, William H. Gurvich, prohibiting defendants from taking or destroying documents belonging to plaintiff but denying all other requests by plaintiff for preliminary injunction and for sanctions. The trial court further granted the supplemental motion for preliminary injunction in favor of defendants enjoining plaintiff from maintaining possession of the property alleged to be owned by NOPPSI, and further ordering that these items be returned to defendants.

Following the rendition of this judgment, plaintiff filed a Motion and Order for Appeal, appealing that part of the judgment which denied plaintiff’s request for sanctions and ordered plaintiff to return property to NOPPSI. Plaintiff did not appeal however from that part of the judgment which ordered the return of one specific item; i.e., the 1979 Dodge Van. This vehicle was apparently returned to defendants in compliance with the order of the trial court.

By his appeal, Gurvich asserts two assignments of error by the trial court. First, he argues that the supplemental motion for preliminary injunction granted by the trial court was a mandatory injunction which required a preponderance of evidence as the standard of proof. He contends that the trial court erroneously applied the prima facie standard of proof to this case. Secondly, he argues that as the injunction was in mandatory form, the trial court erred in denying him the opportunity for a full evidentiary hearing on the injunction. We agree.

In support of their position that the preliminary injunction was properly issued, NOPPSI relies on Noble v. Ritterbush, 514 So.2d 139 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987) wherein this court originally held that an injunction which ordered the return of files which had been removed from plaintiffs law office was a preliminary injunction issued to preserve the status quo from which an appeal must be taken within fifteen days from the date of judgment. We held that the appeal was not perfected timely and dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court granted writs, and subsequently reinstated the appeal, stating that “[a]n order to return property does not constitute a preliminary injunction from which an appeal must be taken within 15 days.” 519 So.2d 122 (La.1988).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
578 So. 2d 195, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 768, 1991 WL 55385, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gurvich-v-new-orleans-private-patrol-service-inc-lactapp-1991.