Henderson v. Kingpin Development Co.

859 So. 2d 122, 2003 WL 21801535
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 6, 2003
Docket2001 CA 2115
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 859 So. 2d 122 (Henderson v. Kingpin Development Co.) 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
Henderson v. Kingpin Development Co., 859 So. 2d 122, 2003 WL 21801535 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

859 So.2d 122 (2003)

David HENDERSON
v.
KINGPIN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY and Riddick Investments, Ltd.

No. 2001 CA 2115.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

August 6, 2003.

*124 S. Bradley Rhorer, Baton Rouge, for Plaintiff-Appellee David Henderson.

Richard P. Reina, Denham Springs, for Defendant-Appellant Kingpin Development Company.

Patricia Turner Riddick, Winston Wade Riddick, Baton Rouge, for Defendant-Appellant Riddick Investments, Ltd.

Before: PARRO, McDONALD, and JAMES,[1] JJ.

PARRO, J.

This is an action by a property owner, who was a third possessor,[2] to set aside a sheriff's sale of his property to the foreclosing *125 mortgagee and the subsequent sale to a purported good faith purchaser. For the following reasons, the trial court's judgment, granting summary judgment in favor of the third possessor, is affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.

Factual Background and Procedural History

The factual background, as reflected in the pleadings filed of record in this case, is as follows. Jesse and Cynthia M. Juban were owners of a four-acre tract of land situated in Section 4, Township 7 South, Range 3 East, in Livingston Parish, when they executed an act of exchange relative to this land on August 13, 1986, in favor of Ted Ray Juban (Juban). The act of exchange incorrectly reflected that the property being transferred to Juban was situated in Section 9, as opposed to Section 4.

Juban also executed a promissory note and a collateral mortgage on August 13, 1986. The obligation evidenced by the promissory note was secured by the collateral mortgage. This mortgage was recorded on August 14, 1986. The mortgage identified the subject property as a four-acre tract situated in Section 9, but a referenced map that was allegedly attached to the mortgage document reflected the property's actual location in Section 4.

On April 23, 1996, David C. Henderson (Henderson) purchased from Juban the immovable property that is the subject of this lawsuit. The act of sale was recorded on April 24, 1996. At some point in time, Kingpin Development Company (Kingpin) apparently became the holder of the 1986 note secured by the 1986 collateral mortgage. On July 18, 1997, Kingpin filed a petition for executory process, seeking a writ of seizure and sale of the property given by Juban as security for the 1986 collateral mortgage. Juban was the only named defendant in Kingpin's petition, which identified the property as being situated in Section 9.[3] The trial court ordered the issuance of the writ on July 23, 1997.[4] Kingpin purchased Henderson's property at a sheriff's sale that was conducted in early 1998, without notice of such sale being given to Henderson. Subsequently, Kingpin sold the property to Riddick Investments, Ltd. (Riddick).

On August 4, 2000, Henderson filed a petition to set aside the sheriff's sale. As a basis for his attack on the sheriff's sale, Henderson argued the following: the invalidity of the mortgage based on the prescription of the underlying promissory note and the lack of timely reinscription of the mortgage; the sheriff's sale involved property described as being situated in Section 9; the lack of notice to the record owner of the property of the petition for executory process and the subsequent sheriff's sale; the lack of service on Juban of the citation in the petition for executory process; and the absence of authentic evidence to support the executory proceeding. In his petition, Henderson also sought a judgment declaring him to be the owner of the property in question free and clear of all encumbrances.

To Henderson's petition, Riddick and Kingpin separately filed peremptory exceptions raising the objections of no right of action and prescription. Riddick also filed a peremptory exception raising the objection of no cause of action. The trial court overruled all of these exceptions. Subsequently, Henderson filed a motion *126 for summary judgment, contending that there were no genuine issues of material fact and that he was entitled to the requested relief as a matter of law based on allegations questioning the viability of the mortgage and the lack of constitutionally mandated notice. In an affidavit attached to his motion, Henderson declared that he purchased the subject property from Juban on April 23, 1996, and recorded the act of transfer the following day. He further attested that he did not receive notice of the March 18, 1998 sheriff's sale.

Kingpin and Riddick opposed Henderson's motion for summary judgment on the basis that Henderson, a third possessor, failed to meet the requirements of LSA-R.S. 13:3886.1, which governs the rights of a third possessor who is not given notice of a sheriff's sale. They also asserted this statutory provision as support for their newly filed peremptory exception raising the objections of no cause of action and prescription. After considering the pleadings, evidence, and arguments of counsel, the trial court overruled Kingpin and Riddick's peremptory exceptions and granted Henderson's motion for summary judgment. The trial court ordered that the purported sheriff's sale of Henderson's property be set aside and declared Henderson to be the owner of the four-acre tract in question, free and clear of all claims of Kingpin and Riddick. From the judgment to that effect, Kingpin and Riddick appealed, contending that there were genuine issues of material fact that precluded summary judgment in this case. Furthermore, relying on LSA-C.C. art. 3315, LSA-C.C.P. art. 2703, and LSA-R.S. 13:3886.1, they argue that the trial court erred in denying their peremptory exception raising the objections of no cause of action and prescription. They also submit that the trial court erred in declaring Henderson to be the owner of the property free and clear of their claims based on Riddick's status as a good faith third-party purchaser.

Standard of Review

Summary judgments are reviewed on appeal de novo, with the appellate court using the same criteria that govern the trial court's determination of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Smith v. Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, Inc., 93-2512 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 730, 750. A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full-scale trial when there is no genuine issue of material fact. Jarrell v. Carter, 632 So.2d 321, 323 (La.App. 1st Cir.1993), writ denied, 94-0700 (La.4/29/94), 637 So.2d 467. The summary judgment procedure is favored and is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2); Rambo v. Walker, 96-2538 (La.App. 1st Cir.11/7/97), 704 So.2d 30, 32. The motion should be granted only if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(B).

When the issue before the court on the motion for summary judgment is one on which the party bringing the motion will bear the burden of proof at trial, the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact is on the party bringing the motion. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(C)(2); Buck's Run Enterprises, Inc. v. Mapp Const., Inc., 99-3054 (La.App. 1st Cir.2/16/01), 808 So.2d 428, 431.

Notice Provisions in Executory Proceedings and LSA-R.S. 13:3886

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Bluebook (online)
859 So. 2d 122, 2003 WL 21801535, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henderson-v-kingpin-development-co-lactapp-2003.