Holley v. Plum Creek Timber Co.

877 So. 2d 284, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 1571, 2004 WL 1396256
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 23, 2004
DocketNo. 38,716-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 877 So. 2d 284 (Holley v. Plum Creek Timber 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
Holley v. Plum Creek Timber Co., 877 So. 2d 284, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 1571, 2004 WL 1396256 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

h GASKINS, J.

The plaintiff, Morehouse Parish Police Jury (MPPJ), appeals a trial court ruling granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants, Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc.; North American Timber Corporation; Georgia-Pacific Corporation; Plum Creek Southern Timber, LLC; Danny McGrew, sheriff and ex-officio tax collector for Morehouse Parish; and Michael Wooden, tax assessor for Morehouse Parish. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS

On June 9, 1994, Georgia-Pacific entered into a lease with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (DWF) covering 25,480 acres of land in Morehouse Parish. The property was to be used for a wildlife management area (WMA). DWF agreed to fence and manage the property for hunting and fishing by the public. As a result of the lease, Georgia-Pacific and its successors in title claimed exemption from ad valorem taxes under La. R.S. 56:24 which provides that the DWF may contract with a private landowner for use of his land for not less than 25 years to establish a WMA, and may agree that where the use is granted without compensation, the lands may be relieved of all state, parish, and district taxes, with certain exceptions.

Travis M. Holley is an attorney who claimed standing to sue as a resident and property owner in Morehouse Parish. On behalf of himself and the Holley Homestead Trust, he filed a petition , for declaratory judgment and mandamus. He argued that the land was not dedicated to public use and that 12La. R.S. 56:24 is unconstitutional because the legislature may not exempt property from ad valorem taxes. He contended that La. R.S. 56:24 is contrary to La. Const, art. 7, § 21 which sets forth a specific list of certain categories of property which are exempt from ad valorem taxes. He claims that the property in this case does not fall into any of those categories.

Holley named as defendants Georgia-Pacific and its successors in title, the parish sheriff, the parish tax assessor, the DWF, and the Louisiana Attorney General. He sought a ruling that La. R.S. 56:24 is unconstitutional and asked that a writ of mandamus be issued ordering the tax assessor to place the property on the assessment role for collection of ad valorem taxes retroactive to 1994, or alternatively from the date of filing of. the petition. He also sought an order directing the sheriff to collect the tax.

The MPPJ later joined the suit as a plaintiff. Holley remained as counsel for the police jury, but he and the Holley Homestead Trust withdrew, leaving only MPPJ as the plaintiff in this matter. The request for mandamus was denied.

On August 14, 2002, the trial court disposed of numerous exceptions. An exception of nonjoinder was denied. An exception of prescription was referred to the merits. Exceptions of vagueness and ambiguity were denied as moot. Certain defendants who had not answered were ordered to do so.

The parties then filed cross motions for summary judgment. The MPPJ filed a [288]*288motion for partial summary judgment asking that La. R.S. 56:24 be declared unconstitutional under La. Const art. 7, § 21. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that the lease | scomplied with La. R.S. 56:24 and that the statute is constitutional. They contend that the lease was for a term of 25 years, the property was to be used for a WMA, and that the property owners were entitled to be relieved of ad valorem taxes. They argue that the leased property is dedicated for public use and that it constitutes public lands or other .public property used for public purposes under La. Const, art. 7, § 21.

On February 25, 2003, a hearing was held on the motions for summary judgment, limited to the issue of the constitutionality of La. R.S. 56:24. No decision was rendered. The court ordered the parties to file additional briefs in the matter. The plaintiff filed a fourth supplemental and amending petition raising the issue of whether the lease is for a term of at least 25 years as required by La. R.S. 56:24.. It asserted that, because the lease contained a provision that either party could terminate the lease with 30 days’ notice, it did not contain the 25-year term required by the statute.

It appears that settlement negotiations were pursued, but were not successful. Pretrial orders and briefs were filed into the record. A hearing was held on November 7, 2003. The court indicated that the matter was considered for trial; however, at the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The court found that the lease complied with the provisions of La. R.S. 56:24, that the statute is constitutional on its face, and that it is constitutional as applied to the leased property in question, exempting it from ad valorem taxation during the time period that the property is leased to the DWF. The court adopted the pretrial brief of the defendants, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Plum Creek |4Southern Timber, L.L.C., North American Timber Corporation, and Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc., as its written reasons for judgment. The MPPJ appealed, claiming that the lease did not meet the requirements of La. R.S. 56:24, and that the statute is unconstitutional under La. Const, art. 7, § 21.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action and the procedure is favored and shall be construed to accomplish these ends. La. C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2). Summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966(B). Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo under the same criteria that govern the district court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. NAB Natural Resources, L.L.C. v. Willamette Industries, Inc., 28,-555 (La.App.2d Cir.8/21/96), 679 So.2d 477.

Although the initial burden in summary judgment remains with the mover to show that no genuine issue of material fact exists, once the mover has made a prima facie showing that the motion should be granted, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to present evidence demonstrating that material factual issues remain. Estate of Levitz v. Broadway, 37,246 (La.App.2d Cir.5/14/03), 847 So.2d 170. Despite the legislative mandate |fithat summary judgments are now favored, factual inferences reasonably drawn from the evi[289]*289dence must be construed in favor of the party opposing the motion and all doubt must be resolved in the opponent’s favor. Willis v. Medders, 2000-2507 (La.12/8/00), 775 So.2d 1049. The court must draw those inferences from undisputed facts that are most favorable to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment. Independent Fire Insurance Co. v. Sunbeam Corp., 1999-2181 (La.2/29/00), 755 So.2d 226; Estate of Levitz v. Broadway, supra.

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF LA. R.S. 56:24

The MPPJ asserts that La. R.S. 56:24 is unconstitutional on its face. It argues that La. Const, art. 7, § 21 describes property that is exempt from taxation. According to the police jury, the property at issue here does not fall under any of those definitions.

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