Interdiction of Galmiche

708 So. 2d 1244, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 408, 1998 WL 105747
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 11, 1998
DocketNo. 97-CA-1112
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 708 So. 2d 1244 (Interdiction of Galmiche) 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
Interdiction of Galmiche, 708 So. 2d 1244, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 408, 1998 WL 105747 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

|2DALEY, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment ordering that visitation with the interdict, James “Jackie” Galmiche, be allowed with the interdict’s curatrix and sister, appellee herein, Mrs. Doris Nethery. The interdict lives in the home of appellants, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wood. For the following reasons, we vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand this matter for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTS:

James “Jackie” Galmiche, (hereinafter, Jackie), who was sixty-five years old at the time of this hearing, was born with limited mental capacity. He had never attempted to live on his own or to manage his own affairs. His mother managed his affairs until her death in 1971. Following her death, Jackie’s sister, Mrs. Doris Nethery, took over management of Jackie’s affairs. At some point, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods offered Jackie the opportunity of living in their home. Jackie adjusted |3well to living with the Woods and all parties are satisfied with this living arrangement. After living with the Woods for a few months, it became apparent to Mrs. Nethery that Jackie was spending more money than previously. In order to obtain more control over Jackie’s expenses, she brought an interdiction proceeding.

On September 7, 1995, judgment was rendered ordering that Jackie “be and he hereby is interdicted only insofar as his property, finances and business affairs.” The judgment named Mrs. Nethery as curatrix “over the property of’ Jackie, and named Kenneth C. Pailet, CPA as under curator. This judg[1245]*1245ment also provided that all accounts and assets of the interdict, as well as all bills and expenses of Jackie, be turned over to Mrs. Nethery.

Mrs. Nethery apparently did not visit Jackie very often over the next year or so. On one occasion she went to the Wood home where Jackie was alone. She asked him to come with her for a few days. At some point during this visit, Mr. Wood returned home. He asked Mrs. Nethery to leave his home. At first Mrs. Nethery refused, but then Mr. Wood called the police. At this point, Mrs. Nethery left. On another occasion, Mrs. Nethery accompanied by a Jefferson Parish deputy attempted to visit her brother at the Wood home, but this was unsuccessful as Jackie did not come out of the house to visit with her.

On March 21, 1997, Mrs. Nethery filed a rule in proper person to establish visitation with her brother, Jackie. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wood were served with this rule and a show cause hearing was set for April 10, 1997. On April 7, 1997, the Woods filed Exceptions of Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction, No Cause of Action and No Right of Action. They also moved to dismiss the rule with prejudice. On the morning of the hearing, April 10, 1997, the Woods also moved for sanctions against Mrs. Nethery and her attorneys.

14Although Mrs. Nethery filed the rule in proper person, the attorney who handled the interdiction, Mr. Bruce Netterville, appeared to represent her at the hearing. Mr. Don Gardner who was named provisional curator during the interdiction proceedings also appeared at the hearing. He requested to be named provisional curator without compensation for the hearing. The court complied and Mr. Gardner was appointed provisional curator without compensation and allowed to participate in these proceedings.

At the hearing, the attorney for the Woods, Mr. Craig Hattier, argued that-the interdiction was only a partial interdiction in that Mr. Galmiche still maintained all of his civil rights to life and liberty, allowing him to visit or not visit whom ever he chooses. He argued that Jackie is afraid of his sister because she had tried to put him in a home. Mr. Hattier further argued that the interdiction did not give the Woods any custodial authority over. Mr. Galmiche, therefore, there was no cause of action for this rule. He also contended that the court had no jurisdiction over the Woods because they have no authority over Mr. Galmiche. He requested that the rule be dismissed with prejudice because Mrs. Nethery had no right to bring this rule against the Woods and that the rule should have been brought against Mr. Galmiche. Mr. Hattier asked for sanctions because the Woods were forced to incur attorneys fees and lost wages in order to defend this rule. The motions were denied.

Mrs. Nethery was called to the stand by her attorney. She explained that she visited her brother at the Wood home approximately ten months earlier. During that visit, she requested Jackie spend two days with her, explaining to Jackie that she would return him to the Wood home. Mrs. Nethery testified that Jackie agreed to this and went to get his personal supplies for the visit. Prior to departing, Mr. Wood told Jackie not to go with his sister. She denied any intention of putting Jackie in a home. 15She testified that the Woods were preventing her from seeing Jackie and that in her duties as curator, she would be better off seeing him and discussing matters with him. Mrs. Nethery further testified that someone was trying to convince Jackie that she was trying to do something to him. She stated that she was asking for an order to visit with her brother without interference from the Woods or anyone else.

On cross-exam, Mrs. Nethery denied that she tried to drag her brother out of the Wood house during the above described visit. She explained that she went to visit her brother at the Wood home with the deputies because she thought this would allow her to visit her brother. She stated that the deputies went up to the house and asked Jackie to come out of the house to visit with his sister. Jackie responded that he did not want to talk to his sister because “she is going to scream at me and fuss at me.” Mrs. Nethery denied that she had placed Jackie in an apartment and refused to allow him to go anywhere, causing him to consume excessive amounts of [1246]*1246alcohol. She testified that the limited interdiction gives her authority over his property only and that she cannot tell Jackie where to go or what to do. Mrs. Nethery has no objection to her brother living with the Woods.

In response to questions by Mr. Gardner, Mrs. Nethery testified that since the limited interdiction she had not visited with her brother for any length of time. She stated that when she calls her brother at the Wood home, the Woods listen on the other phone. Mrs. Nethery explained that she was asking to see her brother for four hours a month in order to re-establish a relationship with Jackie.

Mr. Robert Wood was called to the stand by his attorney, Mr. Hattier. Mr. Wood explained that he was not granted any authority over Mr. Galmiehe by the September 7, 1995 interdiction judgment. He has no custodial authority over Mr. Galmiehe because Mr. Galmiehe is free to “see and do as he chooses because he is [6not interdicted over his person.” Mr. Wood described the visit by the deputies and testified that Jackie did not want to go with his sister. He described the visit by Mrs. Nethery in which he came home and discovered Mrs. Nethery trying to pull Jackie out of the home. Mr. Wood testified that he told Jackie he could leave with his sister if he wanted to, but Jackie did not want to. He asked Mrs. Nethery to leave several times. When she refused, he summoned the police. Mrs. Nethery left prior to the arrival of the police.

In response to Mr. Gardner’s questions, Mr. Wood testified that he would not interfere with Jackie visiting with his sister, if Jackie wanted to visit with his sister. He denied that Mrs.

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Related

In re Interdiction of Galmiche
79 So. 3d 471 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
In Reference to the Interdiction of Jones
54 So. 3d 54 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
708 So. 2d 1244, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 408, 1998 WL 105747, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/interdiction-of-galmiche-lactapp-1998.