Jacobsen v. Asbestos Corp.

119 So. 3d 770, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 655, 2013 WL 2350442, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1066
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 30, 2013
DocketNo. 12-CA-655
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 119 So. 3d 770 (Jacobsen v. Asbestos Corp.) 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
Jacobsen v. Asbestos Corp., 119 So. 3d 770, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 655, 2013 WL 2350442, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1066 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER, Judge.

12John S. Jacobsen Jr., plaintiff, appeals the trial court’s grant of an exception of lack of personal jurisdiction in favor of Norca Corporation, a defendant in this matter. Mr. Jacobsen argues that the trial court erred in granting this exception as the trial court gained personal jurisdiction over Norca because of its brokering sales of asbestos, the product alleged to have caused the damages in this case, and then shipping that asbestos to a plant in Louisiana. For the following reasons we find Mr. Jacobsen’s argument to be without merit and therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mr. Jacobsen filed his original petition for damages in this litigation on May 26, 2010, against Norca and other defendants.

Norca filed exceptions, including its exception of lack of personal jurisdiction at issue here, and an answer to Mr. Jacob-sen’s petition against it on August 9, 2010. Thereafter, the trial court gave Mr. Jacob-sen leave to file different | ^separate supplemental and amended petitions. On May 2, 2012, Norca moved to set a hearing of its exception of lack of personal jurisdiction, and in the alternative for motion for summary judgment against Mr. Jacobsen.1

In response, on May 21, 2012, Mr. Ja-cobsen filed his “Opposition To Exception of Lack of Jurisdiction Over The Person And Motion For Summary Judgment Filed By Defendant Norca Corporation.” The record reflects that Mr. Jacobsen’s “exhibits” were attachments to this filing.2

On May 29, 2012, the trial court heard Norca’s exception of lack of personal jurisdiction. The record shows that both Mr. Jacobsen and Norca argued various points of law and referenced the attachments to their filings, but that neither party introduced any evidence into the record. During this hearing, Norca objected to the court’s consideration of the various Jacob-sen attachments. The trial court did not rule on this objection.

At the conclusion of this hearing, the trial court judge stated, “I’m going to grant [the] exception.” After the trial court reached this conclusion, it did not hear Norca’s motion for summary judgment. Although no written judgment was issued that day, and the trial court’s statement on the transcript is not definitive, a minute entry from that day reflects that the trial court granted Norca’s exception of lack of personal jurisdiction.

[774]*774Thereafter, on June 13, 2012, Mr. Jacob-sen moved for, and was granted, a devolu-tive appeal. In his motion for an appeal, Mr. Jacobsen alleges that the trial court sustained Norca’s exception of lack of personal jurisdiction on May 29, 2012. The trial court granted Mr. Jacobsen’s motion for this appeal the same day. In its order granting Mr. Jacobsen’s appeal, the trial court stated that the appeal |4was “from the Judgment rendered in the above-captioned case on May 29, 2012, dismissing defendant Norca Corporation.”

After the trial court granted Mr. Jacob-sen’s appeal however, it entered a written judgment sustaining Norca’s exception of lack of personal jurisdiction. The trial court signed and mailed this written judgment on June 15, 2012.

DISCUSSION

In this appeal, Mr. Jacobsen argues that the trial court erred in granting Norca’s exception of lack of personal jurisdiction. Mr. Jacobsen contends that Norca did in fact have sufficient minimum contacts with Louisiana for the trial court to constitutionally exert in personam jurisdiction over it. Before we address the merits of Mr. Jacobsen’s assignment however, we must determine the preliminary matters of whether this matter is properly before this Court, and whether the record before us sufficiently allows us to reach the merits of the question.

Preliminary Matters

Before addressing the merits of Mr. Ja-cobsen’s appeal, we must determine whether this appeal is properly before this Court, and whether the trial court erred in its judgment when it heard arguments on the exception, where the parties referenced the attachments to their memoran-da, but where the parties introduced no evidence.

As to the first matter, when a trial judge has failed to produce a written and signed final judgment, no appeal from that judgment may be taken. La. C.C.P. art.1911; State v. Beaudoin, 06-88 (La.App. 5 Cir. 6/29/06), 939 So.2d 428, 428-29. A minute entry and an oral judgment, that has not been reduced to writing and signed by the trial judge, are insufficient to divest the trial court of jurisdiction and grant jurisdiction to the appellate court. Beaudoin, supra, (citing La. C.C.P. art. [ s2088). Furthermore, even a written and signed document will not constitute a final judgment if that document indicates that, in the future, a “[j]udgment will be signed.” Spector v. Union City Transfer, 182 So. 524 (La.App. 1 Cir.1938). However, “an appeal granted before the signing of a final judgment is subject to dismissal [only] until the final judgment is signed.” Overmier v. Traylor, 475 So.2d 1094 (La.1985). “[O]nee the final judgment has been signed, any previously existing defect has been cured, and there is no useful purpose in dismissing the otherwise valid appeal.” Id.

Here, the May 29, 2012 trial court’s oral statement that a judgment would be granted, and the minute entry from that date, failed to constitute a final judgment from which the parties could appeal. Because however the trial court corrected its error by signing a written judgment in this matter on June 15, 2012, we will not dismiss this appeal.

We next turn to whether the trial court erred in rendering its judgment in this matter based upon the documents attached by each party to their memoranda but not introduced into evidence. Further, at hearing on the exception, counsel for Norca objected to the court’s consideration of the documents attached to Mr. Jacob-sen’s opposition, stating:

[775]*775Very briefly. With regard to the documents that [counsel for plaintiffl referenced, I object to them. They are not identified. But curiously on this one which he talked about, and this, who knows where it came from, but it says that they found out the list of these suppliers by — it was developed using the types of products, and companies that provided the types of fibers. They don’t know that. They are just guessing. They went back and did some research according to this, but we object to all of these because we don’t think they are relevant, including the answers to interrogatories, which are unsigned and we don’t know where they came from.

The record reflects that the trial court never ruled on this objection. The record also reflects that no evidence was admitted at this hearing. When a trial court fails |sto rule on an objection before it, that objection is considered overruled. Hutchison v. Seariver Mar., Inc., 09-410 (La.App. 1 Cir. 9/11/2009), 22 So.3d 989, writ denied, 09-2216 (La.12/18/09), 28 So.3d 946. Therefore, by objecting to the trial court’s consideration of Mr. Jacobsen’s attachments, Norca preserved for appeal this issue of whether the trial court’s consideration of Mr. Jacobsen’s attachments was proper. However, Norca did not answer the appeal or assign as error the efficacy of the evidence relied upon by appellant in its opposition to the exception. Therefore, this issue is not before us. Uniform Rules Courts of Appeal, Rule 1-3.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Akili Johari Senior v. Overlog Inc.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2025
Kaye v. Karp
237 So. 3d 614 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
Ohle v. Uhalt
213 So. 3d 1 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
Albitar v. Albitar
197 So. 3d 332 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
SER Ford Motor Co. v. Hon. Warren R. McGraw, Judge
788 S.E.2d 319 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2016)
Hawkins v. Willow Inc.
181 So. 3d 210 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Johnson v. Byrd
125 So. 3d 1220 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
119 So. 3d 770, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 655, 2013 WL 2350442, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jacobsen-v-asbestos-corp-lactapp-2013.