Lakesha Strawder v. Ricky Simpson

• Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
• Decided: August 28, 2024
• Docket: 55,819-CA
• Status: Published

Opinion

Judgment rendered August 28, 2024. Application for rehearing may be filed within the delay allowed by Art. 2166, La. C.C.P.

No. 55,819-CA

COURT OF APPEAL SECOND CIRCUIT STATE OF LOUISIANA

*****

LAKESHA STRAWDER Plaintiff-Appellant

versus

RICKY SIMPSON Defendant-Appellee

Appealed from the Monroe City Court for the Parish of Ouachita, Louisiana Trial Court No. 2021-CV-00672

Honorable Tammy D. Lee, Judge

LAKESHA STRAWDER In Proper Person

LAVELLE B. SALOMON, APLC Counsel for Appellee

Before PITMAN, STEPHENS, and ELLENDER, JJ. PITMAN, C. J.

Plaintiff-Appellant Lakesha Strawder appeals the trial court’s granting

of Defendant-Appellee Ricky Simpson’s peremptory exception of

nonjoinder of an indispensable party and dismissal of her case. For the

following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

Strawder’s house suffered flood damage. In 2018, she applied to have

her house repaired through the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance

Program (“Restore Louisiana”). Restore Louisiana retained Masters

Enterprises, LLC, of which Simpson is the manager, to supply the repair

services. The repairs were invoiced to Restore Louisiana, which it paid after

an inspection.

On May 25, 2021, Strawder, in proper person, filed a petition and

named Simpson as the defendant. She stated that he was paid $16,087.41 to

repair her house but that he did not properly or fully complete the repairs.

She stated that she had to hire someone else to complete the repairs.

On June 2, 2021, Simpson, in proper person, filed an answer. He

argued that he did not owe Strawder any money because Restore Louisiana

made the payments. He stated that the services were approved by the state.

On April 4, 2022, Simpson, now represented by counsel, filed

peremptory exceptions of no right of action, nonjoinder of an indispensable

party, prescription and no cause of action. He explained that he performed

the repairs in 2018 and that Strawder’s suit was prescribed when she filed it

in May 2021. He stated that the work performed was not by him in his

individual capacity but by Masters Enterprises, which Strawder failed to join as a party. He also argued that Strawder has no right of action because she

was not the payor—Restore Louisiana made all payments.

A hearing on the exceptions was held on July 6, 2023. On September

1, 2023, the trial court granted the peremptory exception of nonjoinder of an

indispensable party and dismissed the action.

Strawder appeals.

DISCUSSION

Simpson argues that the trial court did not err in granting his

exception of nonjoinder. He states that Masters Enterprises was the proper

party defendant. He explains that Restore Louisiana contracted with Masters

Enterprises to supply repair services and that Masters Enterprises performed

the repairs. He notes that he, individually, had no contractual obligation to

Strawder. He also argues that the trial court should have granted his

exceptions of prescription, no right of action and no cause of action.

La. C.C.P. art. 641 addresses the joinder of parties and states that a

person shall be joined as a party in the action when either:

(1) In his absence complete relief cannot be accorded among those already parties. (2) He claims an interest relating to the subject matter of the action and is so situated that the adjudication of the action in his absence may either: (a) As a practical matter, impair or impede his ability to protect that interest. (b) Leave any of the persons already parties subject to a substantial risk of incurring multiple or inconsistent obligations.

The failure to join a party to an action may be pleaded in a peremptory

exception or may be noticed by the trial or appellate court on its own

motion. La. C.C.P. art. 645; La. C.C.P. art. 927.

Appellate courts review a district court’s grant or denial of a

peremptory exception based on the nonjoinder of a party using the abuse of 2 discretion standard of review. Farooqui v. BRFHH Shreveport, LLC, 53,816

(La. App. 2 Cir. 4/14/21), 316 So. 3d 579, writ denied, 21-00654 (La.

9/27/21), 324 So. 3d 100.

The record in this case includes an unrefuted affidavit by Simpson in

which he states that the contract for the repair work to Strawder’s house was

between Restore America and Masters Enterprises, of which he is the

manager. He noted that all payments were made by Restore America to

Masters Enterprises. He explained that he, as an individual, did not contract

with Strawder and did not receive any payments from her. These statements

by Simpson demonstrate that Masters Enterprises is an indispensable party

in this case pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 641. Accordingly, the district court

did not abuse its discretion in granting the peremptory exception based on

the nonjoinder of Masters Enterprises as a defendant.

As the district court did not address the additional exceptions of

prescription, no right of action and no cause of action, we will not review

them for the first time on appeal.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s granting of

Defendant-Appellee Ricky Simpson’s peremptory exception of nonjoinder

of an indispensable party and dismissal of Plaintiff-Appellant Lakesha

Strawder’s case. Costs of this appeal are assessed to Plaintiff-Appellant

Lakesha Strawder.

AFFIRMED.