Langlois v. Lancaster

47 So. 2d 795, 217 La. 995, 1950 La. LEXIS 1043
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJune 30, 1950
DocketNos. 39485, 39584
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 47 So. 2d 795 (Langlois v. Lancaster) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Langlois v. Lancaster, 47 So. 2d 795, 217 La. 995, 1950 La. LEXIS 1043 (La. 1950).

Opinions

LE BLANC, Justice.

These two cases are consolidated on appeal as they involve two elections for Mayor and officers in the town of New Roads which were held within a period of less than six months in the early part of 1949.

In order to reach a more ready understanding of the issues we deem it proper to make a brief chronological statement of the events leading to this litigation, as they took place.

The first of these two elections, presumably held under the authority granted to them by the charter o'f the Town of New Roads, was ordered by the Mayor and councilmen of the town by resolution adopted at a meeting held on the 7th day of December 1948. It was called for and held on January 3, 1949 and resulted in one of the candidates for Mayor, namely, J. Bradford Lancaster, receiving 285 votes, and the other, Lionel J. Langlois, receiving 284 votes. The results were promulgated in accordance with the provisions of the Town Charter and in due time a commission was issued to Lancaster and the councilmen who were elected on his ticket with ° him.

On January 27, 1949 a suit was filed in the 18th Judicial District Court of the Parish of Pointe Coupee by Lionel J. Langlois who was joined by numerous residents of the town of New Roads alleging themselves to be duly qualified electors of the said town, in which they sought to have the [1007]*1007■election held on January 3, 1949 declared to be null and void and that another election be ordered for the office of Mayor of the said town; and in the alternative, that plaintiff Langlois be declared the duly elected Mayor. The grounds on which the demand in that suit was based will be stated later on.

Upon final hearing and submission of the -case in the District -Court judgment was rendered on May 24, 1949 in 'favor of the plaintiffs declaring the election to be null and void and further ordering, as stated in t-he decree, “that another general municipal election be held in said town of New Roads as -prayed for and in -accordance with law.” A suspensive appeal was granted and made returnable to this -Court on the 23d day of June 1949. It was perfected on May 26, 1949, -and is one of the appeals presently under consideration, the record in that case -bearing number 39,485 of the docket.

On May 19, 1949, before the rendition of the judgment in the suit just referred to, the Board of Supervisors o-f Elections of the Parish of Pointe Cou-pee, which was a ■party in the said suit having joined the plaintiffs in their demand to have the election of January 3, 1949 annulled, issued a proclamation in the Pointe -Coupee Banner, a newspaper published in the town of New Roads, calling an election in said town -for the office of Mayor and -five -Councilmen, .to be held on J-une 14, '1949, and giving as authority for its action Acts No. 104 of 1922 and 125 of 1936.

In accordance with that proclamation, Lionel J. Langlois qualified as a candidate for Mayor and five other parties as candidates for the council. Lancaster, who had in the meantime taken the office of Mayor in the former election, did not offer as a candidate in that election and he and his adherents refrained -from participating in it. He had vainly attempted to enjoin the holding of that election in the District Court of the Parish of Pointe -Coupee and his application to this -Court for Writs was denied.

The election of June 14, 1949 was held in accordance with the proclamation of the Board of Supervisors of Election and Langlois who was the only candidate for Mayor received 181 votes while the candidates for councilmen received 174 votes.

On June 22, 1949, before the returns of the election of June 14, 1949 had been promulgated by the Secretary of State, Lancaster, together with some of the parties who had been elected with him as councilmen in the election of January 3, 1949, filed suit in the District -Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge seeking to enjoin the Secretary of State, the Honorable Wade O. Martin, Jr., and the Auditor of the State of Louisana, the Honorable L. B. Baynard, Jr., from promulgating the returns of the said election of June 14, 1949 and -from -declaring that any person participating therein was elected to any municipal office in the Town of New Roads and [1009]*1009particularly, Langlois and the councilmen whose names appeared on the ballots used in said election. The Board of Supervisors of Elections of the Parish of Pointe 'Coupee was also made a party defendant in the proceeding. The grounds on which they sought the said injunction will also be stated later on.

A temporary restraining order together with a rule nisi -for an injunction was issued on the same day, the rule being made returnable on June 27, 1949. A return to the rule was duly made and the matter came up for trial, on the question of a preliminary injunction being granted, in due time. Upon hearing of that rule, the Court, on July 20, 1949, rendered judgment granting the injunction upon plaintiffs furnishing bond in the sum of $500 and the State Officers against whom the injunction was sought were restrained and prohibited from compiling the returns of the election held on June 14, 1949 and declaring any person to have been elected therein and, further, from issuing commissions to Langlois and those who had been elected as Councilmen. From that judgment the defendants moved ‘for a suspensive appeal which was refused. The Court did grant them a devolutive appeal. They thereupon applied for Writs to this Court asking that they be granted a suspensive appeal and upon their application, this Court did, on July 29, 1949 grant to the Secretary of State, and to the Auditor of the State of Louisiana and also to the Board of Supervisors of Elections of the Parish of Pointe Coupee, a suspensive appeal without bond; and to the other defendants, a suspensive appeal upon their furnishing bond in the sum of $500. The appeal was made returnable on or before August 29, 1949 and was in due time perfected. This is the other appeal that is. presently before the Court, the record in this suit bearing the number 39,584 of the docket.

The issues in both cases, as we have said, concern the legality and validity of the said elections.

The election of January 3, 1949 is contested under the provisions o'f the Revised Statutes, Sections 1419, 1420, 1422 to 1429 being the sections incorporated in Dart’s Statutes, Sections 2835 to 2844 inclusive. The petition in 'that suit is that of Lionel J. Langlois, and thirty-four other parties divided into three groups, all alleging themselves to be duly qualified electors and residents of the town of New Roads. Made defendants in the suit are J. Bradford Lancaster, the Board of Supervisors of Elections of the Parish of Pointe Coupee and the Mayor and Councilmen of the town of New Roads. The latter were served through Olex B. Laurent, who was the Mayor of the town at the time that said election was called.

After reciting that Langlois and Lancaster were the only candidates for the office of Mayor in said election and that the tabulation of the results showed a total number of 284 votes cast for Langlois and 285 for [1011]*1011Lancaster, the petition goes on to allege that by any legal or proper count of the votes cast Langlois received the majority and was elected; but that the said election was absolutely null and void and without legal effect and that it should so be decreed or in the alternative that Langlois should be declared to have been duly elected Mayor.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
47 So. 2d 795, 217 La. 995, 1950 La. LEXIS 1043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/langlois-v-lancaster-la-1950.