Lester J. Santeliz-Garcia and Edgar F. Martinez-Lopez v. Vontrell T. Lee, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Renie Ramirez, Sr. and United Network Insurance & Assoc. LLC D/B/A All Titles

• Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
• Decided: September 18, 2019
• Docket: 2019-CA-0507
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

LESTER J. SANTELIZ- * NO. 2019-CA-0507 GARCIA AND EDGAR F. MARTINEZ-LOPEZ * COURT OF APPEAL VERSUS * FOURTH CIRCUIT VONTRELL T. LEE, STATE * FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY STATE OF LOUISIANA COMPANY, RENIE RAMIREZ, ******* SR. AND UNITED NETWORK INSURANCE & ASSOC. LLC D/B/A ALL TITLES

APPEAL FROM CIVIL DISTRICT COURT, ORLEANS PARISH NO. 2014-12310, DIVISION “L” Honorable Kern A. Reese, Judge ****** Judge Roland L. Belsome ****** (Court composed of Judge Roland L. Belsome, Judge Regina Bartholomew- Woods, Judge Dale N. Atkins)

Ivan A. Orihuela RIGUER SILVA, LLC 3213 Florida Avenue, Suite C Kenner, LA 70065

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT

David A. Strauss Marco J. Salgado KING & JURGENS, LLC 201 St. Charles Avenue, 45th Floor New Orleans, LA 70170

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE

APPEAL DISMISSED

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 This case arose out of an automobile accident that occurred on or about

April 2, 2014. A petition for damages was filed on December 22, 2014. On

February 26, 2016, summary judgment was granted in favor of State Farm Fire and

Casualty Company, dismissing all claims with prejudice. The plaintiffs, Lester

Santeliz-Garcia and Edgar Martinez-Lopez, filed a motion for appeal, which was

granted.1 Then, the Clerk for the Civil District Court issued a notice of appeal and

estimated appeal costs to the plaintiffs on April 21, 2016. After the April 21, 2016

issuance of the estimated appeal costs, no further action was taken until the appeal

costs were paid on April 23, 2019. Based on a three (3) year period of inactivity,

State Farm Fire and Casualty Company filed a motion to dismiss appeal as

abandoned.

Here, the plaintiffs perfected their appeal by filing a motion for devolutive

appeal within sixty (60) days of the signing of judgment. La. C.C.P. arts. 2087-

2088. The Code of Civil Procedure also provides that “[a]n appeal is abandoned

1 Although the motion for appeal was taken on behalf of both plaintiffs, the filings in this Court only name Lester J. Santeliz-Garcia as an appellate.

1 when the parties fail to take any step in prosecution or disposition” for the period

of time provided in the rules for the court of appeal. La. C.C.P. art. 2165. This

Court’s local Rule 20, specifies that “when no activity occurs in an appeal for three

years, the appeal shall be dismissed as abandoned.” Local Rules, Rule 20,

Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit.

Given that this appeal was perfected on April 21, 2016, the plaintiffs had

until April 21, 2019, to take a step in the furtherance of the appeal. However,

April 21, 2019, was a Sunday, which is a legal holiday for the courts, thus in this

case, the plaintiffs had until Monday, April 22, 2019, to proceed with the appeal.

See La.C.C.P. art. 5059. The record is clear that no activity occurred until the

payment of the estimated appeal costs on April 23, 2019. Accordingly, this appeal

is dismissed as abandoned.