Louis Robinson, Jr. v. Tylan Meaux

• Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
• Decided: June 3, 2009
• Docket: CA-0009-0374
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

09-374 CONSOLIDATED WITH 09-375 AND 09-376

LOUIS ROBINSON, JR. VERSUS TYLAN MEAUX, ET AL.

********** APPEAL FROM THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, NO. 2006-5173 HONORABLE DURWOOD WAYNE CONQUE, DISTRICT JUDGE

********** Elizabeth A. Pickett JUDGE

**********

Court composed of Oswald A. Decuir, Elizabeth A. Pickett, and Shannon J. Gremillion, Judges.

RULE RECALLED. APPEAL MAINTAINED.

Thomas Reginald Hightower, Jr. Patrick Wade Kee Attorneys at Law Post Office Drawer 51288 Lafayette, LA 70505 (337) 233-0555 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE: Lil D's Bar-B-Que, L.L.C.

Steven Claude Judice Keogh, Cox & Wilson Post Office Box 1151 Baton Rouge, LA 70821 (225) 383-3796 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES: Federated Mutual Insurance Co. Champion's Express Mart, Inc. Don J. Hernandez Attorney at Law Post Office Box 24 Franklin, LA 70538 (337) 378-0468 COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT: Louis Robinson, Jr.

Lisa Coleman Lee Keetsie T. Gunnels Attorney for DOHH Post Office Box 3836 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-3836 (225) 342-0207 COUNSEL FOR INTERVENOR/APPELLEE State of Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals-Medicaid

L. Katherine A. Theunissen Mahtook & Lafleur Post Office Box 3089 Lafayette, LA 70502 (337) 266-2189 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE: Lafayette Consolidated Government

John William Penny, Jr. Attorney at Law Post Office Box 2187 Lafayette, LA 70502 (337) 231-1955 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES: Allstate Insurance Company Rodney and Vickie Guilbeaux Tylan Meaux

Jeffery F. Speer Julian Louis Gibbens, III Jason E. Fontenot Doucet & Speer Post Office Box 4303 Lafayette, LA 70502-4303 (337) 232-0405 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES: Tylan Meaux Rodney and Vickie Guilbeaux Chris Paul Villemarette Attorney at Law 1606-B St. Mary St. Scott, LA 70583 (337) 232-3100 COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE: Clement Mayard

Edward Bernard Jones Edward B. Jones & Associates Post Office Drawer 1807 Patterson, LA 70392 (985) 399-5944 COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT: Louis Robinson, Jr.

James Alan Harrell Heather Duplantis Karen Blakemore Phelps Dunbar Post Office Box 4412 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4412 (225) 346-0285 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: Lafayette Specialty Hospital, LLC d/b/a Meadowbrook Specialty Hospital of Lafayette

Scott M. Hawkins Hawkins & Villemarette 107 Regency Square Lafayette, LA 70508 (337) 233-8005 COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE: Clement Mayard PICKETT, Judge.

This court issued, sua sponte, a rule ordering the Appellants, Louis Robinson,

Jr., Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG), and Lafayette Specialty Hospital,

L.L.C. d/b/a Meadowbrook Specialty Hospital of Lafayette (Meadowbrook), to show

cause, by brief only, why the appeals in these consolidated cases should not be

dismissed as premature. For the reasons given herein, we hereby recall the rule and

maintain the appeals.

These cases arise out of an accident which left Plaintiff, Louis Robinson, Jr.,

a quadriplegic. Allegedly, on August 1, 2006, Plaintiff was riding his bicycle on a

sidewalk adjacent to the Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette, Louisiana, when he was

struck by a truck driven by Tylan Meaux. As a result of this accident, Plaintiff has

filed a personal injury suit, and his suit has been consolidated with the separate suits

filed by Mr. Meaux and his guest passenger, Clement Mayard. Appellant, LCG, was

named as one of the defendants, and Appellant, Meadowbrook, filed a petition of

intervention seeking recovery of expenses associated with Plaintiff’s treatment at its

facility.

One of the Defendants, Lil D’s BBQ, L.L.C., filed a motion for summary

judgment seeking to have all claims against it dismissed. The trial court granted the

motion for summary judgment, and a judgment to that effect was signed on

September 15, 2008. Plaintiff, LCG, and Meadowbrook each filed motions for new

trial. The trial court wrote the word “Denied” across the proposed orders to show

cause. Appellants subsequently filed separate motions for appeal which were granted

by the trial court.

In Egle v. Egle, 05-0531 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/8/06), 923 So.2d 780, this court held

that the notation “Denied” written across a rule to show cause order which had been

attached to a motion for new trial was insufficient to satisfy the statutory requirement

1 that a final judgment be “identified as such by appropriate language.” See La.Code

Civ.P. art. 1918. Further, this court found that the appeal in Egle was premature

under La.Code Civ.P. art. 2087(D) because it was granted before the trial court had

sufficiently disposed of the motion for new trial.

In the instant case, when the appeals were lodged in this court on March 27,

2009, the appeals were premature because the trial court had addressed the parties’

motions for new trial by writing “Denied” on the show cause orders. However, when

responding to this court’s order that Appellants show cause why their appeals should

not be dismissed as premature, Appellants submitted to this court a copy of a revised

judgment which had been signed by the trial court. This new judgment reflects that

on April 13, 2009, the trial court issued a judgment clearly denying the three motions

for new trial. A supplemental record containing this new judgment has been filed in

this court. We find that the judgment of April 13, 2009, is in the appropriate form to

constitute a proper judgment disposing of the motions for new trial.

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 2123(C) provides:

An order of appeal is premature if granted before the court disposes of all timely filed motions for new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The order becomes effective upon the denial of such motions.

“The second sentence of this provision . . . makes it clear that the trial court’s denial

of a motion for new trial during the pendency of an appeal cures the defect of

prematurity.” Sullivan v. Franicevich, 04-0321 (La.App. 4 Cir. 3/9/05), 899 So.2d

602, 604 (citation omitted), writs denied, 05-0880 and 05-0920 (La. 5/20/05), 902

So.2d 1051 and 1055. The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that once a previously

existing defect has been cured, there is no useful purpose in dismissing an otherwise

valid appeal. Overmier v. Traylor, 475 So.2d 1094 (La.1985).

Accordingly, in the instant cases, we find that the appeal orders were granted

prematurely because the trial court had not yet issued valid judgments regarding the 2 motions for new trial, and therefore, this court did not have jurisdiction over the

appeals. However, we find that the trial court’s subsequent issuance of a valid

judgment denying the motions for new trial cured the jurisdictional defect of

prematurity. As such, we find that although the appeals were premature at the time

when they were lodged in this court, the appeals have since been perfected and should

be maintained.

This opinion is NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION. Rules 2-16.2 and 2-16.3, Uniform Rules, Courts of Appeal.