Louisiana Bureau of Credit Control, Inc. v. Landeche

6 So. 3d 935, 8 La.App. 3 Cir. 1099, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 382, 2009 WL 530080
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 4, 2009
DocketNo. 08-1099
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 6 So. 3d 935 (Louisiana Bureau of Credit Control, Inc. v. Landeche) 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
Louisiana Bureau of Credit Control, Inc. v. Landeche, 6 So. 3d 935, 8 La.App. 3 Cir. 1099, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 382, 2009 WL 530080 (La. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

PETERS, J.

|,The plaintiff, Louisiana Bureau of Credit Control, Inc. (LBCC), appeals the trial court’s judgment granting the defendant, Posey E. Landeche, Jr., an involuntary dismissal of LLBC’s suit against him. For the following reasons, we affirm.

DISCUSSION OF THE RECORD

The facts in this litigation are not in dispute. Mr. Landeche is the owner of immovable property consisting of three lots located in the Jackson Square Subdivision (Subdivision), situated in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. All of the immovable property located in the Subdivision is subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the Jackson Square Homeowners Association, Inc. (Association), a nonprofit corporation formed in April of 1981, for the purpose of “provid[ing] for maintenance, presentation and architectural control of the residential lots and areas” within the Subdivision. As a record owner of lots in the Subdivision, Mr. Landeche is subject to the terms and conditions established by the Association.

At its annual meeting held on January 14, 1998, the Association attempted to raise the quarterly assessment imposed on the property owners to $20.00 per lot.1 Despite receiving notice of the Association’s action, Mr. Landeche has failed to pay any of the quarterly assessments on his three lots. In 2006, the Association assigned all of its rights in Mr. Landeche’s overdue assessments to LBCC. After making demand on Mr. Landeche to no avail, LBCC filed the instant suit, seeking judgment against Mr. Landeche for the unpaid assessments2 and attorney fees.

Mr. Landeche responded to the suit by filing, among other pleadings, an exception of prescription asserting that LBCC’s suit was based on open account and, |2therefore, subject to a three-year libera-tive prescription. At the beginning of the trial on the merits, the trial court granted Mr. Landeche’s prescription exception for all amounts that had become due prior to March 24, 2008. Thereafter, at the close of the presentation of evidence by LBCC, the trial court granted Mr. Landeche’s motion for involuntary dismissal. In doing so, the trial court concluded that LBCC failed to prove that the Association’s quarterly assessment was agreed to by three-quarters of the lot owners as required by [937]*937La.R.S. 9:1141.6. After the trial court rejected its motion for a new trial, LBCC perfected this appeal.

OPINION

In its appeal, LBCC asserts that the trial court erred in concluding that the assessment at issue is a building restriction pursuant to La.R.S. 9:1141.5 and in determining that the applicable prescription period is three years and not ten years. In raising its arguments on appeal, LBCC argues that we should review the trial court’s conclusions under the manifest error/clearly wrong standard. However, as previously stated, the facts are not in dispute. Thus, the issues before us are questions of law. That being the case, our task is simply to decide whether the trial court’s findings were correct. Johnson v. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Dep’t, 06-1179 (La.App. B Cir. 2/7/07), 951 So.2d 496.

The first issue to be decided in this appeal is whether the Association’s assessment constitutes a building restriction rather than a personal obligation. That issue is resolved in favor of Mr. Landeche by reference to the jurisprudence as well as the pertinent legislation.

Building restrictions are incorporeal immovables and sui generis real rights likened to predial servitudes. LSA-C.C. art. 777. As real rights, building restrictions are not rights personal to the vendor. Rather, they inure to the benefit of all other property owners under a | :.general plan of development, and are real rights running with the land. Once they are recorded in the public records, a subsequent acquirer of immovable property burdened with such restrictions is bound by them.... Building restrictions may be amended or terminated as provided in the act of creation. LSA-C.C. art. 780 & LSA-R.S. 9:1141.5-1141.6. In the absence of such a provision in the act, the restrictions may be amended or terminated as prescribed by LSA-C.C. art. 780. See LSA-R.S. 9:1141.5-1141.6.

Oak Harbor Prop. Owners’ Ass’n, Inc. v. Millennium Group I, L.L.C., 05-802, pp. 5-6 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/5/06), 934 So.2d 814, 817-18 (citations omitted). See also Brier Lake, Inc. v. Jones, 97-2413 (La.4/14/98), 710 So.2d 1054.

The Louisiana Homeowners Association Act (Act), La.R.S. 9:1141.1, et seq., which was enacted in 1999, and applies to all residential planned communities, also addresses this issue. The imposition of an affirmative duty, “including the affirmative duty to pay monthly or periodic dues or fees, or assessments for a particular expense or capital improvement, that are reasonable for the maintenance, improvement, or safety, or any combination thereof, of the planned community” constitutes a building restriction. La.R.S. 9:1141.5. The provisions of the Act are remedial in nature and, therefore, apply both prospectively and retroactively. See Comments to La.R.S. 9:1141.1, et seq.3

The Act only applies, however, when an association’s articles of incorporation, bylaws, restrictions, or other community documents are silent on a relevant issue. La.R.S. 9:1141.3(A). In the absence of a procedure for the establishment/amendment of a building restriction in an association’s community papers, La. R.S. 9:1141.6(B) provides:

|4(1) Building restrictions may be established by agreement of three-fourths of the lot owners.
[938]*938(2) Existing building restrictions maybe made more onerous or increased by agreement of two-thirds of the lot owners.
(3) Existing building restrictions may be made less onerous, reduced, or terminated by agreement of more than one-half of the lot owners.

In the matter before us, Article VI of the Association’s Articles of Incorporation provides that the Association shall:

(a) Exercise all of the powers and privileges and to perform all of the duties and obligations of the Association as set forth in that certain Act amending and supplementing the Restrictions of the Jackson Square Subdivision, hereinafter called the “Restrictions” applicable to the property and recorded in the office of the Clerk of Court for the Parish of Lafayette, Louisiana, under Act Number 79-001865 of said office, and as may be amended from time to time in the future, said restrictions being incorporated herein as if set forth at length.
(b) Fix, levy, collect and enforce payment by any lawful means, all charges or assessments pursuant to the terms of the restrictions; to pay all expenses in connection therewith and all office and other expenses incident to the conduct of the business of the Association, including all licenses, taxes or governmental charges levied or imposed against the property of the Association.

(Emphasis added).

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Bluebook (online)
6 So. 3d 935, 8 La.App. 3 Cir. 1099, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 382, 2009 WL 530080, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louisiana-bureau-of-credit-control-inc-v-landeche-lactapp-2009.