Malveaux v. City of Lafayette

679 So. 2d 1025, 96 La.App. 3 Cir. 191, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 1912, 1996 WL 492375
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 28, 1996
DocketNo. 96-191
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 679 So. 2d 1025 (Malveaux v. City of Lafayette) 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
Malveaux v. City of Lafayette, 679 So. 2d 1025, 96 La.App. 3 Cir. 191, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 1912, 1996 WL 492375 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

liTHIBODEAUX, Judge.

This case concerns Lafayette’s efforts to expand its corporate limits by annexing an area known as the 1-10/Moss Street region. This appeal prompts us to determine whether the district court erred in granting the summary judgment motion filed by the City of Lafayette (hereinafter referred to as “the City” or “Lafayette”). We affirm for the following reasons.

J¿FACTS

On October 29, 1991, the Lafayette City Council adopted an enactment, entitled Ordinance No. 0-3898, which enabled the City to enlarge its boundaries by encompassing the I-10/Moss Street region. By November 3, 1991, Lafayette published its ordinance and, on December 2, 1991, Nellie Malveaux filed her claim contesting Lafayette’s attempt to extend its corporate limit. Malveaux maintained that Lafayette’s proposed annexation was invalid because Lafayette inter alia:

1) failed to satisfy the annexation requirements imposed upon municipalities by La.R.S. 33:1721 because, in determining the number of resident property owners, Lafayette
(a) failed to count both spouses (each of whom owns an undivided one-half (½) interest in their respective communi- ' ty), and
(b) intentionally deleted the names of co-owners who initially appeared on the Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor’s list of resident property owners;
2) gerrymandered the I-10/Moss Street region’s boundaries so as to exclude those registered voters and registered [1027]*1027property owners who declined to sign the annexation petitions; and,
3) is unable to provide police, fire, street maintenance, garbage collection, zoning enforcement services, etc. to the 1-10/ Moss Street region.

^Together with attorney’s fees, Malveaux sought damages to cover her expenses, costs, inconvenience and mental anguish; moreover, Malveaux asked the court to vacate Ordinance No. 0-3898.

On November 21, 1994, Lafayette moved for summary judgment upon Malveaux’s petition. Together with its summary judgment motion, Lafayette attached several exhibits. Among those exhibits were the:

(1) Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor’s Certificate;
(2) Lafayette Parish Registrar of Voters’ Certificate;
(3) affidavit of Frank Thibeaux (Lafayette’s Annexation Coordinator) averring that certificates filed by the Tax Assessor and the Registrar of Voters were true and correct;
(4) affidavit of Terry Huval (Lafayette’s Director of Utilities) averring that the City operates and maintains the 1-10/ Moss Street region’s sewage and water systems; and the
(5) affidavit of Michael Mouton (Lafayette’s Chief Administrative Officer) averring that the City is prepared to extend police, fire, street maintenance, garbage collection and zoning enforcement services to the I-10/Moss Street region immediately upon annexation.

On January 13, 1995, Malveaux filed a partial summary judgment motion; therein, Malveaux alleged that partial summary judgment should be granted because no genuine issue of material fact existed concerning Lafayette’s failure to satisfy the requirements of La.R.S. 33:172(A)(1), ie. Lafayette failed to secure petitions signed by a majority of the I-10/Moss Street region’s resident property owners seeking annexation. On February 21, 1995, the trial court adjudged both Malveaux’s and Lafayette’s motions for partial summary and summary judgment respectively. The lower court granted Lafayette’s summary judgment motion and dismissed Malveaux’s request for partial summary judgment. Thereafter, Malveaux filed and the district court denied plaintiffs timely new trial motion.

|4In this appeal, Malveaux insists that the lower court erred in denying plaintiffs partial summary judgment and new trial motions; likewise, Malveaux contends that the lower court erred in granting Lafayette’s summary judgment motion because:

1) Lafayette failed to fulfill the annexation requirements of La.R.S. 33:172(A)(1); and
2) Lafayette’s annexation is unreasonable since
a. the City is unable to provide police, fire, street maintenance, garbage collection, zoning enforcement services etc. to the I-10/Moss Street region,
b. the consent of persons signing Lafayette’s annexation petitions is vitiated by the City’s fraudulent failure to disclose all material facts to such petitioners,
e. the City gerrymandered the 1-10/ Moss Street region in discriminatory violation of certain residents’ voting rights,
d. the annexation will cause Lafayette to spend $1,439,205.00 but will only generate $128,961.00 in net annual revenues.

We address each assignment in turn.

LAW & DISCUSSION

Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo using the same caliper that the district court used in determining whether summary judgment was appropriate — viz., that based upon the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, the movant has shown that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(B).

| .^Louisiana Revised Statute 33:173(A)(1)

Malveaux insists that Lafayette failed to satisfy the annexation requirements imposed upon municipalities by La.R.S. [1028]*102833:172 because, in determining the number of resident property owners, Lafayette: (1) failed to count both spouses, and (2) intentionally deleted the names of co-owners who initially appeared on the Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor’s list of resident property owners. Lafayette retorts, and we concur, that the Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor’s certificate is prima facie proof of its contents and is presumed valid. LeBlanc v. City of Lafayette, 543 So.2d 1040 (La.App. 3 Cir.), writ denied, 548 So.2d 337 (La.1989); Dupre v. Mayor & Bd. of Aldermen of City of Houma, 126 So.2d 637 (La.App. 1 Cir.1961); Hider v. Town of Lake Providence, 91 So.2d 387 (La.App. 2 Cir.1956). The same rule is equally apposite to the Lafayette Parish Registrar of Voters’ certificate. LeBlanc, 543 So.2d 1040. Malveaux failed to produce competent evidence to controvert the validity of the Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor’s and Registrar of Voters’ certificates, which confirmed that the information contained within the annexation petitions was accurate and that the petitions met La.R.S. 33:172(A)(1)’s requirements for annexation of the I-10/Moss Street region. Mere formal allegations without substance will not preclude summary judgment. LeBlanc, 543 So.2d 1040; Equipment, Inc. v. Anderson Petroleum, Inc., 471 So.2d 1068 (La.App. 3 Cir.1985); City of Baton Rouge v. Cannon, 376 So.2d 994 (La.App. 1 Cir.1979).

[ ^Reasonableness

Malveaux next asserts that Lafayette’s annexation is unreasonable because the City is unable to provide police, fire, street maintenance, garbage collection, zoning enforcement services etc.

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Bluebook (online)
679 So. 2d 1025, 96 La.App. 3 Cir. 191, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 1912, 1996 WL 492375, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/malveaux-v-city-of-lafayette-lactapp-1996.