Paradise Rod & Gun Club, Inc. v. Roy O. Martin Lumber Co.

160 So. 3d 626, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 1184, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 639, 2015 WL 1447732
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 1, 2015
DocketNo. 14-1184
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 160 So. 3d 626 (Paradise Rod & Gun Club, Inc. v. Roy O. Martin Lumber Co.) 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
Paradise Rod & Gun Club, Inc. v. Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., 160 So. 3d 626, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 1184, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 639, 2015 WL 1447732 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

KEATY, Judge.

| defendants, Louisiana Hardwood For-estlands, LLC, and Louisiana Hardwood Products, LLC (Collectively Louisiana Hardwood), appeal the trial court’s judgment holding it in contempt of court. For the following reasons, the trial court’s judgment of contempt of court is affirmed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The contempt of court order at issue arises out of a dispute over the right to harvest timber. Plaintiffs, Paradise Rod and Gun Club, Inc., and Paradise Land and Lake, LLC (collectively Paradise), own the land containing the timber. That timber is owned by Louisiana Hardwood. These separate ownership interests arise from an Act of Exchange that was executed in 1998 between Paradise and another Defendant, Roy 0. Martin Lumber Company, Inc. (Martin). This Act of Exchange enabled Martin to buy the merchantable timber, limiting it to one harvest during a twenty-five year period. Pursuant to two Timber Rights Agreements executed between Martin and Louisiana Hardwood in 2008, Martin transferred its timber rights to Louisiana Hardwood. These timber rights granted Louisiana Hardwood the right to harvest timber for the remainder of the original twenty-five year term.

Merchantable timber was removed by Martin on two identifiable portions of the property prior to it transferring its rights to Louisiana Hardwood. It is undisputed that Louisiana Hardwood was no longer allowed to harvest timber on these three identifiable areas. Louisiana Hardwood thereafter cut timber on another section of the property. Louisiana Hardwood’s and Paradise’s disagreement arose regarding whether and where additional areas should be released from the timber reservation.

¡¡As a result, Paradise filed a Petition for Injunctive Relief, Damages, and Declaratory Judgment against Martin and Louisiana Hardwood. Paradise then filed a partial motion for summary judgment against Louisiana Hardwood, seeking to have Martin and Louisiana Hardwood execute releases “from the timber reservation, certain portions of the subject property where all reserved timber has been removed.” In support, Paradise attached a map of the property containing markings made by Robert Rossi Ziegelasch, on behalf of Louisiana Hardwood, identifying portions of the property subject to release. Ziegelasch marked these areas on the map in his capacity as Louisiana Hardwood’s corporate representative during his January 19, 2012 corporate deposition.

At the October 28, 2013 hearing on Paradise’s partial motion for summary judgment, the trial court stated that it did not have a problem ordering a release. Since [628]*628it found Paradise’s map “confusing,” however, the trial court was unsure as to which areas it should release. The trial court orally ruled that- it wanted Ziege-lasch’s map reproduced wherein he identifies the areas that Louisiana Hardwood “still ha[s] the right to cut.” The trial court stated that such reproduction would “be clearer.” On November 26, 2013, the trial court issued its written Reasons for Ruling wherein it granted Paradise’s partial motion for summary judgment and ordered both parties to submit a judgment consistent with its written Reasons for Ruling.

Thereafter, there was a disagreement between the parties as to which map to use. Louisiana Hardwood wanted to use a map that it alleged accurately showed where merchantable timber was harvested; whereas, Paradise wanted to create a clean map mirroring Ziegelasch’s deposition testimony. Louisiana Hardwood argues in its brief that it did not want to use Ziege-lasch’s map because it was [ ¡¡inaccurate. Louisiana Hardwood explains that when Ziegelasch was asked to mark a satellite photograph of the Paradise property wherein he believed that no timber had yet been cut, he overlooked and failed to mark one such tract. Louisiana Hardwood also contends that Ziegelasch partially outlined another tract, failing to outline the entire tract.

Unable to agree on a map, both parties submitted separate proposed judgments, attaching its own proposed maps along with written objections to the adverse party’s proposed judgment. The trial court did not sign either judgment. Rather, it issued its own written judgment on May 19, 2014, wherein it granted Paradise’s partial motion for summary judgment as to the merchantable timber. It further ordered the following:

3) Louisiana Hardwood Forestwoods, LLC and and/or Louisiana Hardwood Products, LLC shall execute a recordable act releasing all areas wherein merchantable timber has been harvested since January 14, 1998. The specific areas to be released are to be identified on an updated map reflecting areas to be released, [sic], said updated map to be submitted by Robert Rossi Ziege-lasch within fourteen (14) days.

According to Louisiana Hardwood’s brief, Ziegelasch no longer worked for it when this order was signed. Louisiana Hardwood, therefore, sought the services of Norman Davis who was the president of a company that supervises Louisiana Hardwood. Davis also was Ziegelasch’s direct supervisor while he was employed by Louisiana Hardwood. Davis prepared a map and an affidavit explaining why Louisiana Hardwood could not submit a map prepared by Ziegelasch. Louisiana Hardwood’s counsel timely forwarded Davis’s map and affidavit to the trial court and opposing counsel within the fourteen-day deadline.

In response, the trial court issued a Rule to Show Cause Order on its own motion, instructing the parties to show cause why Louisiana Hardwood “should not |4be held in Contempt of Court for their failure to comply with the Judgment of the Court signed May 19, 2014.” At the June 23, 2014 hearing, the trial court adopted a new map and marked it as Exhibit B. This map was submitted and prepared by Paradise, containing disputed areas, i.e., whether they were subject to release and not shown on Davis’s map. The trial court also held Louisiana Hardwood in contempt of court for failing to follow the trial court’s judgment by not submitting a clean map prepared by Ziegelasch. The trial court’s oral ruling was memorialized in its written judgment dated June 30, 2014.

[629]*629In response to this contempt of court judgment, Louisiana Hardwood filed an application for a supervisory writ with this court in Paradise Rod & Gun Club, Inc. v. Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., LLC, 14-845 (La.App. 3 Cir. 8/28/14) (unpublished opinion), which was denied. In ruling on the writ application, this court stated: “[I]nso-far as the judgment of June 80, 2014, finds relators in contempt of court, we deny the instant writ application finding that this is a final appealable judgment under La. Code Civ.P. art. 1915(A)(6).” We further held that its notice of intent to seek a supervisory writ was considered “a tiihely filed motion for appeal” and remanded the case back to the trial court, ordering Louisiana Hardwood to comply with the laws governing appeals.

On appeal, Louisiana Hardwood asserts only one assignment of error, alleging that the trial court erred in holding it in contempt of court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In David v. David, 12-1260, p. 2 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/13/13), 110 So.3d 713, 715, this court discussed the following appellate standard of review utilized in contempt cases:

15An appellate court may not set aside a trial court’s findings of fact in absence of manifest error or unless it is clearly wrong. Stobart v. State, Through Dep’t. of Transp. & Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993); Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989).

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160 So. 3d 626, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 1184, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 639, 2015 WL 1447732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paradise-rod-gun-club-inc-v-roy-o-martin-lumber-co-lactapp-2015.