Porter v. Porter

821 So. 2d 663, 2002 WL 1285258
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 12, 2002
Docket36,007-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 821 So. 2d 663 (Porter v. Porter) 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
Porter v. Porter, 821 So. 2d 663, 2002 WL 1285258 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

821 So.2d 663 (2002)

Jammy Leo PORTER, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees
v.
Clarence William PORTER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 36,007-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 12, 2002.

*664 James A. Hobbs, West Monroe, for Appellant.

*665 Herring & Downs, L.L.C., Charles E. Herring, Jr., Bastrop, for Appellee.

Before GASKINS, CARAWAY and DREW, JJ.

GASKINS, J.

The defendant, Clarence William "Bill" Porter, appeals from a trial court judgment rejecting his claim to revoke donations to his son, Clyde Woodrow "Butch" Porter, and his grandson, Jammy Leo Porter, due to ingratitude and cruel treatment. The plaintiffs, Jammy Leo Porter, Butch Porter, and Porter, Porter and Porter d.b.a. W.K. Porter & Sons House Moving, answered the appeal. They claim that the trial court erred in finding that there was no partnership, in dissolving a temporary restraining order (TRO) and denying a preliminary injunction against the defendant, and in failing to award damages in favor of the partnership and plaintiffs for breach of the defendant's fiduciary obligation. They also seek damages and attorney fees under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court judgment.

FACTS

W.K. Porter & Sons House Moving was established in 1945 by the defendant's father. After he died, the defendant and his brother W.L. "Buck" Porter, continued to operate the business. The defendant's son, Butch, began helping in the business when he was 10 or 11 years old and began working full time when he was a teenager. Butch is illiterate, but can sign his name. In 1991, Bill became ill and could not continue with the physical labor required in the business.[1] Butch was not able to run the business by himself. Jammy, Butch's son, was in the armed forces and stationed overseas during the Gulf War. A hardship discharge was obtained for Jammy and he returned to help his father and grandfather in the family business. The parties lived in close proximity to each another. As found by the trial court, the parties worked hard, drank beer, and were abusive to each other.

Bill, Butch, and Jammy worked together from 1991 until 1998. Bill bid jobs and supervised, Butch did manual labor, and Jammy did welding, equipment repair, and manual labor. The parties lived out of a common bank account in the name of C.W. Porter d.b.a. W.K. Porter and Sons House Moving Contractor. Bill eventually added Jammy as a signatory to the account. Butch and Jammy were each given about $100 per week and Bill also paid their utilities and private school tuition for Jammy's children.

Bill developed pulmonary problems requiring surgery and he thought that he might not survive the illness. On November 11, 1998, he donated all his interest in the tools, equipment, and other items used in the house moving business to Butch and Jammy. He donated 51% to Jammy and 49% to Butch. He also donated to Jammy a 10.2 acre tract of land on which the business was located, reserving the usufruct. Butch and Jammy understood that it was Bill's intention to give the family business to them.

Sometime after the donation, Bill thought that Jammy was drinking too much and feared that he might write large checks because he had access to the defendant's *666 bank account. Bill described an incident in which he broke up a loud party with drinking at Jammy's house. Jammy claimed that he and friends were merely watching a video in Jammy's house when Bill burst in and insisted that Jammy's guests leave. Shortly thereafter, Bill removed Jammy as a signatory to the bank account. Bill also withdrew a large amount of money from the account. These events led to a falling-out among the parties. The defendant sought to reclaim the items donated to the plaintiffs and to keep them off the donated property. Local law enforcement personnel were called by each of the parties on several occasions. Relations between the parties deteriorated, giving rise to the present lawsuit.

On November 21, 2000, Jammy, Butch, and "Porter, Porter, and Porter d.b.a. W.K. Porter & Sons House Movers" filed suit against Bill. The plaintiffs alleged that the parties had a partnership, although the agreement was not reduced to writing. They claimed that Bill breached his fiduciary duty to the partnership and converted partnership assets. They cited the donations by Bill and alleged that they thought he was donating his interest in the partnership and its assets to them. They alleged that beginning on November 16, 2000, Bill removed Jammy as a signatory on the business bank account, removed equipment, took control of the phone listing, intercepted business messages, referred business to competitors, cut off the electricity to the business, interfered with the partnership and its customers, and lodged false criminal complaints with the Morehouse Parish Sheriffs Office. According to the plaintiffs, the defendant violated the provisions of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law contained in La. R.S. 51:1401 et seq., when he competed against the partnership business. They claimed damages to the partnership and the partners and asked for reasonable attorney fees. They also sought a TRO and a preliminary injunction. The trial court issued the TRO on November 21, 2000, prohibiting the defendant from disposing of, concealing, alienating, or encumbering property belonging to or used by the house moving business or individually by Jammy or Butch. Bill was also prohibited from intercepting phone calls to the business and from removing telephone lines and taped phone messages made to the business. The defendant was precluded from referring customer calls to competitors, from withdrawing funds from the company bank account, from denying Jammy and Butch access to partnership records, from interfering in the day-to-day operation of the business and from cutting off utilities to the business. On December 12, 2000, the defendant filed an answer and reconventional demand. He claimed that there was no partnership and that the bank account in question was his personal account. In his reconventional demand, he sought to revoke the donations made to the plaintiffs. He claimed that he was seriously ill in 1998 and was pressured by the plaintiffs to make the donations. He alleged that after the donations, the plaintiffs were ungrateful and treated him cruelly, providing grounds to revoke the donations.

Trial on this matter was held April 16-18, 2001 and May 18, 2001. According to the trial court, the first issue was whether there was a partnership or a sole proprietorship. The court concluded that there was no partnership. Although partnership income tax returns were filed showing that each party owned a 1/3 interest in the business, the court stated that income tax returns are entitled to some evidentiary weight, but are not dispositive of whether there is a partnership. The court found that the defendant never had any intention of forming a partnership with the plaintiffs. *667 There were no discussions in this regard between the parties. The defendant made all the decisions about the business. The court found that donations of real property and equipment were not made to the partnership. Real property cannot be contributed to a partnership that is not formed by a written partnership agreement. Finding that there was no partnership, the trial court dissolved the TRO and denied the plaintiffs' request for an injunction. It also dismissed all of the plaintiffs' other claims.

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Bluebook (online)
821 So. 2d 663, 2002 WL 1285258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/porter-v-porter-lactapp-2002.