Randolph v. ALEXANDRIA CIVIL SERVICE COM'N

899 So. 2d 857, 2005 WL 767831
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 2005
Docket04-1620
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 899 So. 2d 857 (Randolph v. ALEXANDRIA CIVIL SERVICE COM'N) 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
Randolph v. ALEXANDRIA CIVIL SERVICE COM'N, 899 So. 2d 857, 2005 WL 767831 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

899 So.2d 857 (2005)

The Honorable Edward G. RANDOLPH, et al.
v.
ALEXANDRIA CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.

No. 04-1620.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 6, 2005.

*859 Howard N. Nugent, Jr., Alexandria, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellant, Alexandria Civil Service Commission.

Barry R. Laiche, Jeremy C. Cedars, Alexandria, Louisiana, for Defendants/Appellees, The Honorable Edward G. Randolph, Jr., Mayor of the City of Alexandria, and The City of Alexandria.

Angie Rogers Laplace, AAG, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellee, State of Louisiana.

Daniel E. Broussard, Jr., Alexandria, Louisiana, for Intervenor/Appellee, Local 1848 of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

John W. Scott, Alexandria, Louisiana, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Louisiana Civil Service League.

Court composed of Chief Judge ULYSSES GENE THIBODEAUX, J. DAVID PAINTER, and JAMES T. GENOVESE, Judges.

*858 GENOVESE, Judge.

This matter arises out of action taken by Edward G. Randolph, Mayor of the City of Alexandria, in proposing Ordinance No. 247-2003 which created two departments within the Division of Personnel and Civil Service. The actions of the Mayor and the City of Alexandria were taken in accordance with Act 390 of the 2001 Legislative Session ("Act 390") and Sections 4-01 and 4-11 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Alexandria. The Alexandria Civil Service Commission appeals the trial court's judgment in favor of the Mayor and City of Alexandria finding 2001 La. Acts No. 390 and Ordinance No. 247-2003 to be constitutional.

FACTS

In 1977 the City of Alexandria adopted a Home Rule Charter. In 2003, Mayor Edward G. Randolph ("Mayor") proposed Ordinance No. 247-2003 to reorganize his administration by creating two departments within the Division of Personnel and Civil Service in accordance with 2001 La. Acts No. 390 and Sections 4-01 and 4-11 of the Home Rule Charter. The Alexandria Civil Service Commission ("Commission") objected to the proposed ordinance. A public hearing on the ordinance was held on August 5, 2003.

Prior to the August 2003 public hearing, the Civil Service Commission held a hearing of its own on July 29, 2003, and issued an order ordering the clerk of the Alexandria City Council to return the proposed ordinance to the Mayor, and further ordering the Mayor to present his proposed plan to amend the Home Rule Charter to the majority of the electors. In response thereto, on July 30, 2003, Mayor Randolph filed suit individually and on behalf of the City of Alexandria against the Civil Service Commission and obtained a temporary restraining order against the Commission.

*860 Following the August 5, 2003 public hearing, the city council passed the ordinance. The Alexandria Civil Service Commission then filed suit against Mayor Randolph, the City of Alexandria and the State of Louisiana seeking to have 2001 La. Acts No. 390 and Ordinance No. 247-2003 declared unconstitutional. Local Union No. 1848 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, intervened.

The lawsuit initiated by the Mayor and City of Alexandria was consolidated with the lawsuit brought by the Civil Service Commission. Following trial on February 26, 2004, the trial court opined that the Civil Service Commission had failed to prove the unconstitutionality of 2001 La. Acts No. 390 and Ordinance No. 247-2003 by clear and convincing evidence. It is from this judgment that Plaintiff, Alexandria Civil Service Commission, appeals. For the following reasons, we affirm.

ISSUES

The following issues are presented on appeal:

1. Whether the temporary restraining order should have been issued.
2. Whether the adverse presumption, i.e. the failure of the Mayor to testify, applies.
3. Whether changes to the Alexandria Home Rule Charter must be presented to the voters.
4. Whether the legislature has the authority (by legislative act) to alter the structure or organization of the City of Alexandria operating under its home rule charter.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Temporary Restraining Order

The Civil Service Commission contends that the trial court erred in its issuance of a temporary restraining order. However, this issue cannot be reviewed on appeal.

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3612 states in pertinent part as follows:

A. There shall be no appeal from an order relating to a temporary restraining order.

See Lafayette City-Parish Consol. Government v. Lafayette Mun. Fire & Police Civil Service Bd., 01-1460 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/8/02), 816 So.2d 977, writ denied, 02-1565 (La.9/30/02), 825 So.2d 1194; Vienna Bend Subdivision Homeowners Assoc. v. Manning, 459 So.2d 1345 (La.App. 3 Cir.1984).

Because there is no appeal from an order relating to a temporary restraining order, this court will not consider any issues related thereto.

Adverse Presumption

The Civil Service Commission argues that Mayor Randolph's failure to testify created an adverse presumption that his testimony would not have been favorable to the City of Alexandria. This adverse presumption is well recognized in our law. However, "[s]uch a presumption arises only where (1) the party has the burden of proof and (2) the party has some control over or close relationship to the witness." Wolfe v. Employers Commercial Union Ins. Co., 272 So.2d 714, 715 (La.App. 3 Cir.1973). Presumptions affect the burden of proof. But, in this case, it is the Commission that has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence the unconstitutionality of the act and ordinance, not the Mayor/City of Alexandria. Therefore, the failure to give the presumption is a non-issue since neither the Mayor, nor the City of Alexandria, has the burden of proof in this case.

*861 Presentation of Changes to Home Rule Charter to Electors

The next issue raised by the Civil Service Commission is whether the changes to the Alexandria Home Rule Charter must be presented to the electors (voters) of the City of Alexandria. This issue is addressed and resolved in this court's ruling on the constitutionality, vel non, of the act and ordinance set forth below.

Constitutionality of 2001 La. Acts No. 390 and City Ordinance No. 247-2003

Louisiana Constitution Articles VI and X

The Civil Service Commission asserts that 2001 La. Acts No. 390 and City Ordinance No. 247-2003, which the Mayor and City of Alexandria relied upon to make changes to the Home Rule Charter, are unconstitutional being in violation of La. Const. art. VI, §§ 5 and 6. Local Union No. 1848 also contends that the act and ordinance are unconstitutional.

An ordinance and a legislative act are presumed to be constitutional. Theriot v. Terrebonne Parish Police Jury, 436 So.2d 515 (La.1983). The party attacking the constitutionality of a statute or ordinance has the burden of proving that the statute or ordinance is unconstitutional. City of Lafayette v. Butcher Air Conditioning Co. Inc., 392 So.2d 757 (La.App. 3 Cir.1980). It is well settled that the burden of proving the unconstitutionality of an act or ordinance is by clear and convincing evidence. Theriot, 436 So.2d 515; Bolzoni v. Theriot, 95-1233 (La.App.

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