Riccio v. Luminais

192 So. 3d 858, 2015 La.App. 4 Cir. 1109, 2016 WL 1660539, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 820
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 27, 2016
DocketNo. 2015-CA-1109
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 192 So. 3d 858 (Riccio v. Luminais) 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
Riccio v. Luminais, 192 So. 3d 858, 2015 La.App. 4 Cir. 1109, 2016 WL 1660539, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 820 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

EDWIN A. LOMBARD, Judge.

hThe plaintiff, attorney Marie Riccio, appeals the district court judgment granted in favor of the defendants, attorneys Ryan Luminais and Chad Morrow, associates in the New Orleans law firm Sher, Garner, Cahill, Richter, Klein & Hilbert, L.L.C (“the defendant attorneys”) and by CCSH Creditor Protection Corporation (“CCSH”). After review of the matter in light of the applicable law and arguments of the- parties, we do not find that the trial court erred in granting the defendants’ exceptions of no cause of action and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the district court.

Relevant Facts and Procedural History

This matter arises out of commercial transactions involving Camillus Specialty Hospital, L.L.C., (Camillus), a limited liability company with the license to operate a long term acute care hospital, in which Ms. Riccio’s client, Charles Matthews, claimed an ownership interest. In January 2013, Camillus was acquired by CCSH in a creditor’s sale. Maintaining that the creditor’s sale was a sham and that her client remained the rightful owner, Ms. Riccio refused to deliver mail addressed to Camillus in her possession to CCSH.

On April 13, 2013, on behalf of their client CCSH, the defendant attorneys sought the return, of the documents held by Ms. Riccio, filing a petition for a writ |gof quo warranto and preliminary injunction requesting a court order directing Ms. Riccio to show “by what. authority she claims to hold a position in and/or on behalf of plaintiff, Camillus” and to produce the Camillus property (files, correspondence, and checks) in ■ her possession. Camillus Specialty Hospital, L.L.C. v. Riccio, 13-3738 (La. Civil D. Ct. 6/6/13); 2013 WL 9933578. In response, Ms. Ric-cio filed exceptions of no cause of action, no cause of action, and lack of capacity. Id.

After, a hearing on May 31, 2013, the district court denied -Ms. Riccio’s exceptions but granted the writ of quo warranto and. mandatory injunction filed on behalf of Camillus. The district court directed Ms. Riccio to show by what authority she held the documents belonging to Camillus, observing in its reasons for judgment that although Ms. Riccio claimed to be holding documents for her client, Mr. Matthews did not appear at the hearing or file any [861]*861pleadings to assert that Ms. Riccio was acting in a representative capacity. Accordingly, the district court granted in-junctive relief, ordering Ms. Riccio to produce the documents to Camillus.

On appeal, however, this court held that “the writ of quo warranto was erroneously granted because the district court was not authorized to issue a remedy under quo warranto relating to the individual exercise of alleged corporate authority.” Camillus Specialty Hospital, L.L.C. and CCSH v. Riccio, 13-1172, p. 8 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/30/14), 133 So.3d 287, 292. The court pretermitted discussion of the injunctive relief granted by the district court, deeming the issue moot because the requested documents had been delivered by Ms. Riccio to Camillus. Id., 13-1172, p. 10; 133 So.3d at 293.

On January 29, 2015, Ms. Riccio sought to reopen the matter, filing a pleading in district court under the same district court ease number (13-3788) | ¡¡entitled “Marie Riccio’s Petition in Reconvention Alleging Abuse of Process and Related Claims.” According to the heading, this new case (“MARIE RICCIO, Petitioner in Reconvention, v. RYAN LUMINAIS, ESQ AND CHAD MORROW, ESQ., CCSH CRED. PROT. CORP., ABC INS. CO., Defendants in Reconvention ”) was “consolidated uñth” the earlier case, “CAMILLUS SPECIALTY HOSPTIAL, LLC AND CCSH CREDITOR PROTECTION CORPORATION VERSUS MARIE RICCIO.” Notably, there is no motion for, or order of, consolidation in the record.

In her petition for reconvention, Ms. Riccio alleged that in filing a request for injunctive relief on behalf of their client CCSH pertaining to documents in her possession, the defendant attorneys' “violated their duties to the public, the court and counsel in connection with the representation herein.” Ms. Riccio raised five specific claims (designated as “counts”) against the defendant attorneys and their client, CCSH, asserting: (1) the action filed by the defendant attorneys for the return of their client’s documents constituted a malicious prosecution; (2) the action filed by the defendant attorneys for the return of their client’s documents constituted an “abuse of process” claim, entitling her to an award of sanctions based on La. Civ. Code Proc. art. 863; (3) the defendant attorneys actions were in violation of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, thus subjecting them to disbarment; (4) the defendant attorneys’ action in preparing and seeking a judgment that portrayed her as having acted unprofessionally constituted an intentional infliction of mental anguish and distress; and (5) CCSH was liable for damages in solido with the defendant attorneys for malicious prosecution.

|4In response, the defendant attorneys filed exceptions of no cause of action, prescription, no right of action, lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of procedural capacity, as well as vagueness and ambiguity of the petition. In addition, CCSH asserted an exception of no cause of action as to all claims asserted by Ms. Riccio against CCSH in her reconventional petition.

After a hearing on July 15, 2015, the district court issued a judgment on July 27, 2015, sustaining the defendant attorneys’ peremptory exception of no cause of action as to all the claims asserted by Ms. Riccio against the defendant attorneys in her petition and, thereby, deeming the defendant attorneys’ exception of prescription moot. In addition, the district court sustained the exception of no right of action filed by CCSH.

Ms. Riccio appeals this judgment.

Standard of Review

The following standard of review is applicable to the sustainment or denial [862]*862of a peremptory' exception of no cause of action:

The function of the peremptory exception of no cause of action is to question whether the law extends a remedy to anyone under the factual allegations of the petition. The peremptory exception of no cause of action is designed to test the legal sufficiency of the petition by determining whether [the] plaintiff is afforded a remedy in law based on the facts alleged in the pleading. No evidence may be introduced to support or ' controvert the objection that the petition fails to state & cause of action. The exception is triable on the face of the papers and for the purposes of determining the issues raised by the exception, the well-pleaded facts in the petition must be accepted as true. In reviewing a trial court’s ruling sustaining an exception of no cause of action, the appellate court and this Court should 'subject the case to de novo review because the exception raises a question of law and the trial court’s decision''is based only on the sufficiency of the petition. Simply stated, a petition ‘should not'be dismissed for failure to state a cause of action unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of any claim which would entitle him to relief.

Fink v. Bryant, 01-0987, pp. 3-4 (La.11/28/01), 801 So.2d 346, 348-49 (citations omitted; emphasis added).

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192 So. 3d 858, 2015 La.App. 4 Cir. 1109, 2016 WL 1660539, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riccio-v-luminais-lactapp-2016.