Rockwood Insurance Co. v. City of Baton Rouge

418 So. 2d 716, 1982 La. App. LEXIS 7835
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 28, 1982
DocketNo. 14946
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 418 So. 2d 716 (Rockwood Insurance Co. v. City of Baton Rouge) 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
Rockwood Insurance Co. v. City of Baton Rouge, 418 So. 2d 716, 1982 La. App. LEXIS 7835 (La. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

LEAR, Judge.

Appellant, Rockwood Insurance Company, is a commercial surety company providing bail bonds. Appellant sought declaratory relief in the trial court, challenging the [717]*717constitutional validity of LSA-R.S. 15:84, which regulates the forfeiture of bail bonds in city, parish and juvenile courts. Appellant contended that this statutory provision, which does not require that notice of a criminal defendant’s reassigned appearance date be given to the surety, and allows forfeiture in the absence of such notice, is violative of their procedural due process rights and is therefore unconstitutional. This case was decided by the trial court solely on the basis of a stipulation of fact (which is attached hereto as an appendix). The trial court found that the statutory provisions complained of by appellant are not constitutionally defective and dismissed appellant’s suit. This appeal results from that dismissal.

Appellant argues on appeal that its due process rights are violated by both the difference between the bond forfeiture procedures in district and city courts and by the failure to require that notice be given to a surety of the rescheduling of a defendant’s appearance date. We find that the trial court correctly addressed and answered both of appellant’s contentions in its lengthy and well-reasoned written reasons for judgment, which we quote in pertinent part, below:

“When the accused fails to appear initially, Rockwood argues that the statutory notice distinction between district courts (La. R.S. 15:85) and the courts of limited jurisdiction (La.R.S. 15:84) is ‘unconstitutional’. Rockwood acknowledges it was given actual notice of the time and date of the initial appearances (stipulation and original memorandum). Thus, the only question presented in this challenge is whether the state may constitutionally maintain a different forfeiture procedure in the courts of limited jurisdiction and district courts.

“La.R.S. 15:85 A (1) does not specify the type of notice the surety is to receive. It provides only that before the court orders forfeiture it considers ‘... proper evidence including service or attempted service upon the defendant and service upon the surety.’ La.R.S. 15:84 does not include a similar requirement in city, parish and juvenile courts.

“Rockwood has cited no authority for the proposition that bond forfeitures must be treated in the same manner in the courts of limited jurisdiction as in the district court. Since actual notice was received of the initial appearance date, no notice-due process question arises in this situation. The only question then is whether the state constitutionally may provide different statutory forfeiture procedures for the courts of limited jurisdiction. No citation is necessary for the fundamental proposition that statutes are presumed constitutional. Certainly the legislature has the authority to consider the more informal and anticipated more expeditious procedures of the courts of limited jurisdiction and acknowledge that the date for appearance in such proceedings may be set in a different manner than in district court with its broader subject matter jurisdiction. Rockwood has failed to show that the different manner of notifying the defendant and surety is other than completely rational in fostering a legitimate state interest. See e.g., Acorn v. City of New Orleans, 377 So.2d 1206 (La.1980). Much more extensive procedural differences exist with respect to ordinary civil proceedings in courts of limited jurisdiction. Compare C.Civ.P., Book II (Ordinary Proceedings) with Book VIII (Trial courts of Limited Jurisdiction).

“Moreover, it is not clear that service upon the surety is required in misdemeanor cases in district court. While La. R.S. 15:85 may be read to imply such notice, article 337 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which unlike La. R.S. 15:85, deals expressly with notice, provides ‘when a bail bond does not fix the appearance date, and the presence of a person who has been released on bail in a felony case, his surety shall be given written notice . .. ’

“Official comment (c) explains, ‘(t)he notice requirement (initial appearance) is limited to felony cases, for it is not practicable to require two or three days prior written notice to the surety in misdemeanor cases, especially those tried in city courts .. . The appearance date for misdemeanor trials [718]*718will usually be fixed or available when the bail bond is given ... ’ (emphasis and parentheses added).

“Thus Rockwood’s argument fails on two independent grounds. First, the assumed distinction between notice procedure in the courts of limited jurisdiction and district courts is entirely rational and thus constitutional;. and second, there appears to be no express notice requirement for misdemeanors in district court.

“Rockwood similarly challenges the constitutionality of the lack of notice to the surety when the accused appears initially and the matter is reassigned to a subsequent date at which time the accused fails to appear. It objects to the absence of a requirement of notice of the reassignment.

“Rockwood’s assertion that it would get notice of the reassignment if the matter were in district court is untenable. Article 337 directly addresses the question of reassignments by providing, ‘If the principal appears as ordered and the proceeding is continued to a specific date, the surety need not be given notice of the new appearance date.’ The reason for the rule is set forth in official comment (e), ‘... the surety has full opportunity to easily determine the new date and protect his interests accordingly.’ Thus, there is no statutory requirement in district court or the courts of limited jurisdiction that the surety receive notice of reassignments.

“In State v. Hudson, [261 La. 555] 260 So.2d 621 (La.1972), the Supreme Court stated that article 337 ‘clearly indicates if the principal appears as ordered and the proceeding is continued to a specific date, the surety need not be given notice of the new appearance’ (260 So.2d at 623). The court found no error in the trial court’s actions forfeiting the bond.

“Rockwood additionally asserts that this failure to give notice of reassignment is constitutionally infirm by violating due process of law. A review of bail obligations and procedures is appropriate in addressing this contention.

“A central condition of the bail undertaking is ‘that the defendant will appear at all stages of the proceeding to answer the charge’ (C.Cr.P. art. 330). An authorized surety may act as surety for the accused (principal) to satisfy this bail obligation (C.Cr.P. art. 323). When an accused fails to appear and when statutory notice is given, the court may forfeit the bond. Both the surety and the agent must be given notice of the forfeiture within sixty days (La.R.S. 15:84, 15:85). The forfeiture may be set aside in the courts of limited jurisdiction within any time prior to ‘collection’ (La.R.S. 15:84 (a)(3)) and in district courts within six months (La.R.S. 15:85 B). During the period of time both before and after forfeiture the surety is accorded the right to arrest and ‘surrender’ the accused principal (C.Cr.P. arts. 340, 339), and be relieved of the surety obligation. In addition, the surety is protected from forfeiture when the principal is prevented from appearing because of illness or incarceration (La.R.S. 15:87).

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Bluebook (online)
418 So. 2d 716, 1982 La. App. LEXIS 7835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rockwood-insurance-co-v-city-of-baton-rouge-lactapp-1982.