Roubion Shoring Company, LLC and Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Crescent Shoring, L.L.C., Christopher Lytle, Alan J. Tucker & Thomas H. O'Neil C/W Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Catina Curtis and Marvin Curtis, Michelet Paul and Olgath Augustin Paul, Trena M. Lafrance, Yvette Hopkins and Cornelius Hurst, Sabrina Morrison and James L. Pollard, Connie Walker and Gregory Francis Wilson, Sr., Joyce Legaux and Gerald Willard Stanford, Latoya Hills and Shane Lagarde, Sr., and Roland Rodney

CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 22, 2021
Docket21-CA-237
StatusUnknown

This text of Roubion Shoring Company, LLC and Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Crescent Shoring, L.L.C., Christopher Lytle, Alan J. Tucker & Thomas H. O'Neil C/W Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Catina Curtis and Marvin Curtis, Michelet Paul and Olgath Augustin Paul, Trena M. Lafrance, Yvette Hopkins and Cornelius Hurst, Sabrina Morrison and James L. Pollard, Connie Walker and Gregory Francis Wilson, Sr., Joyce Legaux and Gerald Willard Stanford, Latoya Hills and Shane Lagarde, Sr., and Roland Rodney (Roubion Shoring Company, LLC and Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Crescent Shoring, L.L.C., Christopher Lytle, Alan J. Tucker & Thomas H. O'Neil C/W Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Catina Curtis and Marvin Curtis, Michelet Paul and Olgath Augustin Paul, Trena M. Lafrance, Yvette Hopkins and Cornelius Hurst, Sabrina Morrison and James L. Pollard, Connie Walker and Gregory Francis Wilson, Sr., Joyce Legaux and Gerald Willard Stanford, Latoya Hills and Shane Lagarde, Sr., and Roland Rodney) 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
Roubion Shoring Company, LLC and Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Crescent Shoring, L.L.C., Christopher Lytle, Alan J. Tucker & Thomas H. O'Neil C/W Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Catina Curtis and Marvin Curtis, Michelet Paul and Olgath Augustin Paul, Trena M. Lafrance, Yvette Hopkins and Cornelius Hurst, Sabrina Morrison and James L. Pollard, Connie Walker and Gregory Francis Wilson, Sr., Joyce Legaux and Gerald Willard Stanford, Latoya Hills and Shane Lagarde, Sr., and Roland Rodney, (La. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

ROUBION SHORING COMPANY, LLC AND NO. 21-CA-237 ROUBION CONSTRUCTION CO., LLC C/W 21-CA-238 VERSUS FIFTH CIRCUIT CRESCENT SHORING, L.L.C., CHRISTOPHER LYTLE, ALAN J. TUCKER & COURT OF APPEAL THOMAS H. O'NEIL STATE OF LOUISIANA C/W

ROUBION CONSTRUCTION CO., LLC

VERSUS

CATINA CURTIS AND MARVIN CURTIS, MICHELET PAUL AND OLGATH AUGUSTIN PAUL, TRENA M. LAFRANCE, YVETTE HOPKINS AND CORNELIUS HURST, SABRINA MORRISON AND JAMES L. POLLARD, CONNIE WALKER AND GREGORY FRANCIS WILSON, SR., JOYCE LEGAUX AND GERALD WILLARD STANFORD, LATOYA HILLS AND SHANE LAGARDE, SR., AND ROLAND RODNEY

ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 729-195 C/W 737-093, DIVISION "P" HONORABLE LEE V. FAULKNER, JR., JUDGE PRESIDING

December 22, 2021

JUDE G. GRAVOIS JUDGE

Panel composed of Judges Jude G. Gravois, Stephen J. Windhorst, and John J. Molaison, Jr.

REVERSED AND REMANDED JGG SJW JJM COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT, ROUBION CONSTRUCTION CO., LLC Kyle Schonekas Thomas M. McEachin Gwyneth A. O'Neill Raymond B. Landry

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE, ROLAND RODNEY Andrea M. Jeanmarie GRAVOIS, J.

Plaintiffs/appellants, Roubion Shoring Co., LLC and Roubion Construction

Co., LLC (“Roubion”), appeal the trial court’s February 2, 2021 judgment which

granted the “Ex Parte Motion and Order to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Petition and to

Remove Lien Due to Abandonment Pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 561” filed by

defendant, Roland Rodney, and dismissed plaintiffs’ “Petition to Enforce Liens”

against Mr. Rodney. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment under

review and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The facts of the dealings between the parties are set forth in a prior appeal as

follows:

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Mr. Rodney, along with numerous other local residents, obtained a grant from the Louisiana State Hazard Mitigation Program to elevate his home. Crescent Shoring, LLC, (“Crescent”), was one of the contractors performing home elevation for homeowners that received grant money to elevate their homes. On January 30, 2009, Mr. Rodney1 entered into a contract with Crescent Shoring, LLC, (hereinafter “Crescent”), to elevate his home located at 3125 Keithway Drive, Harvey, Louisiana. On January 26, 2012, Crescent entered into a contract with Roubion as a subcontractor to assist in performing the work under the contract. Roubion performed services under the subcontractor agreement and although Crescent was paid for much of the work performed by Roubion, Crescent did not pay Roubion.

On April 4, 2013, Roubion filed and recorded liens against several homeowners, including Mr. Rodney, for services rendered by Roubion in connection with elevating the homes. On April 3, 2014, Roubion filed a Petition to Enforce Liens against these homeowners, including Mr. Rodney, in a suit bearing 24th Judicial District Court number 737-093. On August 4, 2014, Mr. Rodney filed Exceptions of No Right of Action, No Cause of Action, and Prescription, Improper Cumulation of Actions, and Failure to Include Indispensable Parties. Before all of these exceptions could be heard,2 this matter was transferred to another division of the 24th Judicial District Court, where it was consolidated with a suit entitled Roubion v. Crescent Shoring, LLC, bearing 24th Judicial District Court number 729-195. 1 Other nonaffiliated homeowners also entered into contracts with Crescent to elevate their individual homes. 2 The Exception of Failure to Include Indispensable Parties was taken up and granted. The State of Louisiana, as the administrator of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, was added to the suit, but later dismissed by the grant of its motion for summary judgment.

21-CA-237 C/W 21-CA-238 1 On December 8, 2015, Mr. Rodney filed a second pleading entitled Exceptions of No Right of Action, No Cause of Action, and Prescription, Improper Cumulation of Actions, and Failure to Include Indispensable Parties. Following a hearing on these motions, in a judgment dated March 16, 2016, the trial court sustained the Exceptions of No Cause of Action, No Right of Action and Prescription, denied the Exception of Improper Cumulation of Actions,3 and found the Exception of Failure to Include Indispensable Parties to be moot. On March 30, 2016, Roubion filed a Motion for New Trial, arguing that the March 16, 2016 judgment was contrary to law and evidence. Following a hearing, by judgment dated May 18, 2016, the trial court denied the Motion for New Trial. On June 17, 2016, Roubion filed a Motion and Order of Appeal of the May 18, 2016 judgment. The motion was granted that same day. Roubion Shoring Co., LLC v. Crescent Shoring, L.L.C., 16-540 (La. App. 5 Cir.

5/17/17), 222 So.3d 921, 923-24 (footnotes in original).

On May 17, 2017, this Court vacated the judgment sustaining Mr. Rodney’s

Exceptions of No Cause of Action, No Right of Action, and Prescription and

remanded the matter to the trial court for further proceedings. Id. at 928.

Subsequently, on May 25, 2017, Mr. Rodney filed a Motion for Extension of Time

wherein he requested 30 days to file a responsive pleading to Roubion’s Petition to

Enforce Liens. The trial court granted the extension on May 30, 2017.

While Mr. Rodney’s appeal was pending before this Court, on March 28,

2017, Roubion filed an Unopposed Motion to Continue Hearing on the exceptions

of no right of action, no cause of action and prescription filed by other codefendant

homeowners. The trial court granted the motion and reset the hearing on the

exceptions for October 30, 2017. Thereafter, a minute entry for October 30, 2017

states that this hearing was “continued without date per fax letter from [Roubion’s

counsel] dated October 23, 2017.”

3 Although there may be merit to Mr. Rodney's argument that the Exception of Improper Cumulation of Actions should have been granted, Mr. Rodney has not appealed, nor filed an answer to this appeal. Accordingly, the denial of this motion is not before us on this appeal. We note that the judgment relative to Mr. Rodney's motions is not binding on the other defendants in this lawsuit.

21-CA-237 C/W 21-CA-238 2 On October 22, 2020, Roubion filed into the record discovery propounded to

the codefendant homeowners, including Mr. Rodney.

On October 26, 2020, Mr. Rodney filed an “Ex Parte Motion and Order to

Dismiss Plaintiff’s Petition and to Remove Lien Due to Abandonment Pursuant to

La. C.C.P. art. 561,” alleging that no step had been taken in the matter by either

party for more than three years. Attached to the motion was an affidavit from Mr.

Rodney’s attorney, Rachel Campbell, who attested that she searched the court

record and docket of the proceedings and determined that no step had been taken

by the plaintiff or defendant in this matter for more than three years.

In response, on January 11, 2021, Roubion filed an opposition to the ex

parte Motion to Dismiss Due to Abandonment, alleging that three years had not

elapsed since the last step in the prosecution of the matter. Roubion attached to its

opposition the affidavits of its counsel, Thomas McEachin, and Mr. McEachin’s

paralegal, Joelle Bailey. Mr. McEachin attested that on October 10, 2017, he

contacted Max Chotto, counsel for the codefendant homeowners whose exceptions

were being heard on October 30, 2017, to “discuss the logistics of the hearing.”

On October 18, 2017, Mr. McEachin faxed a copy of this Court’s opinion in

Roubion to Mr. Chotto. Subsequently, on October 23, 2017, Mr. McEachin and

Mr.

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Roubion Shoring Company, LLC and Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Crescent Shoring, L.L.C., Christopher Lytle, Alan J. Tucker & Thomas H. O'Neil C/W Roubion Construction Co., LLC Versus Catina Curtis and Marvin Curtis, Michelet Paul and Olgath Augustin Paul, Trena M. Lafrance, Yvette Hopkins and Cornelius Hurst, Sabrina Morrison and James L. Pollard, Connie Walker and Gregory Francis Wilson, Sr., Joyce Legaux and Gerald Willard Stanford, Latoya Hills and Shane Lagarde, Sr., and Roland Rodney, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roubion-shoring-company-llc-and-roubion-construction-co-llc-versus-lactapp-2021.