Russland Enterprises v. City of Gretna

727 So. 2d 1223, 1999 WL 30707
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 26, 1999
Docket98-CA-676
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 727 So. 2d 1223 (Russland Enterprises v. City of Gretna) 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
Russland Enterprises v. City of Gretna, 727 So. 2d 1223, 1999 WL 30707 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

727 So.2d 1223 (1999)

RUSSLAND ENTERPRISES, INC. and Bryan Ledet
v.
The CITY OF GRETNA, et al.

No. 98-CA-676.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

January 26, 1999.
Rehearing Denied March 3, 1999.

*1225 Jack H. Tobias, Metairie, Attorney for Appellant.

Thomas P. Anzelmo, Metairie, Attorney for Appellees.

Panel composed of Judges JAMES L. CANNELLA, MARION F. EDWARDS and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

CHEHARDY, Judge.

Russland Enterprises, Inc. and Bryan Ledet appeal the trial court's dismissal of their supplemental and amending petition on a determination that their cause of action to annul a judgment in another case has prescribed. We affirm, finding the result is correct.

This lawsuit arises out of the City of Gretna's closure of an adult bookstore owned by Russland Enterprises. (Appellant Bryan Ledet apparently is a principal of Russland Enterprises, Inc., although that information is not in the record before us on appeal.) On September 25, 1989 the City filed a petition for injunctive relief and abatement pursuant to La. R.S. 13:4711 et seq., alleging the following grounds: that Russland had permitted prohibited activities on its premises, including but not limited to acts of obscenity; that Russland had violated the provisions of La. R.S. 14:106 (the crime of obscenity); and that Russland "made a confession of guilt to said charge." City of Gretna v. Russland Enterprises, Inc., No. 387-944 (24th Judicial District Court, Parish of Jefferson).

On October 5, 1989 the court granted a permanent injunction and issued an order of abatement against Russland. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. City of Gretna v. Russland Enterprises, Inc., 90-161 (La.App. 5 Cir. 6/25/90), 564 So.2d 367, writ denied 90-1689 (La.11/9/90), 568 So.2d 1078.

On September 28, 1990 Russland Enterprises and Brian Ledet filed suit against the City of Gretna, the Gretna Police Department, the Gretna police chief, and various Gretna police officers. Russland Enterprises, Inc. and Bryan Ledet v. The City of Gretna, et al., No. 406-645 (24th Judicial District Court, Parish of Jefferson). Plaintiffs sought damages for violation of their constitutional rights and for personal and property damage.

On the same day, the plaintiffs filed a complaint in federal district court making the same allegations. Russland Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Gretna, No. 90-3936, consolidated with Dufrene v. City of Gretna, No. 90-3915, 1992 WL 300779, and McClendon v. City of Gretna, No. 3960 (U.S.D.C., E.D.La). Defendants filed an exception of lis pendens in the state court. The state district court maintained the exception and stayed the state proceedings pending resolution of the federal court proceedings.

On October 5, 1992, the federal court rendered judgments dismissing the claims on various grounds. Russland Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Gretna, No. 90-3936, rendered sub nom. Dufrene v. City of Gretna, 90-3915, 90-3936, 90-3960 (E.D.La.10/5/92), 1992 WL 300779. On March 31, 1994 the U.S. Fifth Circuit affirmed the judgment without a reported opinion. Dufrene v. City of Gretna, 20 F.3d 469 (5th Cir.1994).

On July 26, 1994 plaintiffs filed a supplemental and amending petition in their state proceeding (Russland Enterprises, Inc. v. The City of Gretna, No. 406-645), alleging that the order issued on October 5, 1989 in City of Gretna v. Russland Enterprises, Inc., No. 387-944, should be annulled because "it was based upon a defective pleading that contained allegations that were untrue and evidence that was untrue."

Defendants filed an exception of prescription, asserting that the supplemental and amending petition was untimely because it sought annulment of a judgment, but was filed more than one year after the date of discovery of the alleged "fraud or ill practices." (Defendants also filed exceptions of no cause of action, res judicata, and lack of subject matter jurisdiction, which are not before us on this appeal.)

On March 25, 1998, the trial court rendered judgment maintaining the exception of *1226 prescription as to the nullity action and dismissing the supplemental and amended petition. In oral reasons for judgment the court stated, in pertinent part:

The nullity action was not brought for some period of time. In other words it was a totally separate cause of action that was brought into this Court in the First Supplemental Petition, which was in excess of a year after the time of the nullity action.... And I find that as far as your cause of action for nullity here, it has prescribed and I'm going to maintain the exception.

That ruling is the subject of this appeal by plaintiffs.

BRYAN LEDET

First, pursuant to La.Code Civ. P. Art. 927(B), on our own motion we notice that Bryan Ledet has no right of action to annul the judgment in question. He was not a party to the judgment nor was he named in the City of Gretna's petition for injunction and order of abatement. Accordingly, dismissal of Ledet's claim raised in the supplemental and amending petition was proper, although it should have been for no right of action rather than prescription.

RUSSLAND ENTERPRISES, INC.

A final judgment obtained by fraud or ill practices may be annulled, but an action to annul a judgment on these grounds must be brought within one year of the discovery by the plaintiff in the nullity action of the fraud or ill practices. La.Code Civ. P. Art.2004.

Form of Action

We note that the petition to annul the judgment in City of Gretna v. Russland Enterprises was brought by means of a supplemental and amending petition in Russland Enterprises v. City of Gretna. We question whether that is an appropriate manner of annulling a judgment. An action under La. Code Civ. P. Art.2004 may not be brought by collateral attack (i.e., an attempt to impeach the decree in a proceeding not instituted for the express purpose of annulling it), but must be by direct action (i.e., in a proceeding brought for the express purpose of annulling the judgment). Nethken v. Nethken, 307 So.2d 563, 565 (La.1975). "By a direct action is meant that the party praying for the nullity of a judgment, before the court which has rendered same, must bring his action by means of a petition; and the adverse party must be cited to appear, as in ordinary suits." Id.

Here, the action for nullity not only was brought by amendment to another petition, but also the record does not indicate that the opposing parties were cited to appear. However, because no objection was made to the procedure employed, any error in this regard is considered waived. Johnson v. Jones-Journet, 320 So.2d 533, 538 n. 4 (La.1975).

Form of Exception

We note, further, that defendants employed the wrong exception to challenge the filing of the nullity claim. The one year limitation of La.Code Civ. P. Art.2004 is considered a period of peremption rather than prescription. Burkett v. Property of Douglas, 575 So.2d 888, 892 (La.App. 2 Cir.1991); Civello v. Johnson, 567 So.2d 643 (La.App. 4 Cir.1990), writ denied, 569 So.2d 987 (La. 1990); Davis v. Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, 469 So.2d 1144 (La.App. 4 Cir.1985).

Statutes of peremption do not merely bar the remedy; they destroy the cause of action itself. Thus, after the limit of time expires the cause of action is lost and no longer exists. Estate of Williams v.

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727 So. 2d 1223, 1999 WL 30707, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/russland-enterprises-v-city-of-gretna-lactapp-1999.