Schindler v. Biggs

964 So. 2d 1049, 2007 WL 1651095
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 8, 2007
Docket2006 CA 0649
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 964 So. 2d 1049 (Schindler v. Biggs) 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
Schindler v. Biggs, 964 So. 2d 1049, 2007 WL 1651095 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

964 So.2d 1049 (2007)

Alice Rooney SCHINDLER
v.
William H. BIGGS, III.

No. 2006 CA 0649.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

June 8, 2007.
Rehearing Denied August 17, 2007.

Jeffrey A. Jones, Mandeville, Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellee Alice Rooney Schindler.

F. Sherman Boughton, Jr., Jason M. Bigelow, New Orleans, Counsel for Defendant/Appellant William H. Biggs, III.

Mark D. Higdon, Thomas E. Richards, Covington, Counsel for Intervenor/Appellee Succession of Charles V. Schindler.

Before: C.J. CARTER, KUHN, PETTIGREW, GAIDRY, and WELCH, JJ.

GAIDRY, J.

In this case, defendant appeals a summary judgment rendered against him. We reverse in part and affirm in part.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Alice Rooney Schindler filed a petition for writ of attachment and garnishment on November 17, 2003, seeking the return of money fraudulently taken from her by defendant, William H. Biggs, III. The circumstances leading to the petition are as follows. Mrs. Schindler lived with her *1051 husband, Charles V. Schindler[1]; her former daughter-in-law, Anna K. Schindler; and Anna's boyfriend, Biggs, in a house that Mrs. Schindler purchased. Mrs. Schindler was elderly and had several strokes over the years, and Anna and Biggs helped to care for her. In September 2003, Mrs. Schindler requested that Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Charles Schwab") sell one half of a municipal bond and send her the proceeds. On September 9, 2003, Mrs. Schindler and Biggs opened a joint checking account at Whitney National Bank and deposited the $254,153.60 check from Charles Schwab. Mrs. Schindler, who had no recollection of ever receiving the check or going to the bank with Biggs, contacted Charles Schwab several times about the check. Upon finally learning from Charles Schwab that the check had been cashed, Mrs. Schindler contacted Biggs, who told her that the check had come in the mail and that he had taken her to Whitney Bank where they had opened a joint checking account and deposited the check. Mrs. Schindler then contacted Whitney Bank to determine if this was true and learned that all of the money had already been withdrawn from the account by Biggs.

When Biggs refused to return the money, Mrs. Schindler filed suit alleging conversion. A writ of attachment issued on November 17, 2003, seizing real estate owned by Biggs. Mrs. Schindler later amended her petition to name additional parcels of real estate owned by Biggs, and an amended writ of attachment issued on February 18, 2004. Biggs filed an answer stating that there was no conversion, but rather that Mrs. Schindler had given him the money as either a remunerative or gratuitous donation. Mr. Schindler[2] later intervened in the suit, claiming that the money allegedly given to Biggs was community property and that he did not concur in any donation, as is required by La. C.C. art. 2349.[3] Mrs. Schindler also filed a Second Amended Petition, asserting that Biggs had converted an additional $1,000.00 from her, and asserting a claim for the severe emotional distress and mental anguish she suffered as a result of Biggs' conversion of the funds she had invested for her retirement. In a Third Amended Petition, Mrs. Schindler asked for attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses incurred in pursuit of her claim.

Mrs. Schindler filed a motion for summary judgment on her Original and First Amended Petitions.[4] Attached to the motion was her affidavit outlining the facts surrounding the conversion of funds and the damages she suffered as a result of the conversion. The executor of Mr. Schindler's estate intervened in Mrs. Schindler's motion for summary judgment and attached his own affidavit, stating that shortly before Mr. Schindler died, he advised him that his wife had withdrawn funds from a Charles Schwab account without his concurrence and had deposited the funds into a joint bank account, that *1052 Biggs had withdrawn all of the funds, and that he desired to have legal action taken to obtain a return of the funds.

In opposition to the motion, Biggs filed the affidavits of Anna K. Schindler, Anna Dio Schindler[5], and Margaret Stretzinger[6]. Anna K. Schindler stated that she and Biggs never received a salary for the "numerous tasks, chores, and errands" they performed for the Schindlers from 1997 until the fall of 2003, but that in 2003, Mrs. Schindler stated that she was planning to give a large sum of money to Biggs. Anna K. Schindler also stated that she witnessed Mr. Schindler confronting his wife about this donation shortly after it was made. Finally, Anna stated that in the final months of Mr. Schindler's life, he had told her that he knew that his wife had intended to make the donation to Biggs for all that he had done for them. Anna Dio Schindler stated that in 2003, she heard Mrs. Schindler say that she was planning to give a large sum of money to Biggs, and that towards the end of Mr. Schindler's life, when he was hospitalized, Mr. Schindler acknowledged to her that Mrs. Schindler had given the money to Biggs. Margaret Stretzinger stated that she had been present on numerous occasions when Mr. and Mrs. Schindler discussed Mrs. Schindler giving money to Biggs, and that she heard Mr. Schindler say that he was aware of the donation and that his wife had intended to make the donation in payment for all that Biggs had done for them.

After a hearing, the trial court granted Mrs. Schindler's motion for summary judgment and Mr. Schindler's Intervention as to the Original and First Amended Petitions, and rendered judgment in favor of Mrs. Schindler and the succession of Mr. Schindler in the amount of $254,153.60, plus interest. The court also awarded Mrs. Schindler attorney's fees and costs in the amount of $20,196.00.[7] The court maintained the writ of attachment and ordered Biggs' property sold in order to satisfy the judgment. Biggs appealed, asserting that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment against him and in awarding attorney's fees.

DISCUSSION

A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full-scale trial when there is no genuine factual dispute. Sanders v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 96-1751, p. 5 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/20/97), 696 So.2d 1031, 1034, writ denied, 97-1911 (La.10/31/97), 703 So.2d 29. Summary judgment is properly granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966(B). Summary judgment is favored and "is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action." La. C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2).

*1053 The initial burden of proof remains with the mover and is not shifted to the non-moving party until the mover has properly supported the motion and carried the initial burden of proof. Only then must the non-moving party "submit evidence showing the existence of specific facts establishing a genuine issue of material fact." See, Scott v. McDaniel, 96-1509, p. 5 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/9/97), 694 So.2d 1189, 1191-1192, writ denied, 97-1551 (La.9/26/97), 701 So.2d 991. If the non-moving party fails to do so, there is no genuine issue of material fact and summary judgment should be granted. La. C.C.P. arts. 966 and 967.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
964 So. 2d 1049, 2007 WL 1651095, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schindler-v-biggs-lactapp-2007.