Shirley v. Frazier

914 So. 2d 622, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2242, 2005 WL 2757433
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 26, 2005
DocketNo. 40,299-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 914 So. 2d 622 (Shirley v. Frazier) 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
Shirley v. Frazier, 914 So. 2d 622, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2242, 2005 WL 2757433 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

STEWART, J.

| lessor, Billy R. Shirley, appeals the trial court’s grant of the claim of lessees, Donnie and Wanda Frazier, seeking reimbursement for improvements made to Mr. Shirley’s property. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

On October 15, 2003, Billy R. Shirley filed a suit against Donnie and Wanda Frazier for $175.00 in unpaid rent and $1,725.00 in damages regarding the Frazi-ers’ lease of Mr. Shirley’s property located at 1327 Prairie Road in Monroe, Louisiana. The Fraziers filed an answer in proper person generally denying Mr. Shirley’s claims for past due rent and damages. After retaining an attorney, the Fraziers filed a reeonventional demand in which they claimed that they had made various improvements to the leased premises with the consent of Mr. Shirley and were thus entitled to the current value of the materials and of the workmanship or the enhanced value of the immovable. In the alternative, the Fraziers requested damages for Mr. Shirley’s unjust enrichment by the improvements they made.

The matter came for trial on January 20, 2005, and after the taking of evidence, the trial court took the matter under advisement. On February 22, 2005, the trial court signed a judgment awarding Mr. Shirley $175.00 in unpaid rent and awarding the Fraziers $750.00 on their reeonventional demand. Mr. Shirley appealed. On appeal, he assigns error only to that portion of the judgment granting relief on the Fraziers’ reeonventional demand.

| ¡>Tbe evidence introduced at trial indicates that the Fraziers and Mr. Shirley made an arrangement in December of 1997 for the Fraziers to lease the house for $150.00 per month. By all accounts, the house was in poor condition. Accordingly, the parties also agreed that the rent for the first three months would be waived in exchange for the Fraziers making unspecified repairs to the rental property. The Fraziers indicated that these repairs included the installation of wall paneling in two separate rooms, plugging holes in the walls and ceiling, fixing a window air conditioner, and repairing various plumbing problems.

In addition to the repairs made to the interior of the house, the Fraziers allegedly made several improvements to the property for which they claimed they were due reimbursement from Mr. Shirley. They erected a porch on the back of the house, [625]*625installed a 220 volt line, breaker box and circuit breakers in the house to run appliances, built a dog pen using the sides of an old cotton trailer, built two pens for holding livestock, and installed a “shed” fashioned from a used vertical poly-tank.

Mr. Frazier testified that he supplied the materials and built the back porch with Mr. Shirley’s permission. Mr. Shirley did not contradict this assertion. However, no evidence was presented as to the value of the materials or the labor required to build the porch.

While there appears to be no dispute that some form of electrical work was performed on the rental property, which involved the installation of circuit breakers and a circuit breaker box, there was no clear evidence as to whether the work was done with Mr. Shirley’s consent, and there is no ^evidence whatsoever in the record as to the present value of the materials and/or the labor used in the installation.

Mr. Shirley testified that he acquiesced in the building of the two livestock pens. When the first pen was built, he alleged he told the Fraziers that they could use the land free of charge if they installed the fence at their cost. When the second pen was built, he claims to have paid for one-half of the materials. Both the Fraziers and Mr. Shirley kept livestock in these pens. No evidence was provided as to the value of the materials or the labor required to erect either fence.

As to the poly-tank shed, the record indicates that it was a 5400-gallon vertical tank which Mr. Frazier cut from top to bottom to remove approximately one third of the tank. He then turned the tank on its side so it could serve as a storage shed. Mr. Frazier then cut a doorway into one end of the tank and secured the tank to the ground by driving 2x4 stakes into the ground and securing them to the sides of the tank with screws. Mr. Shirley testified that he helped Mr. Frazier haul the tank onto the property. While both of the Fraziers testified that a new poly-tank would cost around $2,000.00, Mr. Frazier testified that used poly-tanks, such as the tank at issue, could be obtained at farm equipment sales for anywhere between $500.00 and $750.00. Mr. Shirley set the value of the poly-tank in his testimony at $100.00.

There was conflicting testimony as to whether Mr. Shirley forbade the Fraziers from removing the poly-tank shed when they were evicted from the property. A neighbor, Dennis Mike Moore, testified that he was told by Mr. | ¿Frazier that he could have the poly-tank shed. However, when he went to pick it up he was told, presumably by Mr. Shirley, that he could not have it because it was a “non-movable.” However, Mr. Moore testified that he was later allowed to take the tank after he had performed some land-clearing for Mr. Shirley. Mr. Frazier testified that Mr. Shirley had refused to let him take the tank when he left. Mr. Shirley, on the other hand, testified that Mr. Frazier had simply elected to leave it.

The Fraziers also erected a dog pen out of the sides of an old cotton trailer. Mr. Frazier claimed that he had purchased the sides from the man who owned the trailer. He testified that the value of the frame was about $250.00. Mr. Shirley testified that “[w]e usually used it for a dog pen” indicating his tacit consent to the installation. He testified the materials used probably had a scrap value of $35-$40. Mr. Frazier testified that like the shed, Mr. Shirley prohibited him from removing the dog pen claiming that it was anchored to his property.

On appeal, Mr. Shirley assigns error to the trial court’s award of $750.00 to the Fraziers to reimburse them for the items [626]*626described. Specifically, he argues the following:

(1) He should owe no reimbursement for the fence because its value was the price for allowing the Fraziers to use his acreage, and the pen was left in an unusable state by the Fraziers;

(2) He should owe no reimbursement for the installation of the circuit breaker because it was removed by the Fraziers when they left;

|ñ(3) The value assigned by the Fraziers to the cotton trailer frame was excessive in light of the fact that it is rusted, and he has no use for it; and,

(4) The value assigned to the poly-tank is excessive since the item was used and damaged, and the Fraziers got it for free. He also complains that he has not been enriched by this item, because the Frazi-ers gave it away to Mr. Moore who has since removed it from the property.

Although the Fraziers assign error in the trial court’s judgment on the award of past due rent, the Fraziers have failed to answer Mr. Shirley’s appeal or file a separate motion to appeal the trial court’s judgment; thus, we will not consider the assignment raised in their brief.

DISCUSSION

There are two civil code articles that settle the dispute before us: La. C.C. arts 493 and 495. La. C.C. art. 493 provides:

Buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground, and plantings made on the land of another with his consent belong to him who made them.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
914 So. 2d 622, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2242, 2005 WL 2757433, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shirley-v-frazier-lactapp-2005.