State ex rel. Violett v. King

46 La. Ann. 78
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 15, 1894
DocketNo. 11,321
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 46 La. Ann. 78 (State ex rel. Violett v. King) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Violett v. King, 46 La. Ann. 78 (La. 1894).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nicholls, 0. J.

The relators are Mrs. Penelope A. Violett, widow of the late William A. Violett, and Atwood Violett.

They allege that they instituted suit in the Oivil District Court for the parish of Orleans, in which suit they represented that relator, Mrs. Violett, was the owner, and relator, Atwood Violett, the occupant of certain premises in their petition described, and that F. Johnson & Son, a commercial firm domiciled in the city of New Orleans, and the individual members thereof, had established a livery stable adjoining the property in said petition described, in which livery stable they kept a large number of horses; that from said livery stable arose the most offensive smells, and that the same caused swarms of insects to infest the premises belonging to said Mrs. Violett and occupied by Atwood Violett, and that said smells were so offensive and disgusting as to subject relator, Atwood Violett, the occupant of said premises, to the most intolerable annoyance; that in said petition relators further represented that said livery stable so located in the vicinity of said dwelling house as aforesaid, as also of other dwelling houses, and in a neighborhood of dwelling houses, and the business of conducting said livery stable at said location in the manner in which it was conducted constituted a nuisance which relators were entitled to have suppressed, and praying for an injunction in the premises. That upon said petition an order was duly entered ordering an injunction to issue in the premises as by relators prayed for. That said injunction duly issued; that the defendants therein subsequently took a rule upon relators [80]*80to show cause why said injunction should not he dissolved upon bond; that said rule was, after hearing, made absolute by the Oivil District Oourt, and defendants allowed to bond said injunction, all of which, with other necessary particulars, it was averred would more fully appear from the record of said suit now pending in the Oivil District Oourt, which is referred to as part of their petition, and which in the original or duly certified copy thereof would be presented to the Supreme Oourt at the hearing. That the injunction prayed for was not against the conducting of said livery stable, provided the same be conducted in such a manner as not to inflict a nuisance upon relators, but merely enjoined said defendants from continuing to conduct said livery stable in the manner and form in which they did conduct the same — that is to say, in such a manner as to give rise'„to the most offensive and disgusting smells, rendering the dwelling house of relators untenantable. That by said order to bond an irreparable injury was and is inflicted upon relators, and they did seasonably apply to the court for a suspensive appeal from said order, but that the court, through Frederick D. King (the judge of Division “B,” thereof, sitting in lieu of the Hon. George H. Theard, judge of Division “ E” thereof, absent on leave, and to which Division “E” said cause had been allotted), who tried said rule and to whom said application for an appeal was made, has wrongfully refused and declined to render an order of appeal in the premises. They prayed for the issuing of an alternative writ of mandamus to the judge of Division “B,” sitting in place of the judge of Division “E,” commanding him to grant relators a suspensive appeal [nuno pro tune as of date of August 4, 1898 — date when application was made therefor] from the order allowing the dissolution of the injunction on bond.

An alternative writ of mandamus, having issued, the district judge has filed an answer in which he declares that on the trial of the rule to bond the injunction it appeared that no irreparable injury resulted or could result from the act complained of, and that the damage complained of could be made good or repaired by the payment of money. That it appeared said premises of relator were leased and that the only loss that could result was a loss to the tenant appreciable in money. That the suit was brought jointly by Mrs. Penelope A. Violett as owner of the property and Atwood Violett as tenant of the property — that no injunction had been issued on behalf of Mrs. Pen[81]*81elope Violett, the owner of the property, as no bond had been furnished, and the injunction issued was on behalf of the tenant of the property, and the dissolution of the writ was accordingly of the writ issued on behalf of the tenant. That the judgment dissolving the injunction was rendered in the exercise of the discretion vested in the court under Art. 307 of the Code of Practice. He prayed that the writ of mandamus be refused.

The application to bond contained no reasons for the same. It was a simple motion requesting “ on motion of counsel for defendant that plaintiff show cause on the 24th July, 1893, why the injunction should not be dissolved on defendant’s furnishing bond conditioned according to law.”

The district judge, in making the rule absolute, declared that he did so for reasons orally assigned and considering the law applicable to the case. We presume the reasons referred to were the same as those assigned in the answer or return herein. On the the 20th July, 1893, defendant in injunction obtained a rule on plaintiff to show cause on the 24th July, 1893 (the same day on which the rule on the motion to bond was returnable), why the injunction issued should not be set aside on the grounds: (1) that the court was without jurisdiction ratione materiai; (2) that even if the court had jurisdiction, the allegations contained in plaintiff’s petition were untrue and not such as would authorize the issuance of the writ; (3) that the petition on which the injunction issued set forth no cause of action ; (4) the bond is not good, valid, or sufficient.

The record does not show what action, if any, was taken in the matter of this last rale.

The fact stated by the judge in his answer, that an order dissolving an injunction on bond is granted by a district judge in the exercise of a judicial discretion expressly conferred upon him by law, does not withdraw that order absolutely from being made the subject of review by this court. When the district judge, on application made to him by a defendant in injunction, permits the bonding of the injunction, plaintiff has the legal right to apply for a suspensive appeal from the order to that effect. Should this be denied him, he has the undoubted right to have tested in this court, as is now being done by the relator in this case, the question whether the judge was warranted and justified in this refusal. On such an inquiry this court has necessarily to determine whether the judge’s discretion, which only [82]*82extends legally to eases wherein the dissolution of the injunction would not work irreparable injury to the plaintiff, has been legally .applied or not. If we find it has not we grant relief, otherwise relator takes nothing by his application to us. As has been said several times by this court, each case must stand or fall upon its own special facts and circumstances. White vs. Cazenave, 14 An. 57; Blanc vs. Murray, 36 An. 167.

For the purposes of our decision, we take as true the allegations •of fact contained in the petition for injunction, confining ourselves to the restricted issue on the pleadings as to the correctness vel non of the judge’s action in the matter of the refusal of the appeal, which carries with it the determination of the question whether the bonding of the particular case would or would not work irreparable injury to the plaintiff.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
46 La. Ann. 78, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-violett-v-king-la-1894.