State v. S.R.

271 So. 3d 415
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 1, 2019
Docket18-966
StatusPublished

This text of 271 So. 3d 415 (State v. S.R.) 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
State v. S.R., 271 So. 3d 415 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

PICKETT, Judge.

*416S.R.1 appeals the judgment of the trial court, agreed to by consent of the parties, releasing insurance settlement proceeds due to S.R. and her attorney and, from those settlement proceeds, ordering payment of past due child support arrearages to the Department of Children and Family Services and C.R., the father of S.R.'s children.

PROCEDURAL ISSUES

At the outset, we note some procedural irregularities with this case. When this record was lodged with this court, it included only the following documents:

1. A Minute Entry dated June 26, 2018 referencing a hearing on a Motion for Reduction of Costs.
2. A Motion and Order for Appeal filed on July 26, 2017, which seeks appeal from the trial court's amended judgment of March 14, 2017. The Order granting the appeal was signed by the trial court on August 4, 2017.
3. An Order dated October 29, 2018, setting the appeal costs at $ 1,500.00 pursuant to a motion to reduce appeal costs. This order also contains the following language:
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal did grant S[.] R[.] use of her non-support record, docket number 09 N 749, lodged in her adoption appeal docket number 1582 without duplication.
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the Iberia Parish Clerk shall only prepare the designated portions of S[.] R[.] non-support record.
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that S[.] R[.] did designate as her record for appeal a copy of the Chronological Index itemization of the original non-support record that is lodged in her aforementioned adoption proceeding.
4. The Chronological Index in the non-support case, dating from August 21, 2009 through September 26, 2018.

Although the trial court's judgment states that S.R. designated the appellate record, the record sent to this court lacks any motion to so designate. Such designations are required to be in writing. La.Code Civ.P. art. 2128. Further, La.Code Civ.P. art. 2129 requires, in pertinent part, "Where the appellant designates only portions of the record as the record on appeal, he must serve with his designation a concise statement of the points on which he intends to rely, and the appeal shall be limited to those points." Also absent from the record provided to this court was a copy of the judgment from which S.R. is appealing.

Given the incomplete nature of the record as presented to us, on March 19, 2019, after this appeal had been assigned to a panel of this court for review, this court ordered the district court clerk to return the record in this non-support case, which had formed a part of the record by order of this court in In re: ALR and BAR , 17-916 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/14/18), 240 So.3d 273, writ denied , 18-954 (La. 8/31/18), 251 So.3d 413 :

In In Re: ALR and BAR , bearing this court's docket number 17-916 and the district court's docket number 15-82, a *417prior order was issued by this court dated December 7, 2017, through which this court ordered the record in the instant case, the non-support case bearing the district court's docket number 09-749, be prepared and transmitted to this court for lodging as an exhibit in that appeal since the record in the non-support case had been admitted into evidence in In Re: ALR and BAR , 17-916. In another order from this court issued January 9, 2018, issued in this court's docket number 17-916, this court ordered that S[.] R[.] be permitted to use this exhibit in the then unlodged appeal from the judgment in the non-support case, bearing the district court's docket number 09-749.
Upon the lodging of the record in the instant appeal in this non-support case, bearing the district court's docket number 09-749, this court noted the absence of the previously sent record in these proceedings. Although the exhibit record in these proceedings was returned to the district court upon the completion of the appeal in this court's docket number 17-916, the district court failed to return this exhibit record when the record in the district court's docket number 09-749 was transmitted to this court.
THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court, Iberia Parish, forward to this court, by no later than March 29, 2019, the previously prepared record that was transmitted to this court as an exhibit in the appeal in this court's docket number 17-916. In the event this record is no longer in the possession of the district court, the Clerk of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court, Iberia Parish, is hereby ordered to duplicate this record again and transmit it to this court no later than March 29, 2019. If the Clerk of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court, Iberia Parish, cannot provide this record to this court, the Clerk is hereby ordered to respond to this order, in writing, by no later than March 29, 2019, to provide an explanation as to why compliance with the instant order cannot be accomplished.

When the Clerk of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court, Iberia Parish, complied with this order, we noted that the judgments from which S.R. has appealed were not made a part of the record. The last entry in that record is an exhibit list from the March 13, 2017 hearing and a minute entry from the same date which concludes with the following statements:2

The Court after hearing testimony presented will take this matter under advisement and render written reason in thirty (30) days.
The parties can send briefs to the Court for consideration.
Mr. Moses asked for a brief moment to speak to Mr. Romero outside of the Court room.
The parties returned and spoke to the court on there [sic] discussion and agreed to the following stipulation.
Mr. Romero stated that Mr. Moses with his client has agreed to pay $ 50,000.00 on these proceedings contemplating that the amount that is owed to Department of Family Services is $ 20,874.01.
The Court ordered the $ 50,000.00 is to be sent to the Department of Family Services.
They will take the amount owed to them and will submit the balance accordingly.
*418Mr. Romero stated that this issued [sic] settles the contempt proceedings against [S.R.] and Mr. Moses.
Mr. Moses will dismiss there [sic] respective actions.
Judgment to be submitted at a later date.

This court then issued a second order to the clerk of court:

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Related

Denoux v. Vessel Management Services, Inc.
983 So. 2d 84 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2008)
In re Alr & Bar
240 So. 3d 273 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
271 So. 3d 415, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sr-lactapp-2019.