Succession of Duke

16 So. 3d 459, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 1385, 2009 WL 1874624
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 1, 2009
Docket44,377-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 16 So. 3d 459 (Succession of Duke) 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
Succession of Duke, 16 So. 3d 459, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 1385, 2009 WL 1874624 (La. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

DREW, J.

[iRobert Duke, Sr. (“Senior”) and Dorothy Duke married on October 25, 1945, in Louisiana. Robert Duke, Jr. (“Junior”) was the only child born of the marriage. During them marriage and while domiciled in Louisiana, Senior and Dorothy acquired 380 acres of land located in Arkansas: 320 acres were acquired in 1955, and 60 acres were acquired in 1963.

Dorothy Duke died intestate on May 12, 2000. Senior received the La. C.C. art. 890 legal usufruct over his late wife’s share of the community property. At the time of Dorothy’s death, $290,143.72 in community funds were held in an account at Bank of Coushatta.

In a last will and testament executed on June 10, 2005, Senior named Helen Cole as his executrix and bequeathed all of his property to her. Senior married Helen Cole on June 24, 2005. Senior died on April 1, 2007.

In June of 2008, Junior filed separate petitions for declaratory judgment in Senior’s succession. In the first petition, Junior alleged that he was the sole heir and administrator of Dorothy Duke’s succession. He further alleged that upon the date of his father’s remarriage, the legal usufruct terminated, and his father was required to deliver the property subject to the usufruct to him, along with legal interest on the funds from the date of termination of the usufruct.

In the second petition, Junior contended that the Arkansas property was community property. He prayed that he, as Dorothy Duke’s heir, be recognized as the owner of a one-half interest in the property.

The trial court did not find in Junior’s favor on his first petition. The court ruled that Junior was entitled to $145,071.86 plus the interest actually |2earned on the $145,071.86 while on deposit at the Bank of Coushatta from June 24, 2005, to July 23, 2008, 1 and then judicial interest from July 23, 2008, until paid.

In a separate judgment, the court ruled in favor of Junior on the petition for declaratory judgment regarding the Arkansas property. The court classified the property as community property on the basis of La. C.C. art. 3525, and ruled that Junior was entitled to one-half of the net proceeds from the sale of the Arkansas *462 property. The court denied a motion for new trial filed by Senior’s succession.

Senior’s succession and Junior have appealed. Senior’s succession has filed an exception of no cause of action with this court. The succession argues that Junior was never placed in possession of Dorothy Duke’s assets, and, therefore, had no cause of action to demand the payment of money from Senior’s succession. The exception was referred to the merits of the appeal.

DISCUSSION

Exception of No Cause of Action

A peremptory exception of no cause of action questions whether the law extends a remedy to anyone under the factual allegations of the petition. Birdsong v. Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, 42,316 (La.App.2d Cir.8/22/07), 963 So.2d 1095. The exception is triable on the face of the petition, and the facts pled are to be accepted as true. Industrial Companies, Inc. v. Durbin, 2002-0665 (La.1/28/03), 837 So.2d 1207.

|3Junior alleged in the petitions that he was the administrator of his mother’s succession. The law clearly recognizes a cause of action by an administrator for the return of succession assets. La. C.C.P. art. 3211 states, “A succession representative shall be deemed to have possession of all property of the succession and shall enforce all obligations in its favor.” The exception of no cause of action filed by Senior’s succession is without merit.

We note that the exception urged by Senior’s succession may actually be an exception of no right of action. Senior’s succession contended in its exception that Junior had never been placed into possession of any assets belonging to Dorothy Duke, and therefore had no cause of action to demand payment of any sums of money from Senior’s succession. No memo was submitted in support of the exception. In the original brief filed by Senior’s succession on this appeal, it is contended that until Junior is judicially recognized as Dorothy Duke’s only heir, which Senior’s succession does not dispute, he can make no demand on Senior’s succession for any payment. Thus, as the argument goes, Junior would not be entitled to any interest on the funds until he is placed into possession of an ownership interest in the funds.

The exception of no right of action tests whether the plaintiff has a real and actual interest in the action. See, La. C.C.P. art. 927. The function of the exception of no right of action is to determine whether the plaintiff belongs to the class of persons to whom the law grants the cause of action asserted in the suit. Louisiana Paddlewheels v. Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Com’n, 94-2015 (La.11/30/94), 646 So.2d 885. The no right of action exception assumes that the petition states a valid cause of action for some person and questions whether the plaintiff in the particular case has a legal interest in the subject matter of the litigation. Id.

Senior’s succession admits in its brief that Dorothy Duke’s succession was opened on July 12, 2007, and that Junior was appointed administrator. La. C.C.P. art. 685 provides that the succession representative appointed by a court of this state is the proper plaintiff to sue to enforce a right of the deceased or of his succession, while the latter is under administration. Thus, Junior is in the class of persons to whom the law grants the cause of action asserted in the suit. If the exception of no right of action is what Senior’s succession intended to urge, it is also without merit.

Dorothy Duke’s succession was apparently opened shortly after Junior filed the *463 declaratory judgments. However, any objection as to lack of Junior’s procedural capacity has been waived. See, La. C.C.P. arts. 926(6) and 928.

Legal Interest

At the termination of a usufruct of consumables, the usufructuary is bound to deliver to the owner things of the same quantity and quality or the value they had at the commencement of the usufruct. La. C.C. art. 629. Money is a consumable. La. C.C. art. 536.

Junior argues on appeal that the trial court erred in not awarding legal interest on the sums held on account from the date that the usufruct ended, ^instead of just from the date of judicial demand. In support of his argument, Junior cites La. C.C. art. 2000, which states, in part:

When the object of the performance is a sum of money, damages for delay in performance are measured by the interest on that sum from the time it is due, at the rate agreed by the parties or, in the absence of agreement, at the rate of legal interest as fixed by R.S. 9:3500.

Article 2000 appears in Section 4 (“Damages”) of Chapter 8 (“Effects of Conventional Obligations”) of Title IV (“Conventional Obligations or Contracts”) of Book III of the Civil Code. An obligation can arise from a contract or other declaration of will; it can also arise directly from the law. La. C.C. art. 1757.

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