SUCCESSIONS OF JOYCE FAYE MILLET A/ K/ A JOYCE LE NC MILLET, WIFE OF/ AND LEO CE JOSEPH MILLET, JR.
2025 CA 0119
ECONOMY BRICK SALES, INC.
r, Judgment Rendered:
ON APPEAL FROM THE 23RD 3UDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, DIVISION A ASCENSION PARISH, STATE OF LOUISIANA DOCKET NUMBERS 18, 543 and 126, 239
r r • • r
Robin B. Cheatham Attorneys for Defendant -Appellant Richard B. Eason II Economy Brick Sales, Inc. Leigh Ann Schell G. Robert Parrott II New Orleans, Louisiana
Barbara L. Irwin Attorneys for Plaintiff -Appellee Timothy E. Pujol Jill Millet Ashley D. Tadda Gonzales, Louisiana GREENE, J.
In this appeal, defendant challenges a judgment awarding attorney's fees and
costs to plaintiff. Specifically, defendant challenges the trial court's determination that
plaintiff is entitled to recover attorney's fees under a lease as a third -party beneficiary of
the lease. Plaintiff answers the appeal, seeking an increase in the award of attorney's
fees and costs incurred in relation to the appeal. Because we find the attorney's fee
provision of the lease does not extend the benefit to non- parties like plaintiff, we reverse
in part, affirm in part, and deny the answer to the appeal.
This case involves a dispute among siblings over the terms of a lease their parents
entered into with the family-owned business, Economy Brick, Inc. ( Economy Brick). This
is the third time the matter has come before the Court on appeal. The facts were ably
articulated by the Court in Successions of Millet, 2022-0863 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 7/ 5/ 23), 370
So. 3d 758, and have been incorporated below.
Economy Brick is an Ascension Parish company that sells bricks and stucco. It was
originally owned by Leonce J. Millet, Jr., and his wife, Joyce LeBlanc Millet. On January
2, 2004, Leonce and Joyce entered into a Lease Agreement, as lessors, with Economy
Brick, as lessee, regarding certain immovable property (the immovable property) located
in Ascension Parish. Before the execution of the Lease Agreement, Leonce and Joyce
donated all shares of capital stock in Economy Brick to their children, Dean Millet and
Michelle Millet DePierri. The Lease Agreement was signed by Leonce and Joyce, as
lessors, and by Dean and Michelle in their capacities as President and Secretary -
Treasurer, respectively, on behalf of Economy Brick, as lessee.
The Lease Agreement, recorded in the conveyance records of Ascension Parish,
set forth a monthly rental payment of $ 7, 000. 00 for a term of fifty years. After setting
forth the term of the lease in Article 1 of the Lease Agreement, Article 2 provided that
the term of the lease was to " be reduced to the remainder of twenty ( 20) years
commencing upon the deaths of both Lessors[ J' at which time the monthly rental was to be paid, as follows:
2 Upon the occurrence of the death of both Lessors, the monthly rental will be reduced to 1. 30% of the monthly sales not to exceed a maximum monthly Installment of $ 4, 000. 00 payable in equal monthly installments to [ Ronda] Millet Matthews, Aleta Millet Morgan, Jill Millet and Paula Millet LeBlanc on the first day of each month.
The rental payments were designed to be retirement benefits for Leonce and Joyce.
Joyce died testate on February 27, 2013. In her January 2009 Last Will and
Testament, Joyce bequeathed to Leonce, inter alia, all of her right, title, and interest in
and to the immovable property. After Joyce' s death, Leonce executed his Last Will and
Testament in August 2013. Leonce bequeathed to Dean and Michelle all of his right, title,
and interest in and to the immovable property. Leonce died on June 11, 2018.
After Leonce`s death, Dean and Michelle filed a Petition to Open Successions,
Probate Wills, and for Appointment of Independent Co -Executors, and they were
appointed co- executors for the Successions of Joyce Faye Millet a/ k/ a Joyce LeBlanc
Millet, wife of/and Leonce Joseph Millet, Jr., Docket No. 18543, in the 23rd Judicial District
Court for the Parish of Ascension ( the succession proceeding). On October 16, 2018, Jill
made a formal proof of claim in the succession proceeding, directed to the co- executors,
contending that lease payments were owed to her under the Lease Agreement. The co-
executors rejected Jill' s claim. On July 25, 2019, Jill filed a Petition for Judicial
Enforcement of Claim in the succession proceeding, seeking to enforce the terms of the
Lease Agreement and to obtain lease payments allegedly owed to her. Shortly thereafter,
on July 29, 2019, Jill filed a Petition of Breach of Contract and Damages in a separate
lawsuit against Economy Brick and Dean. The second suit was consolidated with the
succession proceeding by order dated February 13, 2020.
Meanwhile, on June 26, 2019, the trial court signed a Judgment of Partial
Possession in the succession proceeding, and Dean and Michelle were placed in
possession and recognized as the owners of the immovable property. On August 9, 2019,
Dean and Michelle, as lessors, and Economy Brick, represented by Dean, as lessee,
agreed to terminate the Lease Agreement and executed an Act of Cancellation.
On March 23, 2020, Defendants Dean and Michelle, in their capacities as co-
executors in the succession proceeding, and Defendants Economy Brick and Dean in the
3 breach of contract suit (collectively, " Defendants"), filed a motion for summary judgment,
seeking to dismiss Jill' s claims against them in both proceedings. After a hearing, the
trial court granted the motion for summary judgment and dismissed all of Jill' s claims
against Defendants. ] ill appealed, and another panel of this Court reversed the lower
court's judgment, finding the trial court erred by considering documents attached to
Defendants' reply memorandum. See Successions of Millet, 2021- 0355 ( La. App. 1 Cir.
12/ 22/ 21), 340 So. 3d 252. The case was remanded for further proceedings.
On February 7, 2022, Defendants filed a second motion for summary judgment,
re -urging their earlier motion with summary judgment evidence intended to comply with
the Court's decision in Successions of Millet, 2021- 0355 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 12/ 22/ 21), 340
So. 3d 252. Defendants urged the court to find that any rights Jill had as a third -party
beneficiary to the Lease Agreement were terminated by virtue of the intent expressed in
Leonce' s Last Will and Testament and by the subsequent termination of the Lease
Agreement by Dean and Michelle, as co-executors of the succession. Jill filed a cross
motion for summary judgment, seeking enforcement of the Lease Agreement on grounds
she was a third -party beneficiary of the Lease Agreement entitled to recover rental
payments from Economy Brick for a term of twenty years. After a hearing, the trial court
granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment and denied Jill' s cross motion. The
trial court signed a judgment on May 17, 2022, dismissing all of ] ill' s claims against
Defendants with prejudice. Jill appealed, and another panel of this Court reversed the
trial court's judgment and rendered summary judgment in favor of Jill, finding the Lease
Agreement created a valid stipulation pourautrufln favor of ] ill that entitled her to receive
its third -party benefits. The Court remanded the matter to the trial court to determine
the amount of third -party benefits due to Jill. See Successions of Millet, 2022- 0863
La.App. 1 Cir. 7/ 5/ 23), 370 So. 3d 758.
Defendants then filed a third motion for summary judgment in the trial court, this
time seeking to have the suits dismissed because Economy Brick tendered payment to
Jill in the amount of $66, 633. 33 on October 3, 2023. Economy Brick suggested this sum
constituted the entire monthly rental payment due to Jill from the time of Leonce' s death
on June 12, 2018 until December 31, 2023, and that Jill had thus been compensated in
51 full for the relief requested in her lawsuits. Jill filed a cross motion for summary judgment
on the issue of the term of the rental payment, contending she was entitled to rental
payments for a term of twenty years, commencing on June 12, 2018 and continuing until
June 12, 2038. On December 13, 2023, the trial court denied Defendants' motion for
summary judgment and granted ] ill' s cross motion, finding that Economy Brick owed Jill
a one- fourth portion of the rental payments for a term of twenty years.
On January 23, 2024, ] ill filed the Motion for Interim Award of Attorney's Fees and
Costs that is the subject of this appeal.' In her motion, Jill claims that Article 21 of the
Lease Agreement grants her the right to recover the attorney' s fees and costs she
incurred to collect the rental payments:
21. Attorney's Fees and Expenses:
In the event it becomes necessary for either party to employ an attorney to enforce collection of the rents agreed to be paid, or to enforce compliance with any of the covenants and agreements herein contained, the unsuccessful party shall be liable for reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by the other party.
Jill averred that the First Circuit's July 5, 2023 decision, which determined she was a third -
party beneficiary of the Lease Agreement, and the trial courts December 13, 2023
judgment, which ordered Economy Brick to pay Jill one- fourth of the rental payments due
under the Lease Agreement, establish that she was the prevailing party and that Economy
Brick was the unsuccessful party and, accordingly, Economy Brick must pay Jill the
reasonable attorney's fees and costs she incurred to collect the rental payments. Jill also
cited La. C. C. P. art. 1920 in support of her request for costs.
Economy Brick opposed the motion, disputing that Jill was a " party" entitled to
claim attorney's fees and costs under Article 21 of the Lease Agreement and also disputing
that Jill was a third -party beneficiary of Article 21. Alternatively, Economy Brick asked
the Court to reduce the amount of attorney's fees awarded to Jill.
Jill's Motion for Interim Award was heard on May 7, 2024. At the conclusion of
the hearing, the trial court granted Jill' s motion in open court, and the trial court signed
a judgment on May 24, 2024, awarding ] ill $ 91, 903. 00 in attorney's fees and $ 16, 254. 36
I ] ill filed her motion pursuant to La. C.C. P. art. 2592, which allows summary proceedings to be used for matters that include the award of and the determination of the reasonableness of attorney fees. 0 in costs ( totaling $ 108, 157. 36), plus the costs of filing the judgment and judicial interest
from the January 23, 2024 filing of the motion until paid. Finding that there was no just
reason for delay, the trial court designated the judgment as final and appealable under
La. C. C. P. art. 1915( 6). 2, 3 Economy Brick now appeals the May 24, 2024 judgment.
On appeal, Economy Brick raises two assignments of error:
1) The trial court erred in finding that Louisiana law and Article 21 of the Lease Agreement entitle Jill, as third -party beneficiary, the right to recover attorney' s fees from Economy Brick.
2) The trial court abused its discretion by awarding Jill fees for vague and unrelated tasks.
Because we find merit in the first assignment of error, we pretermit consideration of the
second assignment of error.
Economy Brick assigns as legal error the trial court's determination that Jill was
entitled to an award of attorney' s fees under Louisiana law and Article 21 of the Lease
Agreement. Under Louisiana law, attorney's fees are not allowed except where
authorized by statute or by contract. Dominique v. Parochial Employees' Retirement
System of Louisiana, 2024- 1009 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 5/ 1/ 25), 2025 WL 1271112, * 6. Here,
Jill points to a contract-- the Lease Agreement-- as the basis for her claim to recover
attorney' s fees. The proper interpretation of a contract is a question of law subject to de
novo review on appeal. When considering legal issues, the reviewing court accords no
special weight to the ruling of the trial court, but conducts a de novo review of questions
of law and renders judgment on the record. Montz v. Theard, 2001- 0768 ( La. App. 1 Cir.
2/ 27/ 02), 818 So. 2d 181, 185.
2 The judgment stated that there was no just reason to delay the appeal because the judgment awarded a sum certain in attorney's fees and costs and the judgment would not be affected by future proceedings in the case.
3 After the trial court rendered its judgment granting Jill' s Motion for Interim Award, Economy Brick filed another motion for summary judgment regarding its reconventional demand, and Jill filed a cross motion for summary judgment in response. On October 18, 2024, the trial judge rendered judgment denying Economy Brick's motion and granting Jill' s cross motion, dismissing all of Economy Brick's claims against Jill in the Reconventional Demand with prejudice. Economy Brick has appealed the October 18th judgment in a companion appeal, which is docketed as 2025 -CA -0120 c/ w 2025 -CA -0121. Economy Brick's appeal of the October 18th judgment was consolidated with the subject appeal for oral argument and submission only via an interim order of this Court issued on June 12, 2025.
A This Court, in a previous appeal, determined that Jill was a third -party beneficiary
of the Lease Agreement entitled to recover monthly rental payments from Economy Brick
based upon Article 2 of the lease:
a) Upon the occurrence of the death( both Lessors, the monthly rental will to 1. 30% of re monthly salesto exceeds maximum monthly installraent of $4,000.00 pa: t equal monthly insta][Iments to Rhonda Millet Matthews, Aleta WIlet Morgan, Jill Millet and Paula Millet LeBlanc on day of each month.
Successions of Mi//et, 370 So. 3d at 768. Notably, Article 2 identified Jill, by name, as a
person entitled to recover the monthly rental payments.
In this appeal, the issue is whether Article 21 of the Lease Agreement grants Jill
the right to recover the attorney's fees and costs she incurred to collect the monthly
rental payment. Article 21 states that the " unsuccessful party" shall be liable for the
reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by the " other party" if "either party" must
employ an attorney to enforce collection of the rents:
21. Attorneys Fes and Fa uses:
In the event it becomes necessary for either party to employ n attorney to enforce collection ' - i is paid, • # enforce * of
covenants and agreements herein contained, the unsuccessful party shall be liable for reasonable
Unlike Article 2, this article does not specifically identify Jill as a person entitled to recover
attorney' s fees and costs. The trial court nevertheless found that Louisiana law and
Article 21 " provide the third party beneficiary, Jill Millet[,] the right and ability to recover
attorney fees and costs[.]"
On appeal, Economy Brick contends that only a party to the Lease Agreement can
recover attorney's fees and costs under Article 21. Economy Brick points to the following
excerpts from the Lease Agreement as evidence that Jill is not a party to the lease. The
Lease Agreement states that it is by and between Leonce and Joyce ( as Lessor) and
Economy Brick ( as Lessee):
7 AISCEK IERK OF LEASE AGREEMENT W, ; LA 10: 08CMOVAH
THIS AGREEMENT LEASE male as of this Seday of 2004, by and between: DEPUTY CLERK & FtCORDfR
Leonce J. Millet, wif'6- oi ' eet-' ellfaacMflletbothCPfAFAMVMU§VIPY age and residents of and" doniiefled in the Parish of Ascension, State of Louisiana, hereinafter " Lessor"); DEPUTY CLERK SLIPPRTOI AND
Economy Brick Sales, Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Louisiana, represented herein by its undersigned officer, duly authorized, (bereinafter Lessee).
The Lease Agreement was only signed by Leonce and Joyce ( as Lessor) and Dean and
Michelle, President and Secretary -Treasurer of Economy Brick, respectively ( as Lessee):
LIN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed and set their hands in triplicate original copies as to the day and year first above written.
Sales, Inc., LESSEE
M
Secret Treasurer
The Legal Definition section of the Lease Agreement also directs that the relationship
between the parties shall at all times remain that of Lessor and Lessee:
25. Legal Defnition:
It is exPresslY understood and agreed between the parties hereto that Lessor shall not be construed or held to be a partner or associate of Lessee in the conduct of its business, it being understood and agreed that the relationship between the parties hereto is and shall at all times remain that ofLessor and Lessee.
Economy Brick thus contends that the plain, unambiguous language of the Lease
Agreement establishes that only the Lessor and Lessee, as the parties to the lease, can
P seek to recover attorney's fees under Article 21. Economy Brick further suggests that
Jill' s status as a third -party beneficiary of the Lease Agreement does not confer a
concomitant right to recover attorney's fees under Louisiana law and that Jill must still
prove that Article 21 stipulates a benefit in her favor to recover attorney' s fees under the
Lease Agreement. We agree.
Interpretation of a contract is the determination of the common intent of the
parties." La. C. C. art. 2045. The reasonable intention of the parties to a contract is to
be sought by examining the words of the contract itself, and not assumed. Prejean v,
Guillory, 2010-0740 ( La. 7/ 2/ 10), 38 So. 3d 274, 279 ( per curiam). " When the words of
a contract are clear and explicit and lead to no absurd consequences, no further
interpretation may be made in search of the parties' intent." La. C. C. art. 2046. Common
intent is determined, therefore, in accordance with the general, ordinary, plain, and
popular meaning of the words used in the contract. Prejean, 38 So. 3d at 279.
Accordingly, when a clause in a contract is clear and unambiguous, the letter of that
clause should not be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing its spirit, as it is not the
duty of the courts to bend the meaning of the words of a contract into harmony with a
supposed reasonable intention of the parties. Id The words of a contract must be given
their generally prevailing meaning. La. C. C. art. 2047. Each provision in a contract must
be interpreted in light of the other provisions so that each is given the meaning suggested
by the contract as a whole. La. C. C. art. 2050; Lobell v. Rosenberg, 2015- 0247 ( La.
10/ 14/ 15), 186 So. 3d 83, 89 ( per curiam).
Here, Article 21 provides for the recovery of attorney's fees if "either party" must
employ an attorney to enforce collection of the rental payments. Article 21 grants the
other party" the right to recover attorney's fees and costs. This language clearly and
unambiguously limits the application of Article 21 to the parties to the Lease Agreement
who, in this case, are Leonce and Joyce ( Lessors) and Economy Brick ( Lessee). Jill is a
third -party beneficiary of the Lease Agreement, as this Court previously determined. Successions of Millet, 370 So. 3d at 768. A third -party beneficiary is never a party to the
contract in question. See Joseph v. Hospital Service Dist No. 2 of Parish of St. Mary,
i 2005- 2364 ( La. 10/ 15/ 06), 939 So. 2d 1206, 1211. Thus, interpreting Article 21 as
written, ] ill is not entitled to recover attorney's fees under Article 21.
However, ] ill suggests that it is illogical, and renders language in Article 21
superfluous, to limit the application of Article 21 to the original parties to the Lease
Agreement when the contract required Economy Brick to continue making the monthly
rental payments beyond the life of the original Lessors. We disagree. Article 21 deals
only with the right to recover attorney's fees and costs, which is independent of the right
to receive monthly rental payments upon the death of the Lessors, as set forth in Article
2. Article 21 is not devoid of any effect simply because Jill is not entitled to recover
attorney's fees under the provision. Under Article 21, as written, Leonce and Joyce ( as
Lessors) possessed the right to seek attorney's fees and costs while they were still the
recipients of the monthly rental payments. Applying the laws that govern the
interpretation of contracts, we find that the words of Article 21 are clear and explicit and
establish that Jill, as a non- party to the contract, was not entitled to recover attorney' s
fees and costs under the contract.4 See La. C. C. art. 2046.
STIPULATIONS POUR AUTRUI
We also find that Jill was not a third -party beneficiary of Article 21. The Louisiana
Civil Code provides that a contracting party may stipulate a benefit for a third person
called a third -party beneficiary. La. C. C. art. 1978. Under Louisiana law, such a contract
for the benefit of a third party is referred to as a " stipulation pour autrui" Paul v.
Louisiana State EmployeesGroup Ben. Program, 99- 0897 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 5/ 12/ 00), 762
So. 2d 136, 140. A stipulation pour autrui is never presumed. Rather, the intent of the
contracting parties to stipulate a benefit in favor of a third party must be made manifestly clear. Paul, 762 So. 2d at 140. Each contract must be evaluated on its own terms and
conditions to determine if the contract stipulates a benefit for a third person. Joseph,
939 So. 2d at 1212.
There are three criteria for determining whether contracting parties have provided
a benefit for a third party: 1) the stipulation is " manifestly clear"; 2) there is certainty as
I We also point out that the Judgment of Partial Possession in the succession proceeding placed Dean and Michelle in possession of, and recognized them as the owners of, the immovable property that is the subject of the Lease Agreement. Thus, Jill cannot claim that she became the Lessor upon the death of her parents.
10 to the benefit provided the third party; and 3) the benefit is not a " mere incident of the
contract between the promisor and the promisee." Maggio v, Parker, 2017- 1112 ( La.
6/ 27/ 18), 250 So. 3d 874, 880. The party demanding performance of an obligation
pursuant to a stipulation pour autrui bears the burden of proving the existence of the
obligation. La. C. C. arts. 1831 and 1981. Absent a clear manifestation of intent to benefit
a third party, a party claiming to be a third -party beneficiary cannot meet his burden of
proof. Maggio, 250 So. 3d at 880.
Here, Article 21 does not reflect the contracting parties' intent to confer a benefit
on Jill or any other third -party. Unlike Article 2, Article 21 does not refer to Jill or any
other non- party to the contract. Rather, the language of Article 21-- discussed above --
establishes that the parties to the contract are entitled to recover attorney's fees and
costs. The fact that Article 2 stipulated a benefit in favor of Jill ( the right to receive
monthly rental payments) does not grant Jill the right to claim other benefits set forth in
the contract without independently establishing the existence of another valid stipulation
pour autrui.
The Louisiana Supreme Court made this point in the case of Joseph v, Hospital
Service Dist. No. 2 of Parish of St. Maty, 2005- 2364 ( La. 10/ 15/ 06), 939 So. 2d 1206.
There, the Court found that the plaintiff doctors were not third -party beneficiaries entitled
to demand employment by the defendant hospital even though the contract in question
included a stipulation pour autfigranting doctors reimbursement of their relocation costs.
The Court pointed out that the contract " could have included additional benefits to inure
to the doctors; however, it did not do so in a manifestly clear manner." Joseph, 939
So. 2d at 1213, n. 10. Similarly, the Lease Agreement in this case did not include any stipulation, manifestly clear or otherwise, conferring upon Jill the right to recover
attorney's fees and costs.
Jill nevertheless suggests that she is entitled to recover the attorney's fees and
costs she incurred to collect the monthly rental payments because she is a third -party
beneficiary of the Lease Agreement and, according to La. C. C. art. 1981, the third -party
beneficiary has the right to demand performance from the promisor. Jill contends that
this right to demand performance includes the right to recover the fees associated with
11 her enforcement efforts against Economy Brick. Jill cites two cases in support. See
Brooks v. Shipp, 481 So. 2d 655 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 1985) and Beau Box Commercial Real
Estate, L. L. C. v. Pennywise Solutions Inc., 2019- 0114 ( La.App. 1 Cir 10/ 23/ 19), 289
So. 3d 600. However, these cases are distinguishable because they both involved
purchase agreements that clearly stipulated the right of the real estate agent to recover
attorney's fees and costs in the event the purchaser breached its obligations under the
contracts Jill cannot point to any analogous stipulation in the subject Lease Agreement
and, accordingly, she cannot satisfy her burden of proving that she is a third -party
beneficiary with respect to the right to recover attorney's fees and costs under Article 21.
Because we find that Article 21 of the Lease Agreement does not grant Jill the
right to recover attorney' s fees or costs under the contract, we find that the trial court's
judgment granting Jill' s motion was in error. However, we find no error in the trial court's
award of costs because Jill was the prevailing party in this action to enforce collection of
the monthly rental payments due to her under the Lease Agreement. See La. C. C. P. art.
CONCLUSION
For these reasons, we reverse the portion of the trial court's May 24, 2024
judgment ordering Economy Brick Sales, Inc. to pay Jill Millet $ 91, 903. 00 in attorney' s
fees. We affirm the portion of the trial court's May 24, 2024 judgment ordering Economy
Brick Sales, Inc. to pay Jill Millet $ 16, 254. 36 in costs. We deny Jill Millet's answer to the
appeal. We assess costs of this appeal equally, one- half to ] ill Millet and one- half to
3UDGMENT REVERSED IN PART AND AFFIRMED IN PART; ANSWER TO APPEAL DENIED.
I The purchase agreement in Brooks stated in pertinent part: " Either party hereto who fails, for any reason whatsoever, to comply with the terms of this offer, if accepted, is obligated and agrees to pay the agent's commission and all reasonable attorney' s fees and costs incurred by the other party[.]" Brooks, 481 So. 2d at 656. The purchase agreement in Beau Box stated in pertinent part that "the defaulting party shall also be liable for [ realtor's] fees and all [ attorney's] fees and other costs incurred in the enforcement of any and all rights under this contract." Beau Box, 289 So. 3d at 604.