Trahan v. 2010 Beglis, L.L.C.

81 So. 3d 192, 11 La.App. 3 Cir. 365, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1568, 2011 WL 6183447
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 14, 2011
DocketNo. 11-365
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 81 So. 3d 192 (Trahan v. 2010 Beglis, L.L.C.) 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
Trahan v. 2010 Beglis, L.L.C., 81 So. 3d 192, 11 La.App. 3 Cir. 365, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1568, 2011 WL 6183447 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

DECUIR, Judge.

h Kayla Trahan appeals the judgment rendered against her in an eviction proceeding brought by her landlord, Productive Properties, Inc. and 2010 Beglis, LLC. After due consideration of the record before us, we affirm.

On September 5, 2009, Kayla Trahan signed a lease with Productive Properties, Inc., to rent a unit at Productive’s apartment complex, Town & Country Apartments, located in Sulphur, Louisiana. The term of the lease was set forth as one year. Town & Country Apartments is Section 8 housing, and, as such, Trahan was required to execute an additional lease for a term of one year with the Sulphur Housing Authority, which was done on November 2, 2009. “Section 8” is a term used to describe a federally funded housing program which provides vouchers for affordable housing offered by approved landlords. The program is administered by the Unit[194]*194ed States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Productive lease set forth various rules and regulations which restrict certain actions and behaviors at the complex. According to Productive, these rules and regulations are explained to all prospective tenants when the leases are signed. Tra-han’s signature was on the rules and regulations page of her lease. The HUD lease also contained certain terms and conditions as well as a tenancy addendum which relates to the term of the lease and the termination of a tenant’s occupancy.

Not long after Trahan moved in to the apartment, Productive alleges, she began committing various infractions, which among other things, included allowing a person who was not on the lease to live with her in the apartment. Although this was denied by Trahan, it was believed by Productive’s property manager that this man, later identified as Trahan’s boyfriend, Beau Arabie, was living in the apartment. Productive continued to inform Trahan that a person not on the lease cannot live in her apartment and that a proper procedure existed for ^tenants to have overnight guests. In response to a complaint from Trahan concerning whether her apartment conformed to the Section 8 program, an inspector for the Sulphur Housing Authority inspected Trahan’s apartment on August 3, 2010. The property manager testified that the inspector found Trahan’s apartment met the Section 8 requirements and confirmed that Tra-han’s boyfriend was living with her in the apartment. Arabie testified that he regularly spent as many as three nights at a time in Trahan’s apartment. Trahan did not testify.

Productive also alleged Trahan committed various other lease infractions, including parking additional cars not listed on the lease, bothering other tenants, and making repeated unfounded requests for repairs. During the term of Trahan’s lease, Productive determined that it would not renew Trahan’s lease after the initial term. She was sent several notices informing her that the lease would not be renewed. As the end of the lease approached, Trahan was sent two notices (the first on October 11, 2010 by Productive’s property manager and the second on October 22, 2010 by Productive’s legal counsel) informing her the lease was not being renewed and that she had thirty days to vacate the premises. Trahan argued these notices did not comply with the applicable state and federal requirements.

On October 12, 2010, Trahan filed suit against Productive requesting declaratory judgment, specific performance, monetary damages and injunctive relief. At the time of the filing, the trial court granted a temporary restraining order, which was filed in conjunction with Trahan’s petition, preventing Trahan from being evicted. At a subsequent hearing for preliminary injunction, the trial court refused to extend the injunction preventing Productive from evicting Trahan. The injunction was denied and the temporary restraining order was dissolved.

Thirty days after the October notices to vacate were received by Trahan, Productive filed a Rule to Evict in city court. One day before the hearing on the [sRule to Evict, Trahan filed an Exception of Lis Pendens. At the hearing, Productive was granted an extension to explore a defense to the lis pendens exception. Rather than contesting the lis pendens exception, Productive moved to dismiss the suit in city court and, on December 15, 2010, filed a Rule to Evict in the suit which had been instituted by Trahan in the district court.

During this time period, Trahan gave Productive three rental payments dated October 5, November 2, and December 8, [195]*195each in the amount of $13.00. The October payment was first returned to Trahan, then later accepted and negotiated by Productive, as it paid the October rent during which Trahan’s tenancy continued. The November and December payments were neither deposited nor negotiated by Productive, but were ultimately given to Productive’s counsel to hold during the ongoing proceedings.

On December 23, 2010, the Rule to Evict came before the trial court. Before the rule was heard, Trahan presented several exceptions and motions including an exception of improper cumulation, an exception of no valid notice to vacate, an exception of vagueness, and a motion to dismiss. All the exceptions were denied by the trial court. After consideration of all the evidence, the trial court granted Productive’s Rule to Evict and assessed court costs against Trahan. Trahan was ordered to vacate the apartment within twenty-four (24) hours. Trahan did not vacate, and instead filed the present appeal, asserting several assignments of error: lis pendens, improper cumulation of actions, ineffective notices to vacate and the acceptance of rental payments as forgiveness of the lease infractions. We find no merit to the issues raised by Trahan; therefore, we affirm the judgment rendered against her.

I ¿STANDARD OF REVIEW

A court of appeal may not set aside a trial court’s findings of fact in the absence of manifest error or unless those findings are clearly wrong. Stobart v. State, through Dept. of Transp. and Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (1993); Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (1989). Questions of law are reviewed de novo by determining whether the trial court was legally correct or legally incorrect. Sanchez v. La. Nursery, 09-1247 (La.App. 3 Cir. 4/7/10), 34 So.3d 1047; Domingue v. Bodin, 08-62 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/5/08), 996 So.2d 654.

LIS PENDENS

Trahan first argues the trial court erred in failing to grant her lis pen-dens exception regarding the pending eviction proceeding in Sulphur City Court. Because we have been presented with a certified copy of a December 22, 2010 judgment of dismissal of the city court action, we find no merit to this contention:

Because lis pendens does not address the merits of the disputes between the parties, a reviewing court considers lis pendens in the procedural and factual climate that exists at the time of review, rather than at the time of the trial court judgment. La. Cotton Ass’n Workers’ Compensation Group Self-Insurance Fund v. Tri-Parish Gin Co., Inc., 624 So.2d 461 (La.App. 2nd Cir.1993). After oral argument, Brooks, Cudd, and National filed a joint stipulation of amicable resolution of the Orleans Parish suit which had served as the basis for the exception of lis pendens. The stipulation included an order of dismissal from the trial court in Orleans Parish.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
81 So. 3d 192, 11 La.App. 3 Cir. 365, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1568, 2011 WL 6183447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trahan-v-2010-beglis-llc-lactapp-2011.