Vicari Contractors, Inc. v. Parish of Jefferson

701 So. 2d 250, 1997 WL 631858
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 15, 1997
DocketNos. 97-CA-168, 97-CA-169
StatusPublished

This text of 701 So. 2d 250 (Vicari Contractors, Inc. v. Parish of Jefferson) 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
Vicari Contractors, Inc. v. Parish of Jefferson, 701 So. 2d 250, 1997 WL 631858 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

JiROBERT J. BURNS, Judge Pro Tern.

This is a suit for damages for the wrongful demolition of private property brought by Vicari Construction, Inc. (hereinafter “Vi-eari”) against the Parish of Jefferson (hereinafter “the Parish”). The defendant and the plaintiff were bound by a consent judgment regarding the renovation of various buildings owned by Vicari. Vicari failed to comply with the terms of the consent judgment. Pursuant to the terms of the consent judgment, the Parish demolished Vicari’s buildings.

Vicari filed a petition seeking damages for the wrongful demolition of private property, and, over a year later, a petition to annul the consent judgment. On the first day of trial, Vicari amended its petition to limit the various claims asserted in its original petitions to a single claim for damages as a result of the wrongful enforcement of the consent judgment. Following a bench trial, the trial judge, without reasons, denied Vicari’s petition |2to annul, and ruled in favor of the Parish on the issue of liability for the demolition of Vieari’s buildings.

On appeal, Vicari asserts eight assignments of error. Based upon the record before us, we find that the trial court properly denied both Vicari’s motion to annul the August 2, 1991 consent judgment and Vicari’s petition for damages for the wrongful demolition of private property. In essence, the trial court found that the parish had the right to enforce the consent judgment and demolish the property. We agree with the trial judge and, therefore, affirm her judgment.1

J. HEARING OFFICER PROCEEDING

Vicari was notified by a certified letter that a hearing pursuant to Jefferson Parish’s dangerous building ordinance would be held. The purpose of this letter was to notify Vi-cari that the Parish was seeking an order requiring that Vicari’s apartment buildings be either vacated and repaired, demolished, or secured.

At the hearing, Vicari was represented by the president of its board of directors, Mr. Pete G. Vicari, and the Parish was represented by numerous parish officials. The hear[252]*252ing officer issued an order giving Vicari thirty days from the date of the order to do one of the following: (1) secure the buildings in accordance with Jefferson Parish’s dangerous building ordinance, (2) obtain a building permit and make the necessary repairs, or (3) obtain a building permit for the demolition of the buildings. The order also provided that in the event that Vicari failed to comply 13with the order, the Parish was authorized to demolish the buildings and place a hen on the property for the costs incurred by the demolition. The Parish recorded this order in the mortgage records for Jefferson Parish.

Vicari did not take any action as required by the hearing officer’s order. Vicari was notified by the Parish that demolition of its buildings would commence on July 29, 1991.

II. VICARI’S REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION — THE CONSENT AGREEMENT

Vicari filed for a petition for injunction on July 29, 1991, claiming that it had been unable to take any action pursuant to the hearing officer’s order for various reasons, but admitting that it had been given an additional thirty days to comply with the order. A temporary restraining order was granted by the trial court on July 29,1991.

On August 2, 1991, a hearing was held on Vieari’s petition for a preliminary injunction. Vicari’s counsel read a consent judgment into the record. The Parish agreed that by August 6, 1991, it would cancel the inscription of the hearing officer’s order from the mortgage records. Vicari agreed to perform various work by August 24,1991, and to have a representative on the property on August 26, 1991 for an inspection of the work performed. The consent judgment also provided that if Vicari should fail to comply with its terms, the Parish could thereafter demolish the buildings without giving Vicari further notice, and that Vicari would bear all costs of any such demolition. The consent judgment was later reduced to written form and signed by both the trial judge and the Parish’s attorney. However, Vicari’s attorney refused to sign the ^consent judgment.

In compliance with the consent judgment, the Parish canceled the order from the mortgage records on August 6, 1991. At a meeting held on August 22, 1991, the Parish notified Vicari that it intended to go forward with the demolition of Vieari’s buildings, as provided in, the consent judgment if Vicari had not complied with the terms of the consent judgment. By its own admission, made in open court on March 4, 1996, Vicari never attempted to comply with the terms of the consent judgment. The Parish began demolition on September 15, 1991. Demolition continued through February 4,1992. During the four month period, Vicari took no legal action to stop the demolition. The Parish placed a lien on the property in the mortgage records for the costs of the demolition.

III. VALIDITY OF THE CONSENT JUDGMENT

Vicari’s complains that the trial judge erred in dismissing Vicari’s petition to annul the August 2, 1991 consent judgment, and in failing to find that Vicari’s refusal to sign the consent judgment established a lawful withdrawal of its consent.

Louisiana Civil Code Article 3071 provides as follows:

A transaction or compromise is an agreement between two or more persons, who, for preventing or putting an end to a lawsuit, adjust their differences by mutual consent, in the manner which they agree on, and which every one of them prefers to the hope of gaining, balanced by the danger of losing.
This contract must be either reduced into writing or recited in open court and capable of being transcribed from the record of the proceeding. The agreement recited in open court confers upon each of them the right of judicially enforcing its performance, although its substance may thereafter be written in a more convenient form. (Emphasis added).

In Plaquemines Parish Government v. Getty Oil Co., 95-2452, p. 6 (La.5/21/96), 673 So.2d 1002, 1006, the Louisiana Supreme Court Rdiscussed consent judgments as follows:

[253]*253A consent judgment is a bilateral contract wherein parties adjust their differences by mutual consent and thereby put an end to a lawsuit with each party balancing hope of gain against fear of loss. La.Civ.Code art. 3071; Preston Oil Co. v. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp., 594 So.2d 908, 913 (La.App. 1st Cir.1991). A judgment, whether it results from the assent of the parties or is the result of a judicial determination after a trial on the merits, is and should be accorded sanctity under the law. Preston Oil Co., 594 So.2d at 913.

This Court finds no merit to Vicari’s claims as listed above. As the consent judgment was recited in open court by Vicari’s attorney, both Vicari and the Parish were bound by the terms of the consent judgment.

IV. VICARI’S DAMAGE SUIT

On June 15, 1992, four months after the property was demolished, Vicari filed a petition for damages for the wrongful demolition of its buildings against the Parish in the 24th Judicial District Court.

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Related

Plaquemines Parish Government v. Getty Oil Co.
673 So. 2d 1002 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1996)
Preston Oil Co. v. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.
594 So. 2d 908 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)

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701 So. 2d 250, 1997 WL 631858, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vicari-contractors-inc-v-parish-of-jefferson-lactapp-1997.