Vinyard v. Stassi

152 So. 161
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 22, 1934
DocketNo. 1256.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 152 So. 161 (Vinyard v. Stassi) 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
Vinyard v. Stassi, 152 So. 161 (La. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

ELLIOTT, Judge.

The state of Louisiana, upon the relation of Charles Stassi, appellant in the above-numbered and entitled suit, prays for writs of mandamus and prohibition to N. B. Tycer, judge of the Twenty-First judicial district of Louisiana, Felix Reggio, intervener-ap-pellee, and F. M. Edwards, sheriff of the parish of Tangipahoa, forbidding them, said judge, said Eeggio, and said sheriff from attempting to execute or allow the execution of the judgment appealed from to this court in the above-mentioned suit, and for a stay of proceedings in regard thereto until the fight to execute can be inquired into and determined.

Relator alleges that the attempted execution violates, and if permitted will defeat, his said appeal. He alleges that a final judgment was rendered and signed in favor of Eeggio against him on April 27, 1933, in the sum of $293.35, exclusive of interest and costs. That within 10 days from the time judgment was signed, he applied for and was *162 granted a suspensive and devolutive appeal therefrom to this court upon giving bond as required by law. That a suspensive appeal bond was duly and timely filed, and that, notwithstanding the jurisdiction of this court had attached, N. P. Vernon, clerk of the district court in and for the parish of Tangipa-hoa, acting at'the instance of said Reggio on July 14, 1933, instead of preparing a transcript of the proceedings and causing the record to be filed in this court, issued a writ of fieri facias on said judgment, and delivered same to the sheriff. That F. M. Edwards, ¿heriff, upon receiving same, seized and advertised relator’s property for sale for the purpose of paying said judgment.

That by means of a rule instituted July 27, 1933, he sought to have the execution quashed and set aside, hut the said judge dismissed the rule and denied him relief, leaving Reggio free to proceed with the execution', and that he was therefore compelled to seek relief from this court.

Alternative writs issued as prayed for, commanding the said judge, said Reggio, and said sheriff to show cause why said writs should not be made peremptory, and proceedings looking to the execution of said judgment were at the same time stayed until the matter could be acted on.

The judge, the sheriff, and Felix Reggio accepted service of the petition and order, hut no cause has been shown by either of them why the writs should not be made peremptory. Briefs supporting the right to execute the judgment have been filed in behalf of Reggio, but no other showing has been made.

The record does not contain Reggio’s petition of intervention, the writ of fieri facias, nor the note of testimony taken on the trial of the rule, if any was made, but it is sufficient to enable us to act on the mandamus and prohibition prayed for. Reggio filed an exception of no right or cause of action to the rule, but it was not acted on by the lower court and is not mentioned in his brief, so we look on the exception as abandoned.

We find that the last day of April- and the 7th of May were Sundays. As Sundays áre not counted in the 10 days’ delay for taking a suspensive appeal, the suspensiva appeal bond was timely filed.

The position of Reggio is well stated in his answer 'to the rule, which Stassi sued out to quash the execution. He admits in his said answer that relator’s suspensive appeal bond was timely filed; that he (Reggio) caused the clerk of court to issue a writ of fieri facias on the judgment; that Stassi sought to have it quashed, and the judge refused to interfere.

He further avers:

“Further answering plaintiff’s rule your respondent shows, that under date of April 30th, 1933, the plaintiff in rule, Charles Stas-si, secured an order of this Hon. Court which purports to be an order of appeal, but that no return date was fixed in this order and said order of appeal was therefore defective.
“That appeals returnable to the Court of Appeal, 1st. Circuit of Ba. under the law of this state must be made returnable in not less than 15 days nor more than 60, and that plaintiff in rule, Charles Stassi, failed to have his transcript of appeal lodged in the Court of Appeal within 60 days, and that he failed to pay the appeal fee of $5.00 within the 60 days, and that Norman P. Vernon, Clerk of Court, was therefore without authority to prepare and file the same with the Court of Appeal, as said Chas Stassi had not complied with all the requisites of the law.
“That the action of said Chas Stassi in failing to secure a proper order of appeal or to file his transcript of appeal within the time prescribed by law and his failure to pay the necessary filing fee for the appeal within the proper time has caused him to lose his right of appeal; and that the judgment rendered by this court under date of April 26th., 1933, is therefore final and no appeal has been taken therefrom.
“That all errors that were made by Chas Stassi in attempting to perfect his said appeal were made only by Chas Stassi and the defects cannot be charged to this Hon. Court or to Norman P. Vernon, Clerk of Court, and the said Chas Stassi has therefore lost his right of appeal.”

The judge a quo in his reasons for refusing to quash’ the execution says that the attorney for Stassi argued that he (the judge) had authority to quash the writ, but had no right to say whether or not the appeal had been lodged in the Court of Appeal. He recognized that an order of appeal had been granted and a suspensive appeal bond'time ly filed, but found that the record had not been lodged in the Court of Appeal. He held that the entire record was still in the clerk’s office and was used for the purpose of the trial of the rule.

He further' says that the transcript of appeal was not filed with the clerk of the Court of Appeal within 60 days after the date of the order granting the appeal, and that the $5 advance fee for the cost of the appeal had not been deposited within 60 days from the date of the order. That the appellee, availing himself of the provisions of the law, instructed the clerk of court to issue a writ of fieri facias, and that Stassi sought to have it'quashed.

■ He further says: “For the above reasons, the Court, being of >the opinion, that it *163 is without jurisdiction to pass on the question of whether or not the appeal was properly lodged in the Court of Appeal and therefore, being unable to determine this question, the Court is also unable to determine whether or not the writ of fieri facias was properly issued, and for the further reason that article 883 [Code Prac.] has not been complied with and that under article 884 the proper remedy is to issue an execution on the judgment.”

He dismissed the rule, leaving Beggio free to pursue the execution of the judgment. The statement of the judge in acting on the rule that the record was still in the office of the clerk of the district court is correct. He has reference to August 5, 1933, at which time the rule was being heard. At. that time the record had not been filed in this court. The filing mark on it shows that it was filed in this court September 14, 1933, which was more than a month thereafter.

The record shows that the judgment from which the appeal herein was taken was rendered and signed on April 27, 1933.

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Bluebook (online)
152 So. 161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vinyard-v-stassi-lactapp-1934.