Washington v. Washington

493 So. 2d 1227
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided August 20, 1986·No. 17,939-CA·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

493 So.2d 1227 (1986)

Booker T. WASHINGTON, III, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Loretta Allen WASHINGTON, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 17,939-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 20, 1986.

Williams & Williams, Tallulah by Moses Junior Williams, for Booker T. Washington.

*1228 North La. Legal Assistance Corp., Monroe by Saluria L. Gumms, for defendants in Rule Thomas Chandler, et al.

Leo A. Miller, Jr., Lake Providence, for Loretta A. Washington.

Before JASPER E. JONES, SEXTON and NORRIS, JJ.

JASPER E. JONES, Judge.

The appellant-defendant, Booker T. Washington, III, complains on appeal of adverse rulings on his dilatory and peremptory exceptions by the trial court and seeks to reverse a judicial partition of the community. The plaintiff-appellee is Loretta Allen Washington, former wife of appellant.

We affirm the trial court's denial of the exceptions and amend the partition.

FACTS

On November 8, 1984, the defendant filed a petition for divorce against the defendant. On the same day a judgment of divorce was rendered awarding to the parties joint custody of their four minor children in accordance with a voluntary plan directing that Loretta Allen Washington was to be the custodial parent from September to May of each year. The judgment contained no reference to the ownership of the community property accumulated during the marriage.

On July 16, 1985, the plaintiff instituted this proceeding in one pleading seeking by verified motion possession of the former community home and furniture and by petition for partition a judicial partition of the community. In the petition for partition and motion she prayed for the following: (1) partition in accordance with LSA-R.S. 9:2801[1] and an order directing the filing of detailed descriptive lists, be set for some future date; (2) the immediate possession of the family home and household goods in accordance with LSA-R.S. 9:307, 308;[2] (3) *1229 a five day notice to vacate directed to tenants occupying the family residence and; (4) the appointment of an attorney at law to represent the defendant as he was either a nonresident or absentee and as the court had jurisdiction over the status or community property in question. By order rendered and signed July 11, 1985, and filed with the suit, the court directed the tenants occupying the family residence be given a five day notice to vacate and show cause on July 19, 1985, why they should not be required to leave the residence. The court order also directed that an attorney at law be appointed to represent Booker T. Washington, III and the defendant show cause on July 19, 1985, why the plaintiff should not be awarded possession of the family residence and household goods pending a judicial partition. There was also an order pursuant to the partition provisions of LSA-R.S. 9:2801(1) directing plaintiff to file her descriptive list by August 1, 1985, and directing the defendant to file a detailed descriptive list no later than August 30, 1985.

The hearing date on the show cause rules was continued to August 8, 1985, at which time the appointed attorney was present on the defendant's behalf. As a result of this hearing, the court ordered that the rule be made absolute and the plaintiff be recognized as entitled to the immediate possession of the family home and household goods pending a judicial partition.

By motion and order, signed by the court on August 16, 1985, the tenants were directed to show cause on September 6, 1985, why they should not vacate the family residence. The order also directed the judicial partition be set for a trial on the merits on September 6, 1985 and pursuant to the partition provision of LSA-R.S. 9:2801(2) that any traverses to any detailed descriptive lists be filed by either party no later than September 3, 1985. The defendant received personal service of this order on August 22, 1985.

On September 6, 1985, the defendant's present counsel was enrolled as the attorney of record for defendant and filed exceptions of improper cumulation of actions, unauthorized use of summary proceedings, insufficiency of service of process and nonjoinder of a necessary party. All motions were denied and the trial was had on the judicial partition prior to the rule on the eviction. The court denied the defendant's exception of no cause of action/no right of action offered at the conclusion of the trial. At the conclusion of the rule on the eviction the court set aside all prior rulings on the exceptions and referred them to the merits. The court ordered briefs submitted on both matters no later than September 18, 1985, and deferred judgment until September 23, 1985.

On September 23, 1985, the court ruled that all prior exceptions were denied, partitioned the community property in kind and maintained the prior eviction of the tenants.

The defendant has appealed. The plaintiff has neither appealed nor answered the appeal. The defendant's assignment of errors present the following issues for decision:

(1) Did the trial court err in overruling the defendant's exceptions?
(2) Did the trial court err in not partitioning the community property by licitation?

We affirm the trial court's rulings on the exceptions and amend the judgment to include the partition of several community debts proven at trial and not considered by the trial judge.

ISSUE NO. 1—Should the trial court have maintained the defendant's exceptions?

The defendant argues that the trial court was clearly wrong in overruling his exceptions of insufficiency of service of process, nonjoinder of necessary party, improper cumulation of actions, unauthorized use of *1230 summary procedures and no cause of action/no right of action.

insufficiency of service of process

LAW ON SERVICE OF PROCESS UPON AN ATTORNEY APPOINTED BY THE COURT TO REPRESENT AN ABSENTEE OR NONRESIDENT DEFENDANT

" "Absentee" means a person who is either a nonresident of this state, or a person who is domiciled in but has departed from this state, and who has not appointed an agent for the service of process in this state in the manner directed by law; ..." LSA-C.C.P. art. 5251(1). "The court shall appoint an attorney at law to represent the defendant, on the ... exparte written motion of the plaintiff, when: (1) It has jurisdiction over the person or property of the defendant, or over the status involved, and the defendant is: (a) a nonresident or absentee who has not been served with process,... and who has made no general apperance." LSA-C.C.P. art. 5091. An attorney appointed by the court may accept service of process and it is his duty to notify an absentee defendant of the pendency of the action. LSA-C.C.P. arts. 5093, 5094, 5098.[3]

Was the defendant properly served with process?

The defendant does not contest his status as an absentee or nonresident nor the applicability of LSA-C.C.P. arts. 5091 et seq. He does not assert that his counsel of record in the divorce suit should have been served. He argues the tenants were never notified of the August 8, 1985, hearing and he was sent a letter by the attorney ad hoc dated August 5, 1985, containing no mention of the hearing and addressed to a person the counsel believed to be a relative. The defendant concludes by asserting only that proper service was not accomplished as he never had prior personal knowledge of the date of the hearing.

The record reveals that the tenants did not appeal. The re

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