Polk v. Buckhalter
Polk v. Buckhalter
Opinion of the Court
Defendant appeals from the trial court's judgment granting plaintiffs' rule for eviction, awarding damages to plaintiffs, and denying defendant's peremptory exceptions of no cause and no right of action and dilatory exceptions of unauthorized use of summary proceedings and nonjoinder of a necessary party.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On February 22, 2017, plaintiffs, Ms. Nakeya Downing and Ms. Mary Morris Ramsey Polk, filed a "Petition for Eviction of Land and for Damages" seeking an order evicting defendants, Andrea Buckhalter and Natasha McNealty, from a tract of land in Tangipahoa Parish allegedly owned by plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also sought damages caused by defendants preventing Ms. Downing from moving her trailer onto the tract of land. According to the petition, Ms. Buckhalter and Ms. McNealty both lived in trailers that were located, in part, on land owned by plaintiffs. In their petition, plaintiffs alleged ownership of the tract of land via a 2009 judgment of possession rendered in the succession proceeding of Ms. Polk's father, Mr. Riley Morris, Sr., as well as a 2011 consent judgment. Thereafter, on March 27, 2017, plaintiffs filed a "Rule and Order to Show Cause," which ordered Ms. McNealty
In response, Ms. McNealty filed several exceptions, including peremptory exceptions of no right of action and no cause of action, and dilatory exceptions of failure to join necessary parties and unauthorized use of summary proceedings. In the exceptions, she challenged the ownership of the tract of land where Ms. McNealty's trailer was located and contended that Ms. McNealty's aunt, Ms. Mary Jackson, rather than plaintiffs, had an ownership interest in the tract of land.
On June 26, 2017, Ms. McNealty's exceptions, as well as plaintiffs' rule to show cause, came before the trial court for a hearing. At the hearing, the trial court acknowledged that Ms. Buckhalter moved *818her trailer from the tract of land at issue thereby rendering the eviction claims against her moot and stated that the court was addressing only claims against Ms. McNealty.
In a judgment signed on August 1, 2017, the trial court overruled Ms. McNealty's exceptions, granted the plaintiffs' rule for eviction, ordered Ms. McNealty to vacate the premises and remove all belongings, and awarded plaintiffs monetary damages for Ms. Downing's trailer moving expenses and for her trailer rental expenses at another location. It is from this judgment that Ms. McNealty appeals asserting that eviction was not the proper remedy because ownership and possession are in dispute, that plaintiffs failed to establish that they had a right of action to pursue eviction, that plaintiffs' eviction action failed to join necessary parties, and that damages were improperly granted in a summary proceeding.
Timeliness of the appeal
Upon examination of the record, this court issued a rule ordering the parties to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed as untimely under La. Code Civ. P. art. 4735. The show cause order was referred to this panel to consider in connection with our review of the merits of this appeal. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 4735 states:
An appeal does not suspend execution of a judgment of eviction unless the defendant has answered the rule under oath, pleading an affirmative defense entitling him to retain possession of the premises, and the appeal has been applied for and the appeal bond filed within twenty-four hours after the rendition of the judgment of eviction. The amount of the suspensive appeal bond shall be determined by the court in an amount sufficient to protect the appellee against all such damage as he may sustain as a result of the appeal.
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 2087 provides that an appeal which does not suspend the effect or execution of an appealable judgment may be taken within sixty days of the date of the mailing of notice of the court's refusal to grant a timely application for a new trial, as provided by La. Code Civ. P. art. 1914. See La. Code Civ. P. art. 2087(A)(2) ; Terrebonne Parish Port Com'n v. Eagle Dry Dock & Marine Repairs, L.L.C. , 2014-0010 (La. App. 1st Cir. 7/7/15),
LAW AND ANALYSIS
Eviction is a proper remedy for an owner of immovable property, who *819wishes to evict a lessee or "occupant" therefrom, after the purpose of the occupancy has ceased. La. Code Civ. P. art. 4702 ; PTS Physical Therapy Service, Inc. v. Magnolia Rehabilitation Service, Inc. , 40,558, 40,599 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1/27/06),
At the hearing, plaintiffs introduced the judgment of possession referred to in their petition as evidence of their ownership of the tract of land. The judgment of possession was rendered in the succession of Riley Morris, Sr.
Plaintiffs also introduced a consent judgment rendered after the judgment of possession wherein Ms. Polk entered into a stipulation with Ms. Jackson, which granted possession and ownership of 7/12 of the 4.31 acre tract to Ms. Jackson and all heirs of Riley Morris Sr., and Mary Bouie McNealty Morris, and granted possession and ownership of 5/12 of the 4.31 acre tract to Ms. Polk and all heirs of Riley Morris Sr., and Lilly Tate. The judgment of possession stated that Ms. Jackson's "7/12 portion of said property shall be one (1) contiguous tract of property, and shall join and abut the properties owned and/or previously owned by Geneva McNealty ... and/or occupied presently by Tasha McNealty, and said 7/12 of subject property shall abut said properties on the east boundary and on their southern boundary ... as reflected on Exhibit A."
*820In response, Ms. McNealty introduced a second survey done by Mr. Bodin in 2016, which also stated it was "based on the consent judgment by the 21st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa." The 2016 survey depicts Ms. McNealty's trailer as partially on the property labeled as the "Heirs of Riley Morris Sr." 7/12th portion. Additionally, Ms. Jackson, who was one of the heirs entitled to the 7/12th portion of the tract of land, testified that Ms. McNealty, who is her niece, was living on the property with her permission and had been living there since 2008.
The evidence reveals a dispute regarding who owns the property on which Ms. McNealty's trailer is located and whether plaintiffs can legally evict Ms. McNealty. Because there is a dispute regarding ownership of the land, the matter is effectively removed from a summary eviction proceeding. See Northeast Realty ,
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 2592 provides us with the exclusive list of matters that can be heard by summary process. The only enumerated ground applicable to this proceeding is the catch-all provision, "[a]ll other matters in which the law permits summary proceedings to be used." La. Code Civ. P. art. 2592(13). An eviction is one of the areas in which the law permits summary proceedings. See La. Code Civ. P. art. 4731, et seq.
However, nothing in these articles provide that damages can be recovered in a summary eviction proceeding. In Major v. Hall ,
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the trial court's August 1, 2017 judgment granting eviction and awarding damages in favor of Ms. Nakeya Downing and Ms. Mary Morris Ramsey Polk, and overruling Ms. McNealty's exception of unauthorized use of summary proceeding is reversed, and this matter is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. Ms. McNealty's exception of unauthorized use of summary proceedings is sustained. All costs of the appeal are assessed to plaintiffs/appellees, Ms. Nakeya Downing and Ms. Mary Morris Ramsey Polk.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
McClendon, J., concurs in the result reached by the majority.
It appears from the record that Ms. Buckhalter agreed to move her mobile home from the land at issue, and she was not named as a party in plaintiffs' rule to show cause nor did she participate in the underlying litigation.
Ms. McNealty filed a motion for new trial, which according to a minute entry entered into the record on August 31, 2017, was denied. No written judgment denying the new trial is contained in the record. However, a written judgment is unnecessary. "The denial of a motion for new trial may be made by minute entry and does not require a signed judgment." Shultz v. Shultz , 2002-2534 (La. App. 1st Cir. 11/7/03),
The judgment of possession was actually rendered in the "Succession of Riley Morris, Sr., Riley Morris, Jr. and Richard Louis Morris. Riley Morris, Jr. and Richard Louis Morris are two of the five heirs of Riley Morris, Sr.
Exhibit A was attached to the consent judgment, but this court was unable to decipher it.
Considering our ruling herein, we not that plaintiffs are not precluded from asserting their claims for damages on remand in an ordinary proceeding.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.