STATE OF LOUISIANA

COURT OF APPEAL

FIRST CIRCUIT

NO. 2021 CA 0944

VILLAS ST. FRANCIS

VERSUS

HENRY L. MONTRELL

Judgment Rendered: APR 0 8 2022

APPEAL FROM THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA DOCKET NUMBER 706942

HONORABLE TIMOTHY E. KELLEY, JUDGE PRESIDING

Thomas R. Temple, Jr. Attorneys for Plaintiff -Appellee Joseph J. Cefalu, III Villa St. Francis Alexa Candelora Baton Rouge, LA

Henry L. Montrell Defendant -Appellant Baton Rouge, LA In Proper Person

BEFORE: McDONALD, LANIER, AND WOLFE, JJ.

McDONALD, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of eviction. After review, we dismiss the appeal.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Henry L. Montrell was a resident of Villa St. Francis, a housing apartment complex for the elderly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After Mr. Montrell engaged in

disruptive and threatening behavior that violated the lease on numerous occasions, Villa St. Francis notified Mr. Montrell by hand -delivered and certified mail on March 31, 2021, that the lease was terminated for cause, which included altercations

with the Villa St. Francis property management staff, and that he had to vacate the premises by April 7, 2021. On April 9, 2021, after Montrell had not moved out,

Villa St. Francis filed a petition for eviction with the Justice of the Peace Court.

The matter was heard on April 19, 2021 and Mr. Montrell was present with his counsel. After the hearing, the Justice of the Peace granted the petition for eviction, ordering Mr. Montrell to vacate the premises by May 1, 2021. Mr. Montrell

appealed the eviction by filing a petition in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court.

Villa St. Francis answered the petition, maintaining that the eviction was proper and lawful as Mr. Montrell had engaged in repeated disruptive, intimidating, and

threatening behavior that violated the terms of his lease and posed a safety risk to other tenants, visitors, and staff.

The matter was tried de novo at the Nineteenth Judicial District Court.

Thereafter, the district court affirmed the eviction and ordered Mr. Montrell to vacate

the premises at Villa St. Francis on or before May 31, 2021. Mr. Montrell vacated

the premises by May 31, 2021. Mr. Montrell appealed the trial court judgment to this court. Villa St. Francis filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, maintaining that Mr. Montrell was not entitled to another appeal. Alternatively, Villa St. Francis maintains that the judgment should be affirmed.

DISCUSSION

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 4924 provides that:

A. Appeal from a judgment rendered by a justice of the peace court or a clerk of court shall be taken to the parish court or, if there is no parish court, to the district court of the parish in which the justice of the peace court is situated.

B. The case is tried de novo on appeal. However, a trial de novo, in the district court from the justice of the peace court, is not subject to the jurisdictional limit of the justice of the peace court.

C. No further appeal from the judgment of the parish or district court is allowed.

D. Supervisory jurisdiction of the proceedings in the parish or district court may be exercised by the court of appeal which otherwise would have had appellate jurisdiction

Pursuant to La. C. C. P. art. 4924, Mr. Montrell exercised his right to an appeal

from the judgment of the Justice of the Peace to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. No further appeal is allowed. La. C. C. P. art. 4924( C). Thus, we dismiss the

appeal.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is dismissed. Costs of this appeal are

assessed against Henry L. Montrell.

APPEAL DISMISSED.