Clayton Long v. Theresa A. Robichaux in her capacity as Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court and Patriot Construction Services L.L.C.
Clayton Long v. Theresa A. Robichaux in her capacity as Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court and Patriot Construction Services L.L.C.
Opinion
V.
THERESA A. ROBICHAUX IN HER CAPACITY AS 'T` NNE
6 PARISH CLERK OF COURT AND PATRIOT CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, L.L.C.
Judgment Rendered: SEP 2Q 2024
Appealed from the 32nd Judicial District Court In and for the Parish of Terrebonne State of Louisiana Docket No. 196880
Sarah N. Chouest Counsel for Plain tiff/Appellee, Houma, Louisiana Clayton Long Jeffrey K. Frattini 1- 4111US9 Ma n'V[/ A New Orleans, Louisiana Patriot Construction Services, L.L.C. This matter is before us on appeal by defendant, Patriot Construction
Services, L.L.C., from a judgment of the district court ordering that a writ of
reasons that follow, we dismiss the appeal.
Plaintiff, Clayton Long, filed a petition for writ of mandamus naming Theresa A. Robichaux , in her capacity as the Clerk of Court for the Parish of Terrebonne, and Patriot Construction Services, L.L.C. (" Patriot"), a limited
and mold remediation services on Mr. Long' s home and that the invoice for sucM services was in dispute. Mr. Long further averred that Patriot filed a lien against his property with the Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court pursuant to the Private Works Act, codified as La. R.S. 9: 4801, et seq., which allows a contractor licenseM in the State of Louisiana to file a lien against a homeowner for work performed A that contractor.
Mr. Long contended that Patriot was not licensed in Louisiana; III thus sought a writ of mandamus directing Ms. Robichaux to remove the lien anM
Following a hearing, the district court issued oral reasons determining that water mitigation services is the kind of work that the Louisiana contractor' s licensing law requires be performed by contractors who have received a license from the Louisiana contractor' s board[ J" and that in the absence of such a license, lien rights do not flow from the Patriot' s contract with Mr. Long, rendering it null and void under the circumstances. The district court thus granted the writ of
W Thereafter, the district court signed a judgment on September 5, 2023, in
with its ruling making the writ of mandamus peremptory, ordering the clerk of court to remove the lien, and deferring consideration of Mr. Long' s claim
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Writ of Mandamus be made peremptory and the Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court shall remove the lien against 352 Daralyn Drive, Houma, Louisiana 70363, File 91646229, Book 3328, Page 259.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the issue of damages requested by Clayton Long is deferred.
Patriot filed the instant appeal contending that the district court erred in
lodging of this appeal, this Court issued an interim order
noting that although the judgment made the writ of mandamus peremptory, it deferred the issue of damages, and thus appeared to be a partial final judgment.
This Court thus remanded the matter to the district court to determine whether to
designate the judgment as a final judgment after an express determination tha there was no just reason for delay, so as to make the judgment immediately appealable pursuant to La. C. C. P. art. 1915( B). The order further provided that, in
the absence of such a determination and designation by the district court, the appeal will be dismissed for lack ofjurisdictiola In response to this Court' s interim order, the district court signed a judgment on June 6, 2024, decreeing that its judgment of September 5, 2023, was " not designated as a final judgment." The district court' s June 6, 2024 judgment, which
teclined to designate the September 5, 2023 judgment as final, was supplemented Appellate courts have a duty to examine their subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte, even if the litigants do not raise the issue, and we are obligated to recognize
any lack of jurisdiction if it exists. Slaughter v. Louisiana State Employees
Retirement System, 2019- 0977 ( La. App. 1' t Cir. 6/ 1/ 20), 305 So. 3d 358, 362.
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 1915( A) identifies those partial
final judgments that are appealable as a matter of right. See Triton Diving Services LLC v. Offshore Marine Service Association, Inc., 2023- 0169 ( La. App. Is' Cir.
9/ 21/ 23), 372 So. 3d 832, • The September 5, 2023 •• granting M portion of the relief prayed for by Mr. Long does not fall within one of tfa categories enumerated in Article 1915( A). Therefore, the judgment is only
judgment " shall not constitute a final judgment unless it is designated as a final
judgment by the court after an express determination that there is no just reason for delay." Matter of Succession of Scott, 2023- 0826 ( La. App. I" Cir. 3/ 20/ 24), 387
9 011 gw 241BIG I#I II AlA WAEA
In the absence of such a determination by the district court, and considering that certain claims remain before the district court in this matter, we conclude the September 5, 2023 judgment does not constitute a final judgment for the purpose of an immediate appeal. Accordingly, the district court may revise it at any time prior to rendition of the judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights anl, liabilities of all the parties. See La. C. C. P. art. 1915( B)( 2).
F.
401MOTAJR " I
For the above andforegoing reasons, this appeal is dismissed. All costs of
this appeal are assessed against the defendant/ appellant, Patriot Construction
Services, L.L.C.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.