Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2002

Shell Offshore, Inc. v. State

Shell Offshore, Inc. v. State
Supreme Court of Louisiana · Decided April 19, 2002 · Calogero, Reasons, Writ
816 So. 2d 291; 2002 La. LEXIS 1224; 2002 WL 819010 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Shell Offshore, Inc. v. State

Concurring Opinion

CALOGERO, C.J.,

concurs in the writ denial and assigns reasons.

I dissented in Leonard v. Parish of Jefferson v. Montgomery Elevator Co., 95-1082 (La.1/16/96), 666 So.2d 1061, because I believed (contrary to the majority) that when the State files a third party demand, that third party defendant ought to have a right to a jury even if that claim must be resolved in a bifurcated trial. La.Rev. Stat. 18:5035 provides that in “[a]ll suits for ... damages ... filed by the state against any person, firm or corporation, and all matters incidental thereto shall be heard and determined by a court in a summary manner ... Should a trial by jury be demanded, a special panel shall be drawn for such purpose.”

However, I would not extend that logic to a case such as this where the State is not asserting a claim against a third party but simply reconvening against the original plaintiff. Here, there is just a singular pair of litigants, and it would be illogical to have separate decision-makers decide the principal demand and reconventional demand.

Opinion of the Court

On Application for Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeal, First Circuit, Parish of East Baton Rouge.

*292Writ denied.

CALOGERO, C.J. concurs in the writ denial and assigns reasons.

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