Opinion
21-C-290
07-05-2022
LORA PITRE v. LOUISIANA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION, WARREN HARANG, III, JAKE DELHOMME, DANIEL GUIDRY, VAL MURRELL, DAVID TILLSON, AND KEITH HERNANDEZ IN RE LOUISIANA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION, WARREN HARANG, III, JAKE DELHOMME, DANIEL GUIDRY, VAL MURRELL, DAVID TILLSON, AND KEITH HERNANDEZ, CARROL CASTILLE, THOMAS EARLY, MICHELLE LAVOICE AND MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ
APPLYING FOR SUPERVISORY WRIT FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA, DIRECTED TO THE HONORABLE DANYELLE M. TAYLOR, DIVISION "O", NUMBER 814-185
Panel composed of Judges Susan M. Chehardy, Stephen J. Windhorst, and John J. Molaison, Jr.
WRIT GRANTED; TRIAL COURT'S MAY 3, 2021 ORDER VACATED; MOTION TO DISMISS DENIED; STAY LIFTED; REMANDED
Relators/defendants, Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association ("LTBA"), Warren Harang, III, Jake Delhomme, Daniel Guidry, Val Murrell, David Tillson, Keith Hernandez, Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez seek review of the trial court's May 3, 2021 order joining Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez as indispensable parties to respondent/plaintiff, Lora Pitre's post-trial motion to strike defendants' motion for suspensive appeal. In response, respondent filed a motion to dismiss relators' writ application as moot. For the following reasons, we grant this writ application, vacate the trial court's May 3, 2021 order joining Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez as indispensable parties to plaintiff's motion to strike, lift this court's June 4, 2021 stay order, and remand for further proceedings.
Trial on plaintiff's quo warranto petition was held on February 22, 2021. The trial court granted plaintiff's oral request for a directed verdict, granted plaintiff's petition, vacated the current Board Election, and ordered a new election. The judgment awarded attorney's fees and costs to plaintiff. The trial court's judgment was signed on March 25, 2021, and the judgment was amended on March 29, 2021 and April 5, 2021. In response to relators' motion for suspensive appeal, plaintiff filed a motion to strike and requested that the trial court add non-defendant board members of the LTBA, Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez, to the motion to strike citing La. C.C.P. art. 641. Plaintiff argued that the lawful members of the LTBA have an interest in this action and the adjudication of the motion to strike. Plaintiff further argued that in the absence of the non-defendant board members of the LTBA from the motion to strike, the individual defendants would continue to usurp authority of the LTBA, divert and misappropriate the funds of the LTBA and its members and cause irreparable and irreversible harm to the LTBA. The motion to strike attempted to preclude the LTBA from filing a motion for suspensive appeal of the judgment and/or preclude the individual defendants from filing a motion for suspensive appeal of the judgment based on the erroneous belief that the LTBA and/or the individual defendant members on behalf of the LTBA could not file a suspensive appeal from the March 25, 2021 judgment and/or as subsequently amended. Without notice or an opportunity to be heard, the trial court added Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez as indispensable parties to plaintiff's post-trial motion to strike.
As previously stated in our writ dispositions in 21-CA-195 and 21-CA-247, a review of the March 29, 2021 order and April 5, 2021 orders amending the March 25, 2021 judgment show that these subsequent orders did not contain the requisite decretal language to be a valid, final judgment. La. C.C.P. art. 1918.
We note that as a party to the original action and judgment, the LTBA, as an original named defendant, and the individually named defendants each have a right to appeal the judgment(s) at issue. The plaintiff cannot prevent the LTBA, a named defendant, from moving for an appeal of the judgment issued against it in this case.
Upon review of this writ application, opposition, and exhibits attached thereto, we find that the trial court erred in impermissibly joining Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez as indispensable parties, without notice or a contradictory hearing, to plaintiff's post-trial motion to strike defendants' motion for suspensive appeal, effectively joining them as either party plaintiffs or defendants to the original petition as amended. La. C.C.P. art. 1951; Oreman v. Oreman, 05-955 (La.App. 5 Cir. 03/31/06), 926 So.2d 709, 712, writ denied, 06-1130 (La. 09/01/06), 936 So.2d 206. We further find that La. C.C.P. art. 641 allows the trial court to join parties as indispensable parties to a petition. In this case, the plaintiff attempted to impermissibly join the non-defendant members of the board after a trial on the merits to a post-trial motion to strike defendants' motion for suspensive appeal. Therefore, we vacate the trial court's May 3, 2021 order joining Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez as indispensable parties.
Accordingly, we grant this writ application, vacate the trial court's May 3, 2021 order joining the non-defendant members of the board, Carrol Castille, Thomas Early, Michelle Lavoice, and Michele Rodriguez, as indispensable parties, deny plaintiff's motion to dismiss writ application as moot, lift this court's previous June 4, 2021 stay order, and remand this case for further proceedings.
SJW
SMC
JJM