ROSEMARY LEDET , Judge . In this criminal appeal, the defendant, Juan Canales, Sr., seeks review of his conviction and sentence for attempted manslaughter. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. STATEMENT OF THE CASE On June 20, 2012, Mr. Canales was charged by bill of information with attempted second degree murder of Marvin Tran, in violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1. On July 12, 2012, Mr. Canales entered a plea of not guilty. On August 16, 2012, at a preliminary hearing, the...
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION McCLENDON, Judge. The defendant, Joshua George Bogil, was charged by bill of information with possession of methamphetamine, a violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967(C). He pled not guilty and, following a jury trial, was found guilty as charged. The State filed a habitual offender bill of information and, at a hearing on the matter, the defendant was adjudicated a third-felony habitual offender (two prior convictions for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling). The...
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION KUHN, J. The defendant, Jerry Cleveland, was charged by grand jury indictment with aggravated rape, a violation of La. R.S. 14:42 (count one), and armed robbery with use of a firearm (count two), a violation of La. R.S. arts. 14:64 and 14:64.3A. 1 He pled not guilty and, following a jury trial, was found guilty as charged on both counts by unanimous verdicts. He filed motions for new trial and postverdict judgment of acquittal, both of which were denied. The...
AMY , Judge . The plaintiff alleged that he sustained injury and related damages after police officers placed him face down on the concrete with his hands behind his back before patting him down for weapons. The plaintiff, a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, asserted that he had warned the officers that he could not be placed in that position. A named officer and four unnamed officers, along with the City-Parish Government, were named as defendants in the plaintiff's suit, which advanced...
PETERS , Judge . This court, on its own motion, issued a rule for the appellants, Jena Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Technology Insurance Company, to show cause, by brief only, why this appeal should not be dismissed as having been taken from a non-appealable, partial judgment. The appellants have filed a brief in response to this court's rule to show cause. For the reasons given below, we recall the rule to show cause and maintain the appeal. The claimant, Gay Lowery, sustained a...
PETTIGREW , J. In this appeal, plaintiffs challenge the trial court's judgment, granting summary judgment in favor of defendants and dismissing, with prejudice, plaintiffs' petition for preliminary and permanent injunction and declaratory relief. For the reasons that follow, we reverse in part, vacate in part, and remand for further proceedings. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The facts of this case are not in dispute. On August 29, 2012, Governor Bobby Jindal issued Executive Order No. BJ...
MAX N. TOBIAS, JR. , Judge . The defendants-appellees, Bon Jour Caf , Inc. and John Tsatsoulis d/b/a Market Caf , seek to dismiss the appeal of the plaintiff-appellants, Stuart M. Smith and Barry J. Cooper, Jr. The appeal before us is from a judgment denying a motion for partial summary judgment wherein the plaintiffs/appellants sought a permanent injunction. No order was signed by the trial court pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 1915 B certifying the judgment as final and immediately appealable....
FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER , Judge . This matter is before this Court on appeal by the plaintiff, Reine Pema Sanga, as a result of the trial court's dismissal of her petition following a trial on the merits. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY This case arises from a dispute between Ms. Sanga, the company she contracted to repair her roof, Augustino Brothers Construction, LLC, and the company's principal, Christopher Padermo....
SUSAN M. CHEHARDY , Chief Judge . This appeal stems from a suit on a promissory note arising out of a loan transaction between appellant, Lilly Lyd, L.L.C., and appellee, Cora Joyce Graham. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Appellee, Cora Joyce Graham, and her husband, Robert Mullins, who was deceased at the time of trial, were the owners of Humble Spirit International, Inc. ("HSI"), a non-profit corporation organized for...
McCLENDON , J. This is an appeal of a district court judgment holding the defendants in contempt of court and imposing penalties upon them for failing to comply with a prior judgment ordering the production of certain records under the public records law. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the contempt judgment. 1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY This matter began with multiple public records requests to and lawsuits against the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors and its...
HANS J. LILJEBERG , Judge . Defendant, Brandon Robinson, appeals his convictions and sentences for two counts of distribution of cocaine. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant's convictions, vacate his sentences, and remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings. PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 24, 2013, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office filed a bill of information charging defendant, Brandon Robinson, with two counts of distribution of cocaine, in...
FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER , Judge . Defendant, Troy Crawford, appeals his conviction for aggravated second degree battery as well as his multiple offender adjudication and enhanced twenty-year sentence. Defendant's appointed counsel has filed an appellate brief pursuant to Anders v. California 1 and has further filed a motion to withdraw as counsel of record. Defendant has filed a supplemental pro se brief, which this Court finds does not raise any non-frivolous issues for appeal....
KUHN , J. Defendant, Benson Harrison O'Brien, III, was originally charged by grand jury indictment with second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1, and pled not guilty. The State subsequently amended the indictment to charge defendant with manslaughter, a violation of La. R.S. 14:31, and defendant pled guilty to the amended charge. The trial court sentenced defendant to forty years imprisonment at hard labor. Defendant now appeals, assigning error to the trial court's denial...
KUHN , J. Claimant-appellant, Joseph Brown, appeals a judgment rendered by the Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation (OWC), sustaining a peremptory exception raising the objections of no right and/or no cause of action asserted by defendants-appellees, A M Logging, Brown's employer, and Louisiana Safety Association of Timbermen, Self Insurance Fund (Timbermen). Under our supervisory power, we convert the appeal to a writ, deny the relief sought, and affirm OWC's judgment. FACTUAL...
HANS J. LILJEBERG , Judge . In this personal injury lawsuit, plaintiff, Von Lastie, appeals a summary judgment granted in favor of defendants, the City of Gretna and Ronnie Harris. For the following reasons, we affirm the summary judgment. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The record reflects that in the summer of 2011, Mr. Lastie was directly employed by Temps Today Staffing, Inc. ("Temps Today") and he was assigned to perform work for the City of Gretna ("Gretna"). On the morning of August...
MARC E. JOHNSON , Judge . The issue in this inverse condemnation case concerns the amount of compensation due landowners as a result of the taking of their land by the New Orleans Aviation Board. In this appeal, Plaintiffs/landowners challenge the trial court's judgment finding the amount of just compensation owed by Defendant, New Orleans Aviation Board, for taking the subject property to be $30,740.00. For the reasons that follow, we amend the judgment and affirm as amended. FACTS &...
WHIPPLE , C.J. In this workers' compensation appeal, the employer and its workers' compensation insurer challenge the judgment of the Office of Workers' Compensation, which awarded the injured employee supplemental earnings benefits ("SEBs"), attorney's fees, and penalties. For the following reasons, we amend the judgment in part and affirm, as amended. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On May 17, 2012, Jo Ann Albert, who was employed by Strategic Restaurants Acquisition Company, LLC ("...
GUIDRY , J. Claimant, James Bowman, III, appeals a judgment of the Office of Workers' Compensation (OWC) finding he failed to meet his burden of proof to relate his disabling injury to his workplace accident. Finding no manifest error in the OWC judge's conclusions, we affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 22, 2013, the claimant fell backwards to the ground while attempting to break up a fight between two male juvenile detainees 1 at the Terrebonne Parish Juvenile Detention...
HIGGINBOTHAM , J. The issues presented by these consolidated matters are whether the trial court erred when it (1) awarded the employer reimbursement for paid workers' compensation and medical benefits that included an award for the injured employee's property damages, and (2) failed to award the injured employee reasonable attorney fees. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and reverse in part, and remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings. FACTUAL BACKGROUND...
PETTIGREW , J. In this employment termination case, the terminated employee, Lorne Cortez (Cortez), appeals the decision of the Civil Service Referee (Referee) as well as the denial by the Louisiana State Civil Service Commission (the Commission) of his application seeking review of the Referee's decision. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Cortez began his employment with the defendant, Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), on...
