This case involved a divorced couple's dispute over child support for their three minor children. After the father moved to reduce his monthly obligation from the original $1,700 consent judgment amount, the trial court found a material change in circumstances, imputed income to the mother based on a finding of voluntary underemployment, calculated support at $1,941 under the guidelines, and then deviated downward to $1,500 per month. On appeal, the court affirmed the modification of the support award but vacated the portion of the judgment addressing the children's school tuition payments because that issue was not properly before the trial court. The decision rested on application of Louisiana's child support guidelines and statutory provisions allowing deviation when equitable.
The case involved St. Charles Parish suing property owners Wanda and Douglas Bordelon for violating local ordinances on nuisances, specifically abandoned or derelict vehicles, trash and debris on the property, and open storage of building materials, lumber, and machinery. The trial court denied the owners' motion to dismiss on grounds of res judicata from prior litigation and ruled in favor of the Parish, ordering removal of the violations. On appeal, the court affirmed the judgment after reviewing evidence from code enforcement inspections and photographs showing ongoing and worsening conditions. The core reasoning was that the current allegations concerned distinct and new violations separate from the prior case, which had involved a nonconforming business use rather than these specific nuisance issues, so res judicata did not apply.
This case involves Kevin Johnson's second appeal challenging his resentencing as a fourth-felony offender following his conviction for distribution of methamphetamine. After the trial court initially imposed a reduced sentence below the statutory mandatory minimum of twenty years, the appellate court vacated that sentence on the state's writ application and remanded for resentencing. The trial court then resentenced Johnson to the mandatory twenty years without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. On review, the court affirmed the resentence as amended, remanded for clarification regarding the concurrent nature of the sentence and correction of the uniform commitment order, and granted counsel's motion to withdraw after finding no non-frivolous issues for appeal under Anders v. California.
This case is a family dispute between former spouses Paris Pierre and Reanda Pierre involving modifications to a protective order, child custody, and contempt proceedings under Louisiana law. The trial court modified an existing protective order to add the parties' four minor children as protected persons, suspended all visitation and contact between Mr. Pierre and the children pursuant to the Post-Separation Family Violence Relief Act, and held Mr. Pierre in contempt of a prior sole custody judgment. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed the portion of the order adding the children as protected persons, finding error in that modification, but affirmed the contempt ruling and the suspension of visitation and contact. The court remanded with instructions to issue an amended protective order removing the children as protected persons while leaving the other conditions intact. The decision was based on the procedural and substantive requirements of the relevant statutes governing abuse prevention orders and family violence relief.
The case involves defendant Rene Fuentes, who was convicted of fourth-offense driving while intoxicated under Louisiana law after pleading guilty while reserving appellate rights. Following an initial appeal that vacated his sentence due to application of the wrong statutory provision, the trial court resentenced him to 27 years imprisonment with the Department of Corrections, along with conditions including home incarceration and substance abuse requirements. Fuentes appealed, arguing the sentence was unconstitutionally excessive, that the court failed to order a presentence investigation or consider mitigating factors, and that it improperly increased his incarceration term. The Court of Appeal affirmed the sentence after reviewing the record and statutory requirements under La. R.S. 14:98.4(C), finding no abuse of discretion, while remanding solely for correction of patent errors in the uniform commitment order. The opinion also noted the two-year limit for post-conviction relief applications.
This case involved plaintiff Gregory Jackson seeking to annul a 2004 donation of immovable property and improvements, including mobile homes, to defendant Darryl Sumlin on the grounds that it violated Louisiana Civil Code article 1498 by divesting Jackson of his entire patrimony without reserving sufficient means for his subsistence, with an alternative claim of ingratitude based on a later eviction. The trial court annulled the donation under article 1498, dismissed Sumlin's exception of prescription as moot, and later denied Sumlin's reconventional demand for the value of alleged improvements after finding their value to be zero due to insufficient credible evidence of any improvements made. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the annulment, the dismissal of the prescription exception, and the denial of the reconventional demand, holding that the trial court was not manifestly erroneous in its findings on the lack of evidence regarding improvements or their value.
