State of Louisiana through the Division of Administration, Office of Community Development VS Kathy Tujague a/k/a Kathy Tujague Koehl and The Versailles, LLC

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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL FIRST CIRCUIT NO. 2015 CA 0023 STATE OF LOUISIANA, THROUGH THE DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT VERSUS KATHY TUJAGUE AKA KATHY TUJAGUE KOEHL AND THE VERSAILLES, LLC Judgment Rendered: ~ JUN 0 5 2015 On Appeal from the 23rd Judicial District Court, Parish of Ascension, State ofLouisiana Trial Court No. 91228 The Honorable Thomas J. Kliebert, Jr., Judge Presiding Stavros Panagoulopoulos Attorney for Defendants/Appellants, Metairie, Louisiana Kathy Tujague, aka Kathy Tujague Koehl, and The Versailles, LLC J. Andrew Murrell Attorneys for Plaintiff/Appellee, Melissa M. Folse State of Louisiana, through the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Division of Administration, Office of Community Development BEFORE: McDONALD, CRAIN, AND HOLDRIDGE, JJ. CRAIN,J. In this suit on a promissory note, the defendants, Kathy Tujague and The Versailles, LLC, appeal a summary judgment rendered in favor ofthe note holder. JURISDICTION A threshold issue in any case is whether this court's appellate jurisdiction is properly invoked by a valid final judgment. See La. Code Civ. Pro. art. 2083; Rush v. Rush, 12-1502 ( La. App. 1Cir.3/25/13), 115 So. 3d 508, 511, writ denied, 130911 ( La. 5/31/13), 118 So. 3d 398; Texas Gas Exploration Corp. v. Lafourche Realty Co., Inc., 11-0520 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 11/9/11), 79 So. 3d 1054, 1061, writ denied, 12-0360 ( La. 4/9112), 85 So. 3d 698; Laird v. St. Tammany Parish Safe Harbor, 02-0045 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 12/20/02), 836 So. 2d 364, 366. Except as otherwise provided by law, every final judgment shall be signed by the judge before whom the case was tried and who rendered the decision. See La. Code Civ. Pro. art. 1911; Employers Nat. Ins. Co. v. Workers' Comp. Second Injury Bd., 951756 (La. App. 1 Cir. 4/4/96), 672 So. 2d 309, 311. A judgment signed by a judge who did not preside over the trial is fatally defective and does not constitute a final judgment over which this court can exercise appellate jurisdiction. Employers Nat. Ins. Co., 672 So. 2d at 312; Herrmann v. Hernandez, 10-2337 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 6/10/11), 2011 WL3242298; see also Acker v. Bailiff, 47,160 ( La. App. 2 Cir. 6/27/12), 94 So. 3d 1011, 1014 ( stating that "[ u] ntil the judge who conducted the trial signs the judgment, there is no final judgment"). The summary judgment at issue herein was heard and rendered by Judge Thomas J. Kliebert, Jr., but the written judgment was signed " for" Judge Kliebert by Judge Jessie M. LeBlanc, another judge of the 23rd Judicial District Court. 1 Louisiana Revised Statute 13:4209 sets forth the exclusive circumstances in which a judge will be considered a " successor judge" authorized to sign a judgment rendered by his predecessor. Both Judges Kliebert and LeBlanc are currently serving on the 23rd Judicial District Court, thus Judge LeBlanc could not sign the judgment as " successor judge" to Judge Kliebert. 2 R.100) Because Judge LeBlanc was without authority to render and sign the judgment, the judgment is fatally defective and must be vacated. See Starkey v. Starkey, 13-0166 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 8/6/13), 122 So. 3d 579, 584; Darensbourg v. Great Atl. and Pac. Tea Co., Inc., 94-0761 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 1119/95), 665 So. 2d 35, 38. This court lacks appellate jurisdiction to consider the merits of the arguments presented. La. Code Civ. Proo art. 2083; cf Darensbourg, 665 So. 2d at 38. CONCLUSION The July 18, 2014 judgment signed by Judge Jessie M. LeBlanc is vacated. This case is remanded for further proceedings. Assessment of costs of this appeal is deferred until a final determination on the merits. VACATED AND REMANDED. 3

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