LOUISIANA JOINT UNDERWRITERS OF AUDUBON INSURANCE COMPANY Vs. SCOTT JOHNSON, THE SUCCESSION OF SELMA ISRAEL ZACHARY AND THE SUCCESSION OF HAMILTON ISRAEL
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* NO. 2009-CA-0336 * COURT OF APPEAL * FOURTH CIRCUIT * LOUISIANA JOINT UNDERWRITERS OF AUDUBON INSURANCE COMPANY STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS SCOTT JOHNSON, THE SUCCESSION OF SELMA ISRAEL ZACHARY AND THE SUCCESSION OF HAMILTON ISRAEL * * ******* CONSOLIDATED WITH: CONSOLIDATED WITH: SCOTT JOHNSON NO. 2009-CA-0337 VERSUS AUDUBON INSURANCE COMPANY AND LOUISIANA CITIZENS FAIR PLAN A/K/A LOUISIANA CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION TOBIAS, J., CONCURS AND ASSIGNS REASONS. I respectfully concur to assign additional reasons in support of the majority opinion. As the majority notes the court appointed curator discovered that Scott Johnson filed fraudulent affidavits in the succession proceedings of Alice Davis wife of and Israel Hamilton and Selma Israel Zachary, the owners of the property, in order to obtain a judgment of possession transferring the subject property to himself. The curator obtained a reversal of the judgments. The doctrine of "clean hands" is an equitable principle that requires that "he who comes into a court of equity must come with clean hands." City of New Orleans v. Levy, 233 La. 844, 865-66, 98 So.2d 210, 218 (La. 1957). The doctrine is derived from the common law and has questionable application in our civilian 1 jurisdiction. Louisiana courts can only turn to equity principles to decide cases in the absence of express law. La. C.C. art. 21; Edmonston v. A-Second Mortgage Company of Slidell, Inc., 289 So.2d 116 (La.1974); Chambers v. Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana, 398 So.2d 102 (La. App. 3rd Cir.1981), writ denied, 400 So.2d 1382 (La.1982). To the extent that Mr. Johnson is entitled to any consideration under equitable principles, I find that the doctrine of “clean hands” prevents him from prevailing in these proceedings. 2
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