Jackson v. McCullen

• Decision Date: 08 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-1132.,05-1132.
• Citation: 924 So.2d 1236
• Parties: Robert JACKSON, Sr. v. Wayne McCULLEN, Mayor for the City of Natchitoches, Louisiana.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

924 So.2d 1236

Robert JACKSON, Sr. v. Wayne McCULLEN, Mayor for the City of Natchitoches, Louisiana.

No. 05-1132.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

March 8, 2006.

Ernest L. Johnson, John W. Williams, Jr., Law Offices of Ernest Johnson, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellant, Robert Jackson, Sr.

Ronald E. Corkern, Corkern & Crews, Natchitoches, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellee, Mayor Wayne McCullen.

Court composed of SYLVIA R. COOKS, BILLY H. EZELL, and JAMES T. GENOVESE, Judges.

COOKS, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

The Plaintiff, Robert Jackson, Sr., is a member of the Natchitoches City Council and the Defendant, Wayne McCullen, is the mayor of the City of Natchitoches. Mr. Jackson filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus seeking to cancel and rescind an Option to Purchase contract signed by Mayor McCullen on behalf of the City of Natchitoches. Following a hearing, the trial court dismissed Mr. Jackson's petition finding no cause of action. We find the contract entered into by the Mayor was not expressly prohibited by statute or the constitution and the City Council was authorized to and did ratify the actions of the Mayor; therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

PROCEDURAL POSTURE

The Plaintiff's pleading, captioned as a Petition for Writ of Mandamus, seeks to compel the Mayor to rescind the Option to Purchase contract. A writ of mandamus will not lie to compel performance of a non-mandatory, discretionary duty. La. Code Civ.P. arts. 3863 and 3864. Ebey v. Avoyelles Parish School Board, 03-765 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/17/03), 861 So.2d 910, writ denied, 04-196 (La.3/26/04), 871 So.2d 349; Citizens Organized for Sensible Taxation (C.O.S.T.) v. St. Landry Parish Sch. Bd., et al., 528 So.2d 1048 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1988). Mayor McCullen was exercising his discretionary judgment, as administrator of the City of Natchitoches, when he made the decision to enter into the Option to Purchase contract. A writ of mandamus is not the appropriate vehicle to challenge the validity of the contract in question or the actions of the Mayor. However, in this case, the trial court treated the Plaintiff's petition as one in ordinary process and held a hearing on the merits of Mr. Jackson's claim regarding the legality of the Option to Purchase contract under the provisions of the Natchitoches Parish Home Rule Charter. We find no error in that decision. Additionally, the trial court found, and we agree, Mr. Jackson had standing to litigate the legality of the Option to Purchase Contract.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

The relevant facts are as follows. The City of Natchitoches (City) and the State of Louisiana entered into a Corporate Endeavor Agreement for the construction of a facility to house the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The cost of the facility, estimated at eight million dollars, was to be borne by the State; the City would be responsible for purchasing the property for the museum. City officials approached several property owners in the downtown area but no site was agreed upon. The City was anxious to purchase land for the museum and thereby finalize the commitment from the State to build the facility in the historic downtown area of Natchitoches. The Natchitoches City Counsel had already allocated funds in the 2004-2005 budget for property acquisition. Mayor McCullen testified because of delays in acquiring a suitable site, the City risked losing the project entirely. He testified: "It was so critical that I received a call from Representative Taylor Townsend and he said that [ ], on December 21st there was a group that was coming to Natchitoches made up of representatives from Facility Planning, Director of Museum System, the architects, and of course City officials met with them. And at that time we had to come up with a site for the museum because the project was jeopardized." Mayor McCullen testified he met with Facility Planning officials on December 21 and walked the downtown area exploring possible sites. Property on the corner of Lafayette and Washington Streets owned by Calvin and Peggy Braxton appeared to the group to be an ideal location for the museum because of its proximity to the tourist commission. On December 22, 2004, City officials met with the Braxton's attorney about purchasing the property. Mr. Braxton indicated, by phone, he was not interested in selling the property. On December 23, 2004, the City's attorney, while waiting for his car to be serviced, was approached by Mr. Braxton regarding sale of the property. The Braxtons had apparently reconsidered the City's offer and negotiations began for the City to acquire the property for the sum of $310,000.00. It was determined the best way to protect the City's interest was to purchase an option for one year on the Braxton property for the consideration of $40,000.00, which Option to Purchase was conditioned on the following: (1) availability of State funds for the construction of the facility; (2) State acceptance of the property as a suitable location for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame; (3) access to the property would be available to City and State officials for surveying, environmental testing and any other work related to the construction of the facility; and (4) the property appraised for the amount of the purchase price of $310,000.00. In the event any one of the conditions was not met, then the Option would be voided, and the consideration would be returned to the City. The contract provided for the payment of $16,000.00 on January 11, 2005 and the remainder to be paid in monthly installments of $2,000.00 beginning on January 15, 2005 and continuing every month through December 15, 2005. Prior to signing, Mayor McCullen contacted Pat Jones, the City's Financial Director, to confirm that there were sufficient funds to pay the total amount of the Option. When he received confirmation, the Option to Purchase was signed by the Mayor on December 24, 2004 and immediately faxed to the State notifying it of the purchase of a site for the museum.

On January 10, 2005, prior to the disbursement of any funds, Mayor McCullen presented the Option Contract to the City Counsel. Mr. Jackson was absent from the meeting. Resolution No. 5 of 2005 was passed by a vote of 4-0 authorizing the Mayor to execute an Option to Purchase property located at the intersection of Lafayette and Washington Street for the construction of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The resolution authorized payment of the $40,000.00 consideration for the Option. On February 15, 2005, Mr. Jackson filed the Petition for Writ of Mandamus. On March 12, 2005, the City Counsel passed Ordinance No. 16 of 2005 authorizing the Mayor to purchase an option on the Braxton property for the sum of $40,000.00.

A hearing was held on Mr. Jackson's petition. The trial court dismissed the petition on a no cause of action exception. Mr. Jackson appeals, asserting the following assignments of error:

(1) The Option to Purchase contract entered into on December 24, 2004 by Natchitoches City Mayor Wayne McCullen created an unauthorized debt obligation on behalf of the City of Natchitoches.

(2) The Ordinance passed by a majority of the Natchitoches City Council on March 12, 2005 ratifying the Mayor's action cannot be retroactively applied.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Mr. Jackson does not assert the Option to Purchase contract is illicit or immoral. See La.Civ.Code art.2030. However, he does contend the Option to Purchase contract signed by Mayor McCullen is against public policy because it was executed in violation of Section 2.10 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Natchitoches, which provides:

An act of the council having the force of law shall be by ordinance. An act requiring an ordinance shall include but not be limited to those which:

(9) Incur debt in any manner.

Under this provision, the passage of an ordinance is required in order for the City to incur debt. Jackson asserts the Option to Purchase contract incurs debt and was executed by the Mayor without an authorizing ordinance, and therefore, is against public policy. Moreover, he contends a contract which is against public policy can never be ratified.

In Horseshoe Entertainment v....