Stevenson v. Beneficial Finance Co. of Hammond

• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana
• Writing for the Court: Before SARTAIN; BAILES
• Citation: Stevenson v. Beneficial Finance Co. of Hammond, 295 So.2d 880 (La. App. 1974)
• Decision Date: 28 May 1974
• Docket Number: No. 9837,9837
• Parties: Willie STEVENSON v. BENEFICIAL FINANCE CO. OF HAMMOND et al.

Page 880

295 So.2d 880

Willie STEVENSON v. BENEFICIAL FINANCE CO. OF HAMMOND et al.

No. 9837.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 28, 1974.

Rehearing Denied July 3, 1974.

Iddo Pittman, Jr., Hammond, for plaintiff-appellant.

Leonard Yokum, Sr., Dist. Atty., and A. C. Powell, III, Hammond, for defendants-appellees.

Before SARTAIN, J., and BAILES and VERON, JJ.

BAILES, Judge Pro Tem.

Plaintiff instituted this suit in the court a quo seeking annulment of a default judgment rendered against him in the matter entitled Thrift Funds of Hammond, Inc. v. Willie Stevenson, No. 5813B. From a judgment adverse to his demands, plaintiff appeals. On our finding that the judgment appealed is correct, we affirm.

Plaintiff argues on this appeal that the trial court erred in not annulling its original default judgment as he is an incompetent person against which judgment cannot be rendered under the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Article 2002(1). As an additional ground for reversal, plaintiff argues that the Hammond City Court had no jurisdiction to recognize the rights of a mortgage holder in a suit on promissory notes, as this was an action involving title to real estate and the City Court was without jurisdiction under the provisions of Article, 7, Section 51 subd. B of the Louisiana Constitution and Article 4834 of the Louisiana Civil Code of Procedure.

Willie Stevenson obtained several loans from Thrift Funds of Hammond, Inc., and granted chattel mortgages on household goods as well as real estate mortgages on a small dwelling and lot situated in Hammond, Louisiana. In the matter entitled Thrift Funds of Hammond, Inc. v. Willie Stevenson, number 5813B City Court of Hammond, Ward 7, Thrift Funds of Hammond obtained a default judgment against Willie Stevenson on a promissory note for $519.75, with 8% Interest from December 18, 1970, plus an additional 25% As attorney's fees; and judgment on another promissory note for $432.79, plus interest at the rate of 8% Per annum from December 1, 1970, until paid. This judgment is dated March 29, 1971, and recognized plaintiff's chattel and real estate mortgages on the property of the defendant.

The judgment was transferred by Thrift Funds of Hammond, Inc. to Beneficial Finance Company of Hammond, Louisiana. Beneficial thereafter obtained a writ of fieri facias from the City Court of Hammond, and the City Marshal seized the real estate of Willie Stevenson, and it was sold at a Marshal's sale to satisfy the judgment. Willie Stevenson made no appearance in any of these proceedings and did not attempt to enjoin the Marshal's sale. Beneficial Finance Company acquired this property at the Marshal's sale and thereafter sold it to Mr. Damien Kinchen, and Mr. Kinchen conveyed the property to Mr. Carl Ferrara. Mr. Ferrara, in a separate proceeding in the Hammond City Court, brought an eviction suit to obtain possession of the real estate and dwelling house from Willie Stevenson. After judgment was rendered in the eviction suit, plaintiff instituted the instant litigation seeking to annul the original default judgment claiming that he was so severely mentally retarded that he was an incompetent within the meaning of Code of Civil Procedure Article 2002(1) and any judgment rendered against him was null and void.

The facts in the record reveal that plaintiff was employed as a caretaker for the Greenlawn Cemetery Association in Hammond, Louisiana, and earned a wage of about $60.00 per week. He acquired the property title to which he seeks to reclaim herein by a judgment of possession rendered in the succession of his mother in the proceeding entitled Succession of Alice Williams, on the docket of the Twenty-first Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa, which judgment is dated May 13, 1949. In the succession proceeding Willie Stevenson appeared in his own behalf.

Plaintiff did not appear at the trial of this litigation, and the evidence of his incompetence consists of the testimony of his attorney, Mr. Pittman, and a letter report filed into the record from Dr. William MacNutt, Clinical Psychologist, which letter report rates Willie Stevenson as a 'mildly retarded individual.'

Plaintiff offered no other evidence. He argues on this appeal that on the basis of the testimony of his attorney, the letter report classifying him as a mildly retarded individual, and the fact that chattel mortgage contracts were offered in the record indicating that on July 5, 1966, the plaintiff purchased a G.E. phonograph from Chehardy's Store, Inc.; on April 22, 1968, Willie Stevenson purchased a black and white television from Rossie, Inc.; on June 18, 1968, he purchased a 21 inch conbination T.V. at Rossie, Inc.; on February 1, 1969, he purchased a Zenith Stereo from Drude's Value Center; on August 8, 1969, he purchased a G.E. Radio from Drude's Value Center; and on June 13, 1970, he purchased a Home Entertainment Center, stereo and color television at Stafford Furniture, the plaintiff is obviously...