Darrell Alan Grabert husband of_and Theresa Gale Grabert v. Jeamie McCullen

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VA"
COURT APPEAL y

FIRST CIRCUIT

R, OCKET NUMBER
2025 CA 1059

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LJ. IS'1rJ

JEAMIE McCULLEN

AUG19 2026
Judgment Rendered:

ON APPEAL FROM THE
22ND JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, DIVISION B
WASHINGTON PARISHf STATE OF LOUISIANA
DOCKET NUMBER 119313

113 111, r

ReAzalia Z. Allen Attorney for Defendant -Appellant
Zachary, Louisiana Jeamie McCullen

Matthew J. Garver Attorney for Plaintiffs -Appellees
Franklinton, Louisiana Darrell Alan Grabert and
Theresa Gale Grabert

BEFORE: McCLEN , C. J., GREENE.. and STROMBERG, a].

In this appeal, a tax sale purchaser challenges the granting of a motion for

summary judgment declaring the tax sale a nullity. Because the summary judgment is

not final and appealable, we dismiss the appeal.

On July 23, 2020, Jeamie McCullen purchased tax sale title to a 70% interest in

approximately 50 acres located in Washington Parish, Louisiana ( the property). The tax

sale certificate listed **BAHM, MARK STANLEY ET AL" as the property' s record owner and

stated that the tax sale title was sold as a result of delinquent property taxes owed for

the year 2019 with interest and costs. The Washington Parish Clerk of Court filed and

recorded the tax sale certificate on July 28, 2020.

On April 2, 2024, Darrell Alan Grabert and Theresa Gale Grabert ( the Graberts)

filed a " Petition to Annul Tax Sale," naming McCullen as the defendant. The petition

averred that Mark Stanley Bahm co -owned the property with Susan Lynn Bahm Genre

until February 28, 2024, when Bahm donated his right, title, and interest in the property

to the Graberts. The petition sought to nullify the tax sale on grounds that Bahm did not

receive adequate pre- or post -sale notice that his property was subject to a tax sale. The

Graberts prayed for judgment declaring the tax sale null and void and asked that

ownership of the property be vested in them after all taxes and 10% interest were paid.

Proceeding pro se, McCullen flied an answer generally denying the allegations of the

petition on April 23, 2024.

On September 24, 2024, the Graberts filed a motion for summary judgment

seeking to annul the tax sale based upon the redemptive nullity of failure of notice. The

motion was set for hearing on November 7, 2024. McCullen did not file any opposition.

On the day before the hearing, McMullen filed a motion to continue the hearing seeking

additional time to retain counsel. The hearing proceeded as scheduled on November 7th.

After hearing arguments, the trial court rendered judgment in open court denying

McCullen' s motion to continue and granting the Graberts' motion for summary judgment.

On December 6, 2024, the trial court signed a judgment in accordance with the oral

ruling, stating:

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED
that [ McCullen' s] Motion to Continue is hereby denied.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED
that [ the Graberts] Motion for Summary Judgment is hereby
granted, and, as such, the Tax Sale Certificate dated July 23,
2020, of record at COB 882, page 123 of the official records
of the clerk of court for the parish of Washington, state of
Louisiana, involving the following described property:

Ward 2 Parcel 0200041000
27. 11 Acs, In SE 1/ 4 of SE 1/ 4 Sec. 1- 1- 9
26. 48 Acs. In SW 1/ 4 of SE 1/ 4 Sec. 1- 1- 9

is hereby declared to be null and void and without legal effect,
ab initio.

The notice of judgment was issued on December 10, 2024.

After the hearing, McCullen retained an attorney to represent her in this case.

Through counsel, McCullen filed a motion for new trial.' After a hearing, the trial court

denied McCullen' s motion in a judgment signed March 26, 2025. The notice of judgment

was issued on April 3, 2025.

McCullen now appeals the December 6, 2024 judgment, granting the Graberts'

motion for summary judgment and denying her motion to continue, and the March 26,

2025 judgment, denying her motion for new trial. In her first assignment of error,

McCullen contends the trial court erred by denying her request for a continuance to retain

counsel and present evidence. In her second assignment of error, McCullen contends

the trial court erred by granting the Graberts' motion for summary judgment because she

contends that genuine issues of material fact remain.

DISCUSSION

After the appeal lodged, this Court issued a Rule to Show Cause Order noting that

McCullen' s motion for new trial appeared to be untimely filed. The parties were ordered

to show cause by briefs why the appeal should not be dismissed. McCullen filed a

responsive brief, which attached a document suggesting she timely faxed her motion for

new trial to the trial court on December 19, 2024. However, we do not need to decide

I The date the motion for new trial was filed is a matter of dispute. McCullen contends she timely fax -filed
the motion for new trial on December 19, 2024. The Graberts; contend McCullen untimely fax -filed her
motion on December 20, 2024. The record reflects the original motion for new trial was electronically filed
on January 2, 2025.

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the sufficiency of this evidence because the judgments before us suffer from a more
fundamental defect.

As an appellate court, we have the duty to examine our subject matter jurisdiction

and to determine sua sponte whether such subject matter jurisdiction exists, even when

the issue is not raised by the litigants. Allen v. Baton Rouge General, 2025- 0478 ( La.

App. 1 Cir. 6/ 16/ 26), 2026 WL 1740888, * 2. This Court's appellate jurisdiction only

extends to " final judgments." Gulfco of Louisiana, LLC v. Plaisance, 2022- 0166 ( La. App.

1 Cir. 3/ 8/ 2023), 362 So. 3d 660, 662. A judgment that determines the merits in whole

is final, and a judgment that determines the merits in part may be a partial final judgment

under La. C. C. P. art. 1915( A). See La. C. C. P. art. 1841( B).

Louisiana Revised Statute 47: 2291 sets forth the procedure that governs actions

to annul tax sales, including the procedure for setting costs and the finality of nullity

judgments for appeal purposes:

A. A nullity action shall be an ordinary proceeding governed by the
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. Upon conclusion of the action for
nullity, the court shall either:

1) Issue a preliminary order that the tax sale, an acquisition of
full ownership by a political subdivision, or a sale or donation
of adjudicated property, as applicable, will be declared a
nulli .

2) Render judgment dismissing the action with prejudice which
shall be a final judgment for purposes of appeal.

B. ( 1) The tax sale purchaser, the political subdivision, or the
purchaser or donee from a political subdivision shall be
presumed to be a good faith possessor of the property.

2) Costs pursuant to Article VII, Section 25 of the Louisiana
Constitution and R. S. 47: 2290 shall include costs of sending
notice, costs of publication, and costs of determining tax sale
parties. Costs shall also include amounts set forth in Civil
Code Articles 496 and 497, if applicable.

3) Within fifteen days after the rendering of the order under
Paragraph ( A)( 1) of this Section, the party claiming costs shall
submit proof of costs. Proof of costs may be made by affidavit
or other competent evidence and may be contested by the
party claiming the nullity. A contest of costs shall be filed
within fifteen days after the filing of the proof of costs, and
the contest shall be heard within forty-five days after the filing
of the proof of costs.

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4) Within sixty days after the issuance of the order pursuant to
Paragraph ( A)( 1) of this Section, the court shall render a
judgment of nullity, and the judgment shall fix the costs
allowed. This iudament shall be a final judgment subject to
appeal.

C. After a judgment under Subsection B of this Section has been
rendered, the governmental liens, other than statutory impositions
paid if the nullity has been rendered on the basis of prior payment,
and shall be paid within one year from the date of the
costs,

judgment. This one- year period shall be suspended while an appeal
is pending. If the payment is not made within the period allowed,
the judgment of nullity shall be vacated and the case dismissed with
prejudice at the request of the person against whom the judgment
of nullity was rendered.

D. After payment has been made, the party in whose favor judgment
has been rendered may apply for an ex parte order stating that the
required payments have been made. The application shall be verified
and shall state, or an affidavit accompanying the application shall
state, the amount and method of payment, that the payment was
made to the party against whom the judgment has been rendered,
and that a request for dismissal under Subsection C of this Section
has not been filed,

La. R. S. 47: 2291. Emphasis added. Notably, the statute indicates that the final judgment

subject to appeal must fix the costs in the judgment. La. R. S. 47: 2291( 6)( 4).

Here, the trial court's December 6, 2024 judgment grants the Graberts' motion

for summary judgment and declares that the Tax Sale Certificate is " null and void and

without legal effect, ab initio." The judgment does not fix the costs allowed. There is

also no proof of costs in the record. Accordingly, the December 6, 2024 summary

judgment is not a final appealable judgment. See Folsom Camp Sites, L. L. C v. Chiasson,

2020- 0495 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 2/ 19/ 2021), 320 So. 3d 430, 433; In re Davis, 2010- 1435 ( La.

App. 1 Cir. 2/ 23/ 2011), 59 So. 3d 452, 454.

While McCullen additionally challenges the denial of her motion for a continuance

in the December 6, 2024 judgment and the denial of her motion for new trial in the

March 26, 2025 judgment, these rulings are not independently appealable. Instead,

they are interlocutory judgments)that are not appealable unless an appealable judgment

is rendered in the same case. See. Smith v, Dirt Cheap of Louisiana, 2023- 0808 ( La.

App. 1 Cir. 3/ 22/ 24), 387 So. 3d 662, 665 n. 3; Barham, Warner & Bellamy, L. L. C. v.

Strategic Alliance Partners, L. L,,C, 2009- 1528 ( La. App. 4 Cir. 5/ 26/ 2010), 40 So. 3d

1149, 1151, writdenied, 2010- 1500 ( La. 10/ 1/ 10), 45 So. 3d 1100, citing Ballard v, Waitz,

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2006- 0307 /[ a. 4nn, 1 Cir. 1 951 Sn. 2d 335i 338, Because there is no final

appealable judgment before us, VVemust dismiss thpBpOe2|. 2,3

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the show cause order is recalled and McCullen' s appeal

of the trial court's December 6, 2024 and March 26, 2025 judgments is dismissed. This

matter isremanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

We decline to assess costs pending the rendition of a final judgment.

2W also point out that amotion for new trial can only be taken from afnal judgment. Amotion for new
trial filedbefore the signingufafinal judgment ispremature and without legal effect. See Carter uRhea,
2001- 0234 ( La. App. 4Cir. 4/ 25/ 2001), 785 So. 2d 1022, 1025, quoting [& sn/ ent v. American Motorists
Insurance Oo., 98- 5O4( La. App. 3Cir. 2/]/ 1999) 735So3d67U, G72.

We cannot convert McCullen' sappeal toanapplication for supervisory writs. This Court only has discretion
to convert an appeal to an application, for supervisory writs if the appeal would have been timely had it
been filed asasupervisory writ application. Mah 2012 Family Trust No. 1v. Red 5tick 5tudio
LLC, 2023- 0161 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 10/ 17/ 2022), 2022VVL9812279, at * 3 n. 5. A party intending toapply to
this Court for a supervisory writ shall give notice of such intention by requesting a return date to be set by
the trial court, which shall not exceed thirty days from the date of the notice of judgment. See Uniform
Rules -Courts of Appeal, Rules 4- 2 and 4' 3. Notice of the December 6, 2024 judgment was issued on
December 1O, 2U24. MoCu|| en' smotion for appeal was not filed until April 3, 2D2S. Accordingly, because
the appeal was not filed within thirty days of the notice of judgment, this appeal cannot be converted to a
writ application, and we cannot consider this appeal under this Court's supervisory jurisdiction. SeeMsh
2L12Family Trust No. 12O22VVL9812279at* 3n.5.