Lora Pitre Versus Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Warren Harang, III, Jake Delhomme, Daniel Guidry, Val Murrell, David Tillson, and Keith Hernandez

LORA PITRE NO. 21-C-195

VERSUS FIFTH CIRCUIT

LOUISIANA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS COURT OF APPEAL
ASSOCIATION, WARREN HARANG, III, JAKE
DELHOMME, DANIEL GUIDRY, VAL STATE OF LOUISIANA
MURRELL, DAVID TILLSON, AND KEITH
HERNANDEZ

July 05, 2022

Susan Buchholz
First Deputy Clerk

IN RE LOUISIANA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION, WARREN HARANG, III, JAKE
DELHOMME, DANIEL GUIDRY, VAL MURRELL, DAVID TILLSON, AND KEITH HERNANDEZ

APPLYING FOR SUPERVISORY WRIT FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
COURT, PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA, DIRECTED TO THE HONORABLE
DANYELLE M. TAYLOR, DIVISION "O", NUMBER 814-185

Panel composed of Judges Susan M. Chehardy,
Stephen J. Windhorst, and John J. Molaison, Jr.

WRIT GRANTED; MARCH 29, 2021 ORDER ANNULLED AND
SET ASIDE; MARCH 25, 2021 JUDGMENT REINSTATED;
STAY LIFTED; REMANDED

Relators/defendants, Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association
(“LTBA”), Warren Harang, III, Jake Delhomme, Daniel Guidry, Val Murrell, David
Tillson, and Keith Hernandez, seek review of the trial court’s March 29 Order
granting respondent/plaintiff’s motion to modify arbitration panel.

Trial on plaintiff’s quo warranto petition was held on February 22, 2021.
After hearing relators’ exceptions and motion to strike and respondent’s petition, the
trial court denied relators’ exceptions and motion to strike. The trial court granted
plaintiff’s oral request for a directed verdict, granted plaintiff’s petition, vacated the
current Board Election, and ordered a new election. The trial court further order that
the Association “shall conduct a new board of directors election and shall conduct a
new election of officers under the supervision of a court-appointed arbitration panel
the chair of which is a credentialed and Registered [sic] member of the National
Association of Parliamentarians or other national body certifying competency in
parliamentary procedure.” The trial court also ordered the parties to “recommend
and submit to this court three persons to serve on the above-ordered panel.” The

trial court’s judgment was signed on March 25, 2021, and the trial court
subsequently amended the judgment on April 5, 2021.1

On March 24, 2021, plaintiff filed a “Notice of Submission of
Recommendations for Arbitration Panel, Motion for Modification and Appointment
of Panel, and Incorporated Memorandum in Support.” In plaintiff’s motion for
modification, plaintiff requested that the trial court “modify this panel to allow for a
chair other than a credentialed and Registered [sic] member of the National
Association of Parliamentarians or other national body certifying competency in
parliamentary procedure, but also a chair who is an arbitrator and mediator – namely
Professor and Attorney Bobby Harges.” On March 29, 2021, without notice or a
contradictory hearing, the trial court granted plaintiff’s motion to modify arbitration
panel and appointed all three of plaintiff’s nominees to the arbitration panel. The
order further stated that the “arbitration panel established by the Judgment of this
court rendered on February 22, 2021, is hereby modified to allow for a chair other
than a credentialed and Registered [sic] member of the National Association of
Parliamentarians or other national body certifying competency in parliamentary
procedure, but also a chair who is an arbitrator and mediator – namely Professor and
Attorney Bobby Harges.” Relators filed the instant writ application, contending the
trial court’s March 29, 2021 order substantively changed the March 25, 2021
judgment without complying with the requirements of La. C.C.P. art. 1951. Relators
request this court to vacate the March 29, 2021 order modifying the March 25, 2021
judgment and reinstate the March 25, 2021 judgment.

La. C.C.P. art. 1951 provides:

On motion of the court or any party, a final judgment may
be amended at any time to alter the phraseology of the
judgment, but not its substance, or to correct errors of
calculation. The judgment may be amended only after a
hearing with notice to all parties, except that a hearing is
not required if all parties consent or if the court or the party
submitting the amended judgment certifies that it was
provided to all parties at least five days before the
amendment and that no opposition has been received.

A judgment which has been signed cannot be altered, amended, or revised by
the judge who rendered the same, except in the manner provided by law. Bourgeois
v. Kost, 02-2785 (La. 05/20/03), 846 So.2d 692, 696. Without a specific statutory
grant of authority, the trial court is limited to the general authorization for amending

1 The parties consented to amending the March 25, 2021 judgment to include a previously omitted page
from the judgment. This consent does not indicate that the parties agreed to the orders or language in the
omitted page, only that they agreed that the page was previously omitted and should have been included
in the original judgment. A review of the April 5, 2021 order amending the March 25, 2021 judgment shows
that it does not contain the requisite decretal language to be a valid, final judgment. La. C.C.P. art. 1918.

final judgments provided in La. C.C.P. art. 1951. Id. La. C.C.P. art. 1951 allows
the amendment of judgments to correct errors in calculation and to alter the
phraseology of the judgment, but does not authorize a trial court to make substantive
amendments to final judgments. La. C.C.P. art. 1951. Failure to comply with the
requirements of La. C.C.P. art. 1951 results in the annulment and setting aside of the
amending judgment and reinstating the original judgment. Oreman v Oreman, 05-
955 (La. App. 5 Cir. 03/31/06), 926 So.2d 709, 712, writ denied, 06-1130 (La.
09/01/06), 936 So.2d 206 (A second judgment amending the substance of an earlier
judgment without compliance with La. C.C.P. art. 1951 is an absolute nullity and
without legal effect); Alliance for Good Government, Inc. v. Jefferson Alliance for
Good Government, Inc., 96-309 (La. App. 5 Cir. 10/16/96), 683 So.2d 836, 839.

Upon review of the writ application, opposition, and exhibits attached thereto,
we find that the trial court’s March 29, 2021 order substantively altered the March
25, 2021 judgment in violation of the mandatory requirements of La. C.C.P. art.
1951. Absent a hearing or consent to amend, which is not present in this case, the
March 29, 2021 order is null and void.2 Accordingly, this writ application is granted,
the March 29, 2021 order is annulled and set aside and the original March 25, 2021
judgment is reinstated. We further lift this court’s June 4, 2021 stay order and
remand this matter for further proceedings.

Gretna, Louisiana, this 5th day of July, 2022.

SJW
SMC
JJM

2 Although we are vacating the March 29, 2021 order, a review of the March 29, 2021 order shows that it
also failed to contain the requisite decretal language to be a valid, final judgment.

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY CURTIS B. PURSELL

CHIEF JUDGE CLERK OF COURT

MARY E. LEGNON
FREDERICKA H. WICKER
INTERIM CHIEF DEPUTY CLERK
JUDE G. GRAVOIS
MARC E. JOHNSON
ROBERT A. CHAISSON SUSAN S. BUCHHOLZ
STEPHEN J. WINDHORST
FIRST DEPUTY CLERK
HANS J. LILJEBERG
JOHN J. MOLAISON, JR. FIFTH CIRCUIT
MELISSA C. LEDET
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