Case Name: Norbert W. KOHNKE, II v. William JUSTICE, Clerk of Court, Parish of Jefferson, et al.
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1973-07-03
Citations: 280 So. 2d 665
Docket Number: No. 5585
Parties: Norbert W. KOHNKE, II v. William JUSTICE, Clerk of Court, Parish of Jefferson, et al.
Judges: Before SAMUEL, BAILES and FLEMING, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 280
Pages: 665–668

Head Matter:
Norbert W. KOHNKE, II v. William JUSTICE, Clerk of Court, Parish of Jefferson, et al.
No. 5585.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
July 3, 1973.
Rehearing Denied Aug. 7, 1973.
Garland R. Rolling, Metairie, for plaintiff-appellant.
A. W. Wambsgans, Metairie, for defendant-appellee William M. Justice, Jr., Clerk of Court.
Dennis L. Rousseau, Robert F. Shear-man, New Orleans, for defendants-appel-lees G. Mike Smith and Frederick J. Gis-evius, Jr.
Before SAMUEL, BAILES and FLEMING, JJ.

Opinion:
BAILES, Judge.
This is an appeal by the plaintiff in rule from an adverse judgment rendered in the summary proceedings he instituted against the defendants to cancel a money judgment rendered in favor of G. Mike Smith and Frederick J. Gisevius, Jr., (of defendants in rule and appellees herein) in a prior proceeding. This action was brought under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 9:5166, and was filed on April 3, 1972.
In prior proceedings Messrs. Smith and Gisevius sued the plaintiff in rule and obtained a money judgment in their favor in the amount of $1,325. This judgment was rendered on January 31, 1971. On August 24, 1971, Mr. Kohnke, the plaintiff, filed a petition in bankruptcy and therein this judgment was listed in the debt schedule. On November 22, 1971, plaintiff was discharged of this judgment.
In the bankruptcy proceedings plaintiff listed three separate pieces of immovable property that were affected by the Smith-Gisevius judgment. The referee in bankruptcy on the petition of the trustee in bankruptcy disclaimed and abandoned any right, title and interest in said properties on the ground that there was no equity therein in favor of the bankrupt's estate by reason of the outstanding mortgages thereon.
It is these three immovable properties that are affected by the money judgment owned by defendants, Smith and Gisevius.
After the trial of the rule to show cause, the district court rejected the plaintiffs demand for cancellation of the judgment. We find the trial court committed an error of law in refusing to cancel the judgment affecting plaintiff's property.
LSA-R.S. 9:5166 under which this action was brought provides:
"Upon rule to show cause by any interested party against the clerk of court and ex officio recorder of mortgages of the several parishes and the recorder of mortgages for the parish of Orleans, the judgment creditor and a judgment debtor discharged in bankruptcy, the court shall order the cancellation of the inscription of any dischargeable judgment rendered twelve months previously unless the judgment creditor can prove that he continues to possess a secured interest in the property affected by such judgment, or any judgment rendered in a tort proceeding wherein the judgment debtor's liability arose out of his wilful negligence, or any judgment for taxes due or any other judgment otherwise not discharged in bankruptcy." (Emphasis added)
According to this statute, when an interested party files a rule to show cause against the Clerk of Court and ex officio recorder of mortgages and the judgment creditor (although the statute also names the judgment debtor as a defendant against whom the rule should be brought, obviously such is not required when the judgment debtor is the interested party-plaintiff), the court shall order the cancellation of the inscription of any dischargeable judgment rendered twelve months previously unless the judgment creditor can prove that he continues to possess a secured interest in the property affected by such judgment. What this condition of the statute means is that the judgment creditor must prove that the property affected by his judgment is worth in dollar value an amount sufficiently in excess of existing encumbrances which prime his judgment as to afford him a secured interest in the property affected by his judgment.
On the trial of the rule to show cause in the district court only two witnesses testified. One was the plaintiff who testified that more was owed on prior existing mortgages on the property than it was worth; and the other witness was Mr. Gis-evius, defendant in rule whose testimony was only about matters extraneous to this action. The defendants offered no proof of any nature whatever of the value of the property affected by their judgment. No proof was made that the defendants in rule possessed a secured interest in these properties. This is the sole issue before the court.
Under the express provisions of LSA-R.S. 9:5166, supra, the judgment creditor has the burden of proving that he continues to possess a secured interest in the property affected by such judgment. As there is not one scintilla of evidence produced by the judgment creditor, or otherwise in the record, to sustain this burden, the judgment of the trial court must be reversed.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment appealed is reversed and there is judgment herein in favor of the plaintiff in rule, Norbert W. Kohnke, II, and against defendants, William Justice, Clerk of Court and ex officio Recorder of Mortgages of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, G. Mike Smith and Frederick J. Gisevius, Jr., ordering the cancellation of the judgment rendered in the matter entitled G. Mike Smith and Frederick J. Gisevius, Jr. vs. Standard Motor Company, Inc. and Norbert W. Kohnke, II, No. 129-287 on the docket of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, dated January 13, 1971, and of record in M. O. B. 558, page 006 of the records of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. As Mr. William Justice, Clerk of Court, is only a nominal party herein, defendants-appellees, G. Mike Smith and Frederick J. Gisevius, Jr., are cast for all court costs.
Reversed and rendered.