Case Name: ACORN for Itself and its Members, Paul Cox, Steve Holt, Beulah Labostrie and Brenda Quant v. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, Ernest Morial, Sidney Barthelemy, Joseph Giarrusso, Frank Friedler, Jim Singleton, Mike Early, Brod Bagert, Philip Ciaccio, Erroll Williams and Patrick Koloski; Mrs. Rosemary BAYOLO, Wife of/and Joseph S. Greeck, Jr. v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al.; Mrs. Janet, Wife of/and Edwin H. HEATON et al. v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al.; JACKSON HOMESTEAD ASSOCIATION, Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated, and on Behalf of Certain of its Borrowers and South Pines, Inc., Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1979-11-28
Citations: 377 So. 2d 1206
Docket Number: Nos. 66188 to 66191
Parties: ACORN for Itself and its Members, Paul Cox, Steve Holt, Beulah Labostrie and Brenda Quant v. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, Ernest Morial, Sidney Barthelemy, Joseph Giarrusso, Frank Friedler, Jim Singleton, Mike Early, Brod Bagert, Philip Ciaccio, Erroll Williams and Patrick Koloski. Mrs. Rosemary BAYOLO, Wife of/and Joseph S. Greeck, Jr. v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al. Mrs. Janet, Wife of/and Edwin H. HEATON et al. v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al. JACKSON HOMESTEAD ASSOCIATION, Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated, and on Behalf of Certain of its Borrowers and South Pines, Inc., Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al.
Judges: SUMMERS, C. J., and BLANCHE, J., dissent for the reasons assigned.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 377
Pages: MCCLXXXVI–MCCXCVIII

Head Matter:
ACORN for Itself and its Members, Paul Cox, Steve Holt, Beulah Labostrie and Brenda Quant v. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, Ernest Morial, Sidney Barthelemy, Joseph Giarrusso, Frank Friedler, Jim Singleton, Mike Early, Brod Bagert, Philip Ciaccio, Erroll Williams and Patrick Koloski. Mrs. Rosemary BAYOLO, Wife of/and Joseph S. Greeck, Jr. v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al. Mrs. Janet, Wife of/and Edwin H. HEATON et al. v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al. JACKSON HOMESTEAD ASSOCIATION, Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated, and on Behalf of Certain of its Borrowers and South Pines, Inc., Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated v. Erroll WILLIAMS, Director of Finance of the City of New Orleans et al.
Nos. 66188 to 66191.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Nov. 28, 1979.
Dissenting Opinions Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 3, 1979.
Reasons for Judgment Dec. 5, 1979.
Rehearings Denied Jan. 11, 1980.
Salvador Anzelmo, Acting City Atty., Galen S. Brown, Deputy City Atty., Joseph Naccari, Jackson P. McNeely, Marc G. Shac-hat, Debra J. Fischman, Asst. City Attys., David A. Marcello, New Orleans, La., of counsel for defendant-appellant.
John F. Robbert, New Orleans, for New Orleans Coalition, Inc., et al., for interve-nors-appellants.
Alvin R. Childress, III, New Orleans, for Daryl Claire Sins, wife of and intervenor plaintiffs-appellees.
Eugene G. Taggart, Monroe & Lemann, New Orleans, for Mrs. Rosemary Bayolo, wife of/and Joseph S. Geeck, Jr., et al., plaintiffs-appellees.
Arthur L. Ballin, Frank C. Dudenhefer, New Orleans, for Mrs. Janet, wife of/and Edwin H. Heaton, et al., plaintiffs-appel-lees.
Mrs. Norris S. L. Williams and Gregory C. Thomas, Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy, New Orleans, for Jackson Homestead Assoc., et al., plaintiffs-appellees.

Opinion:
DIXON, Justice.
In these consolidated cases the plaintiffs and some intervenors attack the constitutionality of Ordinance No. 7009, as amended by Ordinances Numbers 7110, 7280 and 7286 of the City of New Orleans. The district court found the ordinances unconstitutional, and the City appealed.
The ordinance levied a tax as follows:
". . . except as hereinafter provided each owner of real property within the limits of the City of New Orleans shall pay, and there is hereby levied upon the owner thereof, an annual special real property service charge of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars for each parcel of real property owned by him and separately listed and/or assessed on the tax rolls of the City of New Orleans for the year 1979 and for each year thereafter."
The trial judge held the ordinances unconstitutional and gave the following reasons from the bench:
". . .1 find that the total lack of relationship between the unit sought to be taxed and the tax imposed strikes the charge with Constitutional invalidity.
. a parcel of ground as described in the ordinance and as implemented or as created by the assessors is so utterly unequal in its application as to force the conclusion that the imposition of the tax violates the equal protection requirements of the State and Federal Constitutions, and I find the tax unequal and therefore invalid."
The parties stipulated that the proceeds of the "service charge" are deposited in the General Fund of the City of New Orleans.
The attack on the validity of the tax included several arguments, in addition to the argument that the tax is invidiously discriminatory in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
We find that the trial judge erred in holding that the ordinances violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The other arguments advanced by plaintiffs and some intervenors in attacking the legality of the ordinances do not convince us that the ordinances are invalid.
Because of the exigent circumstances involving the budgetary and fiscal matters of the City, we make this decision and decree, the written reasons for which will follow in due course.
DECREE
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the judgment of the Civil District Court of the Parish of Orleans declaring Ordinance No. 7009 M.C.S., as amended and reordained by Ordinance No. 7110 M.C.S., No. 7280 M.C.S. and No. 7286 M.C.S., unconstitutional is reversed, and there is now judgment in favor of the City of New Orleans and intervenors, The New Orleans Coalition, Inc., Julia Loftus and Thomas Niehaus, and against plaintiffs and intervenors, Daryl Claire Sins and Alvin R. Childress, rejecting the demands of plaintiffs and intervenors in these consolidated cases, all at the costs of plaintiffs and inter-venors Sins and Childress.
SUMMERS, C. J., and BLANCHE, J., dissent for the reasons assigned.
LANDRY, J. Ad Hoc, concurs in part and dissents in part for reasons assigned.
Chief Judge Paul B. Landry, Retired, sitting by assignment as Associate Justice Ad Hoc in place of Watson, J.