Case Name: John BERTUCCI, Kim Friedman, Leroy Williams and Susanna Diaz, et al. v. LAFAYETTE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 2003-05-21
Citations: 851 So. 2d 1179
Docket Number: No. 2002-CA-0242
Parties: John BERTUCCI, Kim Friedman, Leroy Williams and Susanna Diaz, et al. v. LAFAYETTE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.
Judges: (Court composed of Chief Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES III, Judge CHARLES R. JONES, Judge JAMES F. McKAY III, Judge TERRI F. LOVE, Judge DAVID S. GORBATY).
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 851
Pages: 1179–1185

Head Matter:
John BERTUCCI, Kim Friedman, Leroy Williams and Susanna Diaz, et al. v. LAFAYETTE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.
No. 2002-CA-0242.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
May 21, 2003.
Eric A. Bopp, Walter R. Woodruff, Jr., Edward S. Bopp, Arabi, LA, for Plain-tiffiAppellee.
Peter J. Butler, Peter J. Butler, Jr., Richard G. Passler, Rebecca J. Becker, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P., New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Apellant, Prudential Property & Casualty.
Byron A. Richie, Richie & Richie, L.L.P., Shreveport, LA, for Appellant, Patterson Insurance Company.
William J. Wegmann, Jr., Orr Adams, Jr., Law Firm of William J. Wegmann, L.L.C., Metairie, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London.
(Court composed of Chief Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES III, Judge CHARLES R. JONES, Judge JAMES F. McKAY III, Judge TERRI F. LOVE, Judge DAVID S. GORBATY).

Opinion:
|,WILLIAM H. BYRNES, III, Chief Judge.
Appellants, Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Patterson Insurance Company, and Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, appeal a trial court judgment denying their exceptions of improper venue. This court has recently ruled on the identical issue presented herein on a supervisory writ taken by other defendant insurance companies similarly situated in this litigation. See Bertucci v. Lafayette Insurance Company, 2001-2177, 2001-2224 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/30/02), 809 So.2d 494 (hereinafter referred to as "the Bertucci writ"). Therein we reversed the judgment of the district court. Because that ruling has become the law of this ease, we adopt it herein and reverse the district court's denial of the appellants' exception of improper venue.
On January 28, 2001, plaintiffs filed a Class Action Petition for Breach of Insurance Contract and Damages in the 34th Judicial District Court against 76 insurance companies alleging that the companies had breached their contracts of | ^insurance by failing to properly adjust the plaintiffs' property damage claims following a January 23, 2000 hail storm.
Appellants filed exceptions of improper venue on the basis that they did not issue policies of insurance to any of the named plaintiffs. They argued that East Baton Rouge was the proper venue for suits against domestic or foreign insurers because neither of the applicable exceptions to the general venue rule found in La. C.C.P. art. 42, namely La. C.C.P. art. 76 (action on insurance policy) and art. 76.1 (action on contract), were available where none of the named plaintiffs held policies with these defendants. Plaintiffs opposed the exception. Following a hearing, the district court overruled defendants' exceptions finding venue proper under La. C.C.P. art. 693(B) which provides that "[a]n action brought against a class shall be brought in a parish of proper venue as to any member of the class as a defendant." The district court further hinted that venue might also be proper under the doctrine of ancillary venue.
In an opinion rendered on January 30, 2002 in the Bertucci writ, we granted the supervisory writ sought by the similarly situated defendants in this matter and reversed the district court's finding that St. Bernard Parish was a parish of proper venue for suit against them. In so holding, we found that the general rules of venue, rather than the rules governing venue for class actions, applied to the defendants because although the plaintiffs' petition had pled a defendant class, that petition failed to include the named defendants in that class of unnamed insurers. Thus, we ruled that the district court erred in failing to sustain the defendants' excep tions to venue where no named plaintiff had a policy of insurance with them|ssuch that venue would be established in St. Bernard Parish. In addition, we found no justification to support the district court's finding that ancillary venue was appropriate to the litigation. Bertucci v. Lafayette Insurance Company, 2001-2177, 2001-2224 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/30/02), 809 So.2d 494.
"The 'law of the case' principle embodies the rule that an appellate court will not reconsider its own rulings of law in the same case." Lejano v. Bandak, 97-0888, p. 24 (La.12/12/97), 705 So.2d 158, 170. [Citations omitted]. This court has previously held that the law of the case doctrine applies to all prior decisions of an appellate court, including decisions rendered on supervisory writ applications. Tsatsoulis v. City of New Orleans, 99-2544, p. 1 (La.App. 4 Cir. 8/30/00), 769 So.2d 137, 138. The doctrine is discretionary, however, and is not applicable in cases of palpable error or when its application would result in manifest injustice. Lejano, 97-0388, p. 24, 705 So.2d at 170. [Citations omitted].
The issues involved in our January 30, 2002 decision on the Bertucci writ applications are identical to those presented in this appeal. Plaintiffs claim that they are amending their petition to include the named defendants within the putative defendant class. As we stated in our decision on the Bertucci writ, the plaintiffs are free to amend their petition to correct any deficiencies in its drafting. Nonetheless, we are a court of record and must limit our review to the evidence in the record on appeal. As an appellate court, we cannot review evidence that is not in the record on appeal and we cannot receive new evidence. Littlejohn v. Quiram, 2001-0075, p. 2 (La.App. 4 Cir. 10/24/01), 800 So.2d 73, 74. Thus, even had plaintiffs amended their petition since the filing of this appeal, such amendment would not be part of the record on appeal, and we would not be allowed to consider such amendment in our review of this matter.
14PIaintiffs have shown no palpable error in our earlier decision, and application of the law of the case doctrine will not result in any manifest injustice. This is especially true where, as we noted in Bertucci, supra, p. 7, 809 So.2d at 498:
As relators note, no one plaintiff has asserted claims against all of the defendant-insurers, nor for obvious reasons could they, and it is difficult to identify "common or identical questions of fact" with regard to the various insurers in the present circumstance. Furthermore, no single plaintiff possesses a cause of action for damages against two defendants, which arises from a succession set of facts that would be spilt between two venues. Accordingly, there is not justification for finding that ancillary venue was appropriate to the litigation.
For the reasons stated above, we apply our decision in the Bertucci writ to the instant appeal. The judgment of the trial court denying appellants' exceptions of improper venue is reversed, and this matter is remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
GORBATY, J., concurs with reasons.
JONES, J., dissents with reasons.
. The relators in the Bertucci writ were Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, St. Paul Guardian Insurance Company, St. Paul Insurance Company, and Audubon Insurance Company.
. Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London ("Certain Underwriters") state in their brief to this court that the facts relevant to its appeal are identical to those relevant to the Bertucci writ except that it did issue policies of insurance to two named plaintiffs. They point out, however, that neither of those plaintiffs are domiciled in St. Bernard Parish and that none of the alleged losses suffered by those plaintiffs occurred in St. Bernard Parish. Consequently, Certain Underwriters assert that its appeal and the Bertucci writ are identical in all pertinent respects. We agree.
.A proposal to overrule this Court's previous decision in 2001-2177 and 2001-2224, 809 So.2d 494 was circulated en banc by this panel. A majority of the judges of this Court voted not to overrule that previous decision. Therefore, it is dispositive of the instant appeal.