Opinion ID: 1722837
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: should the commissioner and the fund be allowed to suspensively appeal from the mandamus judgment?

Text: Finally, we must decide if the court of appeal was correct in granting the commissioner and the fund a suspensive appeal from the mandamus judgment. The articles of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure pertaining to mandamus do not regulate or otherwise limit the manner in which a mandamus judgment may be appealed. Hence, we must look to the articles on appeals for guidance. La.Code Civ.P. arts. 2082-2087, 2121-2124. In absence of authority to the contrary, a suspensive appeal from a mandamus judgment has been allowed by our courts. State ex rel. Resweber v. Durand, 112 La. 754, 36 So. 672 (1904); Rosteet v. City of Lake Charles, 215 So.2d 668 (La.App. 3d Cir.), writ denied, 253 La. 301, 217 So.2d 406 (1968). The court of appeal, in allowing a suspensive appeal, reasoned that the commissioner and the fund were not parties to the medical malpractice action. Moreover, the judgment ordering the commissioner to comply with La.R.S. 40:1229.44(B) was no more than a gratuitous reference to the statute. As we stated earlier, the only party defendant in a medical malpractice action is the health care provider. However, the commissioner and the fund may intervene for the purpose of appealing an excess judgment against the fund. The act requires only that when a final judgment over one hundred thousand dollars is rendered in a trial or an arbitration or a settlement, the commissioner shall issue a voucher or other appropriate request to the state treasurer who shall then issue a warrant in the amount of the claim against the fund. Thus, we find that the commissioner was specifically ordered to perform his duties when he did not take a suspensive appeal from the final judgment rendered in the malpractice action. A suspensive appeal from the mandamus judgment would be tantamount to an untimely suspensive appeal from the trial court judgment. The commissioner should not be allowed a second chance to circumvent the performance of his duties under La.R.S. 40:1299.44(B). Accordingly, in the instant case, the court of appeal erred in allowing the commissioner and the fund to appeal suspensively from the mandamus judgment.