Opinion ID: 1722837
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: was the judgment a final judgment under la.r.s. 40:1299.44(b)?

Text: La.R.S. 40:1299.44(B) requires the commissioner to submit a claim to the state treasurer after he receives a certified copy of a final judgment in excess of one hundred thousand dollars. The commissioner refused to do so for the reason that neither the final judgment of the trial court nor the mandate of La.R.S. 40:1299.44(B) required him to do so until after the appeal process was complete. In other words, the commissioner interprets final judgment in La. R.S. 40:1299.44(B)(2)(a) to mean a judgment after all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. Since the commissioner and the fund were granted a devolutive appeal from the trial court judgment, he argues that the judgment is not final for the purpose of initiating the payment of the claim against the fund. We disagree. La.Code Civ.P. art. 1841 defines a final judgment as one that determines the merits in whole or in part. Thus, a final judgment in La.R.S. 1299.44(B)(2)(a) is one that has determined the merits of the medical malpractice suit. La.Code Civ.P. art. 2082 states that an appeal is the exercise of a right of a party to have a judgment of a trial court revised, modified, set aside or reversed by an appellate court. A suspensive appeal suspends the effect or the execution of a final judgment but a devolutive appeal does not. La.Code Civ.P. arts. 2087, 2123, 2124. After a final judgment was rendered between the claimant and the health care provider, the commissioner and the fund, considering the judgment excessive, intervened and appealed that issue. By appealing, the commissioner acknowledged his awareness that the judgment was final. Upon receipt of a final judgment, La.R.S. 40:1299.44(B)(2)(a) directs the commissioner to submit a voucher to the state treasurer who shall then issue a warrant in the amount of the claim against the fund. The commissioner could have suspended the performance of his duties by taking a suspensive appeal from the final judgment. Instead, he chose to appeal devolutively. [22] Under the circumstances, the claimant had the right to enforce the provisions of La. R.S. 40:1299.44(B)(2)(a).