Lawrence David Phillips, Jr. v. Exxon Chemical Louisiana, LLC and/or Exxon Chemical Americas, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Taylor-Seidenbach, Inc., The McCarty Corporation, Anco Insulation, Inc., Ingersoll Rand Company, AMEC Foster Wheeler Constructors, Inc., Resco Holdings, LLC, as Success ( 2023 )

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST CIRCUIT
NO. 2022 CA 1290
LAWRENCE DAVID PHILLIPS, JR.
VERSUS
EXXON CHEMICAL LOUISIANA, LLC, AND/ OR EXXON CHEMICAL
AMERICAS, EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION, TAYLOR-SEIDENBACH,
INC., THE MCCARTY CORPORATION, ANCO INSULATIONS, INC.,
INGERSOLL RAND COMPANY, AMEC FOSTER WHEELER
CONSTRUCTORS, INC., RESCO HOLDINGS, LLC, AS SUCCESSOR TO
M.W. KELLOGG COMPANY, OWENS ILLINOIS, INC. D/ B/ A OWENS-
ILLINOIS, JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP, INC., AS SUCCESSOR -IN -
INTEREST TO H.E. WIESE, INC. AND JACOBS/ WIESE
CONSTRUCTORS, INC., ENTERGY GULF STATES LA, LLC,
UNIROYAL HOLDINGS, INC., TURNER INDUSTRIES GROUP, LLC
SUCCESSOR -IN -INTEREST TO NATIONAL MAINTENANCE
CORPORATION AND NICHOLS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY,
AMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, AND CBS
CORPORATION, F/K/A WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION
Judgment Rendered:
JUN 2 3 2023
Appealed from the
19th Judicial District Court
In and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge
State of Louisiana
Docket No. 691676
The Honorable Timothy E. Kelley, Judge Presiding
Lewis O. Unglesby Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellant,
Lance C. Unglesby Eunice Phillips and Mollie
Jamie F. Gontarek McCann, Individually and on
Adrian M. Simm, Jr. behalf of Lawrence David Phillips,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Jr.
I seni;
n q
J
Anthony Todd Caruso
Denham Springs, Louisiana
David M. Bienvena, Jr. Counsel for Defendant/Appellee,
John Allain Viator Exxon Mobil Corporation
Melissa Jade Avant
Thomas C. Naquin
Samantha M. Kennedy
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
James M. Williams
Daniel E. Buras, Jr.
Patrick R. Follette
Marshall C. Watson, Jr.
Inemesit U. O' Boyle
Metairie, Louisiana
BEFORE: GUIDRY, C.J., WOLFE, AND MILLER, JJ.
2
MILLER, J.
This matter is before us on appeal by plaintiffs, Eunice Phillips and Mollie
McCann, individually, and on behalf of Lawrence David Phillips, Jr., from a
judgment of the trial court entered in conformity with a jury' s verdict dismissing
plaintiffs' claims against Exxon Mobil Corporation with prejudice. For the reasons
that follow, the appeal is dismissed.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On December 12, 2019, Lawrence David Phillips, Jr. filed a suit for
damages against his former employer, Exxon Mobil Corporation (" Exxon"), as
well as other defendants, alleging damages sustained as a result of his exposure to
asbestos materials belonging to Exxon.' Mr. Phillips alleged that from 1969 to
1979, during his employment with Exxon as an apprentice pipe fitter, pipe fitter,
and welder, the nature of his job duties required him to directly manipulate,
remove, and repair pipe equipment that had been insulated with asbestos
containing materials. Mr. Phillips further alleged that as a result of his exposure
and inhalation of asbestos dust, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October of
2019.
The matter was tried before a jury from April 5, 2021 to April 21, 2021. On
April 7, 2021, Mr. Phillips died. His wife, Eunice Phillips, and daughter, Mollie
McCann, were substituted as plaintiffs in his stead. At the conclusion of trial, the
jury returned a verdict finding, as to Exxon, that: ( 1) Mr. Phillips did not prove, by
a preponderance of the evidence, that asbestos containing products in the care,
custody, and control of Exxon were a defect that presented an unreasonable risk of
harm and were a substantial contributing factor in causing him to develop
mesothelioma; and ( 2) Mr. Phillips did not prove, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that Exxon was negligent for Mr. Phillips' exposure to asbestos and that
kin addition, Exxon Chemical Louisiana, LLC and/ or Exxon Chemical Americas were
improperly named as a defendant herein.
3
it was a substantial contributing cause of his mesothelioma. On May 5, 2021, the
trial court signed a judgment in conformity with the jury' s verdict dismissing
plaintiffs' claims against Exxon with prejudice.
Plaintiffs then filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict
JNOV") or alternatively, new trial. Following a hearing, the trial court signed a
judgment on July 12, 2021, denying plaintiffs' motion for JNOV and granting
plaintiffs' motion for new trial. Thereafter, Exxon filed an application for
supervisory review of the July 12, 2021 judgment with this Court.2 On March 17,
2022, this court granted the writ application, reversed the portion of the trial
court' s July 12, 2021 judgment granting plaintiffs' motion for new trial, and
rendered judgment denying plaintiffs' motion for new trial. See Phillips v. Exxon
Chemical Louisiana, LLC, 2021- 1444 ( La. App. Int Cir. 3117122), 2022 WL
807958 ( unpublished),
On July 5, 2022, plaintiffs filed a motion for a devolutive appeal from the
underlying May 5, 2021 judgment on the merits. Therein, plaintiffs contend that
they sought review of this court' s March 17, 2022 writ action granting Exxon' s
writ application and denying plaintiffs' motion for new trial with the Louisiana
Supreme Court, which was denied on June 8, 2022. See Phillips v. Exxon
Chemical Louisiana LLC, 2022- 00645 ( La. 618122), 338 So. 3d 1196. Plaintiffs
contend that pursuant to La. C. C. P. art. 2087, their motion for appeal is timely
where it was filed less than sixty days after the Supreme Court' s denial of their
writ application.
On November 5, 2021, this court issued notice to the parties that the writ was not
considered because Exxon failed to provide a copy of the hearing transcript or the trial judge' s
reasons in violation of Uniform Rules of Louisiana Courts of Appeal, Rule 4- 5( C)( 7). The
notice further provided that Exxon failed to include a transcript of the underlying trial on the
merits. This court, however, allowed supplementation of the writ in accordance with Uniform
Rules of Louisiana Courts of Appeal, Rules 2- 18. 7 and 4- 9.
M
TIMELINESS OF APPEAL
Upon the lodging of this appeal and examination of the record, this court, ex
proprio mote, issued a rule to show cause order directing the parties to show cause
why this appeal should not be dismissed as untimely. Following briefing by the
parties, the rule to show cause was referred to the panel to which this appeal was
1st
assigned. Phillips_y. Exxon Chemical Louisiana, LLC, 2022- 1290 ( La. App.
Cir. 3/ 6/ 23) ( unpublished).
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 2087( A) provides that an appeal
may be taken within sixty days o£ ( 1) the expiration of the delay for applying for
a new trial or JNOV, if no application has been timely filed; or ( 2) the date of
mailing of notice of the court' s refusal to grant a timely application for new trial or
JNOV. An order of appeal is premature if granted before the court disposes of all
timely filed motions for new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The
order becomes effective upon the denial of such motions. La. C. C. P. art. 2087( D).
An appeal is taken by obtaining an order therefor, within the delay allowed, from
the court which rendered the judgment. La. C. C. P. art. 2121.
Appellate courts do not acquire jurisdiction of an appeal that is not timely
perfected. Bridges v. Baton Rouge General Medical Center, 2020- 0270 ( La. App.
1St Cir. 12/ 30/ 20), 317 So. 3d 662, 684, writ denied, 2021- 00144 ( La. 4/ 7/ 21), 313
So. 3d 985. The appeal delays found in La. C. C. P. art. 2087 are not prescriptive
periods that are subject to interruption; these time limits are jurisdictional. 3 Everett
v. Baton Roue Student Housing, L.L.C., 2010- 0856 ( La. App. ist Cir. 5/ 6/ 11), 64
So. 3d 883, 886, writ denied, 2011- 1169 ( La. 9/ 16/ 11), 69 So. 3d 1149. An
appellant' s failure to file a devolutive appeal timely is a jurisdictional defect, in
that neither the court of appeal nor any other court has the jurisdictional power and
3Section ( E) of La. C. C. P. art. 2087, however, provides a specific exception for situations
in which a case is removed to a federal court. This exception is not applicable to the instant case.
See Everett v. Baton Rouge Student Housing. L.L.C., 2010- 0856 ( La. App. 1St Cir. 5/ 6/ 11), 64
So. 3d 883, 886 n.4, writ denied, 2011- 1169 ( La. 9116111), 69 So. 3d 1149.
5
authority to reverse, revise, or modify a final judgment after the time for filing a
devolutive appeal has elapsed. Everett, 64 So. 3d at 886.
In the instant case, on March 17, 2022, this court granted Exxon' s writ
application, reversed the trial court' s July 12, 2021 judgment, and denied
plaintiffs' motion for new trial. See Phillips v. Exxon Chemical Louisiana, LLC,
2021- 1444 ( La. App. 1St Cir. 3117122), 2022 WL 807958 ( unpublished). Plaintiffs'
motion for appeal was not filed until July 5, 2022, over sixty days after this court
denied plaintiffs' motion for new trial.
The jurisprudence clearly establishes that the filing of an application for
supervisory writs does not suspend the running of the delay for an appeal. In
Guillory, the trial court signed a judgment denying plaintiffs' motion to proceed in
forma pauperis on August 28, 1979. On November 7, 1979, plaintiffs filed a
motion to appeal. On appeal, plaintiffs conceded that their motion for appeal was
not filed within sixty days of the expiration for the delays to file a motion for new
trial, but nonetheless contended that their filing was timely because they had
applied for supervisory writs, which were denied by the appellate court on October
28, 1979, and which served to suspend the appeal delays. The appellate court
therein noted that while La. C. C. P. art. 2201 provides that supervisory writs may
be applied for and granted in accordance with the constitution and rules of the
Supreme Court and other courts exercising supervisory jurisdiction, the " appellants
have cited no statute, court rule, or jurisprudence, and we have found none, which
holds that an application for supervisory writs suspends the running of the delay
for filing an appeal." Guillory v. Hartford Insurance Company, 383 So. 2d 144,
145 ( La. App. 3' Cir. 1980). The court further held that plaintiffs' " application for
supervisory writs had no effect on the delay for filing an appeal from the August
28, 1979 judgment [ and that plaintiffs'] failure to timely file the motion for appeal
was] fatal to the appeal." Guillor , 383 So. 2d at 145.
n
In Everett, plaintiff' s claims were dismissed with prejudice by a judgment
signed on April 24, 2009. Since plaintiff' s motion for new trial was untimely, the
delay for filing a devolutive appeal expired on July 10, 2009. Instead of filing an
appeal, plaintiff filed an application for supervisory review on September 15, 2009,
which was denied. Then, on March 31, 2010, plaintiff filed a motion to appeal the
April 24, 2009 judgment. See Everett, 64 So. 3d at 884. On review, this court
noted that when an application for writs is sought, further proceedings may be
stayed at the trial court' s discretion. But the filing of, or granting of, a writ
application does not stay further proceedings unless the trial court or appellate
court expressly orders otherwise. See Everett, 64 So. 3d at 885. Where plaintiff
failed to seek a stay order, this court determined that his application for
supervisory writs and motion for appeal were untimely, explaining:
An appeal is taken by obtaining an order therefor, within the delay
allowed, from the court which rendered the judgment. LSA-C. C. P.
art. 2121. The appeal delays found in LSA-C. C. P. art. 2087 are not
prescriptive periods that are subject to interruption; these time limits
are jurisdictional. An appellant' s failure to file a devolutive appeal
timely is a jurisdictional defect, in that neither the court of appeal nor
any other court has the jurisdictional power and authority to reverse,
revise, or modify a final judgment after the time for filing a devolutive
appeal has elapsed.
Everett, 64 So. 3d at 886 ( citations and footnote omitted).
Recently, in Barker v. Plattsmier, 2019- 1073 ( La. App. P1 Cir. 5111/ 20), 304
So. 3d 78, 80, writ denied, 2020- 00961 ( La. 10/ 20/20), 303 So. 3d 293, plaintiff' s
claims against defendants were dismissed in a judgment signed on March 6, 2019.
On March 7, 2019, plaintiff filed an application for supervisory writs with this
court, which was subsequently denied on April 17, 2019. Thereafter, on June 21,
2019, plaintiff filed a motion to appeal the March 6, 2019 judgment. On review,
this court determined that where notice of the judgment was mailed on March 11,
2019, and the delay to file a motion for new trial expired on March 20, 2019,
plaintiffs appeal filed on June 21, 2019 was untimely on its face. In so holding,
7
this court recognized that while plaintiff' s writ application and appeal concerned
the same issue, the filing of plaintiff' s writ application did not suspend the running
of the time delays to appeal the March 6, 2019 judgment. See Barker, 304 So. 3d
at 80 ( chin Everett, 64 So. 3d at 885- 886 and Guillory, 383 So. 2d at 145).
In Gregory Swafford Family Trust v. Graystar Mortgage, LLC, 2021- 0200
La. App. 4th Cir. 10/ 27/ 21), — So. 3d _, _, 2021 WL 4987965, plaintiff filed
both an appeal and an application for supervisory writs of an adverse judgment.
The appellate court held that, because the writ application was still pending, the
underlying judgment was not final and thus, the motion for appeal was premature
and subject to dismissal. See Gregory, So. 3d at —. On review however, the
Louisiana Supreme Court, relying on Guillory,4 held that plaintiff' s filing of an
application for supervisory writs had no effect on the appeal delays and reinstated
the appeal. Gregory Swafford Family Trust v. Graystar Mortgage, LLC, 2022-
00059 ( La. 3/ 15/ 22), 333 So. 3d 1238 (per curiam).
Similarly, in Jones v. Jones, 393 So. 2d 281, 282 ( La. App. Pt Cir. 1980),
the appellant contended that his application for supervisory writs suspended the
running of time for an appeal until it was denied by this court, and further claimed
he had thirty days from the denial of his writ application in which to appeal, but
did not cite any cases or statutes to support his argument. This court recognized
the Third Circuit' s holding in Guillory, i.e., that the application for supervisory
writs had no effect on the delay for filing an appeal, agreed with the reasoning of
Guillory, and dismissed the appeal. In doing so, this court noted, "[ a] ppellate
courts do not acquire jurisdiction of [an] appeal which is not timely perfected."
Jones v. Jones, 393 So. 2d at 282.
4The " appellants have cited no statute, court rule, or jurisprudence, and we have found
none, which holds that an application for supervisory writs suspends the running of the delay for
filing a appeal." Guillory, 383 So. 2d at 145
8
Moreover, in Mariani v. Delta Beverage Com an , 625 So. 2d 1088, 1089
La. App. 4" Cir. 1993), the appellate court held that a devolutive appeal from the
original judgment on the merits, filed over sixty days after the appellate court
reversed the trial court' s ruling granting a new trial, was untimely and subject to
dismissal. In Mariani, plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his appeal after the trial court
granted his motion for new trial, after initially denying it two months prior. The
appellate court granted a writ application by defendant finding the trial court erred
in vacating its original decision to deny the new trial and in granting a new trial
because it was divested of jurisdiction upon the signing of the order of appeal.
Plaintiff then filed a second motion and order for appeal. Marian, 625 So. 2d at
1089. On appeal, the court determined that, pursuant to La. C. C. P. art. 2087, the
delay for filing the devolutive appeal expired sixty days after the denial of his
initial motion for new trial, and that the actions of the trial court in subsequently
granting the motion for new trial did not extend the time delays allowed for
appealing the original judgment on the merits because that action was vacated by
the appellate court on writs. The court acknowledged that its ruling may seem
inequitable, but noted that plaintiff' s decision to dismiss his initial appeal was
voluntary and that the loss of jurisdiction to grant a new trial or hear an appeal was
an " absolute defect." Mariani, 625 So. 2d at 1089.
In response to the show cause order in the instant case, plaintiffs, relying on
La. C. C. P. art. 2166( E), argue their appeal is timely because this court' s March 17,
2022 ruling did not become final until five days after the clerk mailed the Supreme
Court' s denial of the application for certiorari. Plaintiffs' reliance on this article is
misplaced. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 2166 is found in Book III,
Title I of the Code of Civil Procedure, which governs " Appellate Procedure" and is
applicable to all appeals to the supreme court and the courts of appeal. See La.
C.C. P. art. 2081. This court' s March 17, 2022 ruling was a writ action, which
6
granted an application for supervisory writs. Book III, Title II of the Code of Civil
Procedure governs " Supervisory Procedure" and is applicable to supervisory writs,
which may be applied for and granted in accordance with the constitution and rules
of the Louisiana Supreme Court and other courts exercising appellate jurisdiction.
La. C. C. P. art. 2201; see also Louisiana Supreme Court Rules, Rule 10 and
Uniform Rules of Louisiana Courts of Appeal, Rule 4. Thus, to the extent
plaintiffs rely on La. C. C.P. art. 2166( E) and cases interpreting same, we find this
analysis inapplicable and unpersuasive. Instead, we agree with the Mariani court
that the delay for an appeal runs from the denial of the motion for new trial,
whether that ruling is by the trial or appellate court, and like an application for
supervisory writ, an application for certiorari does not suspend the running of the
delay for an appeal.
Nonetheless, although the filing of an application for supervisory writs does
not suspend the running of the delay for an appeal, in connection with the filing of
a writ application, the applicant may request a stay of further proceedings. See
Uniform Rules of Louisiana Courts of Appeal, Rule 4- 4( A) (" When an application
for writs is sought, further proceedings may be stayed at the trial court' s discretion.
Any request for a stay of proceedings should be presented first to the trial court.
The filing of, or the granting of, a writ application does not stay further
proceedings unless the trial court or appellate court expressly orders otherwise.);
Louisiana Supreme Court Rules, Rule 10, Section 2( e) (" In all applications
requesting a stay order ...."); Everett, 64 So. 3d at 885. However, a review of the
record in this case does not show that a stay was requested in connection with
plaintiffs' writ application. Therefore, the delay for filing a devolutive appeal was
not suspended, interrupted, or stayed by the filing of plaintiffs' application for writ
of certiorari with the Louisiana Supreme Court. See Everett, 64 So. 3d at 886.
10
An appeal can be dismissed at any time for lack of jurisdiction of the
appellate court. La. C. C. P. art. 2162. In this case, where the motion for appeal of
the May 5, 2021 judgment was not filed within sixty days of this court' s denial of
plaintiffs' motion for new trial, the instant appeal is untimely and must be
dismissed for lack ofjurisdiction.
CONCLUSION
For the above and foregoing reasons, the rule to show cause is granted and
this appeal is dismissed. All costs of this appeal are assessed to the
plaintiffs/ appellants, Eunice Phillips and Mollie McCann, individually, and on
behalf of Lawrence David Phillips, Jr.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
11