Trunod Demarco Rogers v. Tonya Renae Morgan Rogers ( 2020 )

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
TRUNOD DEMARCO ROGERS NO. 2020 CW 0267
VERSUS PAGE 1 OF 2
TONYA RENAE MORGAN ROGERS
JUN 0 9 2020
In Re: Jeff Landry, Attorney General of the State of
Louisiana, applying for supervisory writs, Family
Court in and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, No.
153585.
BEFORE: GUIDRY, McCLENDON, WELCH, HOLDRIDGE, AND CHUTZ, JJ.
WRIT GRANTED IN PART; DENIED IN PART. The trial court
erred by denying the peremptory exceptiGn of res judicata filed
by the relator, the State of Louisiana through the Attorney
General's Office. On September 25, 2013, the trial court
rendered a final judgment granting exceptions of prescription
and no cause of action filed by Tonya Renae Rogers and
dismissing the respondent's, Trunod Demarco Rogers', disavowal
action on the basis that the respondent's disavowal claims had
prescribed pursuant to La. Civ. Code art. 189. The respondent's
claims asserted in his July 11, 2018 motion that La. Civ. Code
arts. 185 and 189 are unconstitutional involve the same parties
and those claims existed at the time of the trial court's
September 25, 2013 judgment. Thus, the respondent is precluded
from raising those claims based on the res j udicata effect of
the trial court's September 25, 2013 judgment. See Jenkins v.
Jackson, 16-482 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2/22/17), 216 So.3d
1082, writ denied, 2017-0652 (La. 9/6/17), 224 So.3d
984. Accordingly, we grant the relator's exception of res
judicata and dismiss with prejudice the respondent's, Trunod
Demarco Rogers', claims asserting that La. Civ. Code arts. 185
and 18 9 are unconstitutional. In all other respects, the writ
is denied.
JEW
WRC
Mcclendon, J., concurs. The trial court's September 25,
2013 judgment granting exceptions of prescription and no cause
of action filed by Tonya Renae Rogers and dismissing the
respondent's disavowal action is a final judgment; therefore the
trial court is without subject matter jurisdiction to
substantively amend that judgment at this time. See La. Code
Civ. Proc. art. 1951; Bourgeois v. Kost, 2002-2785 (La.
5/20/03), 846 So.2d 692, 695.
Guidry and Holdridge, JJ., dissent and would deny the
writ. The respondent's, Trunod Demarco Rogers', July 11, 2018
"Motion and Memorandum Regarding Constitutionality of Civil Code
Articles 185 and 189," seeks a declaration by the trial court
that La. Civ. Code arts. 185 and 189 are unconstitutional and
therefore the filing may be construed as a petition for
declaratory judgment. See Smith v. Cajun Insulation, Inc., 392
STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
2020 cw 0267
PAGE 2 OF 2
So.2d 398, 402 n. 2 (La. 1980); Greene v. Succession of
Al.varado, 2015-1960 (La. App. 1st Cir. 12/27/16), 210 So.3d 321,
339; see also La. Code Civ. P. art. 865.
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
F COURT
FOR THE COURT