Thanks for visiting! Welcome to a new way to research case law. You are viewing a free summary from Descrybe.ai. For citation and good law / bad law checking, legal issue analysis, and other advanced tools, explore our Legal Research Toolkit — not free, but close.
Creole Corp. v. McMillan
Citations: 379 So. 2d 805; 1980 La. App. LEXIS 4156Docket: 10402
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal; January 9, 1980; Louisiana; State Appellate Court
Mr. and Mrs. Calvin McMillan appealed a judgment from the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, which awarded Creole Corporation $20,526.48 for breach of a lease contract. The trial court's judgment did not address the McMillans' reconventional demand, leading to its rejection, as they failed to prove their claim during the trial. Creole Corporation leased a building and parking area from the McMillans to operate a "Tastee Freez" franchise, with a lease starting on March 1, 1967, for one year and options to renew. The rental fee of $85 per month was payable only from March to October due to the seasonal nature of the business. Creole sublet the property to Mr. and Mrs. Allen J. Weber, who operated the franchise until the McMillans padlocked the premises on August 12, 1968, denying the sublessee access. Creole sought damages for lost profits from a franchise surcharge of 39 cents per gallon on the mix purchased by Weber, which was projected over the remaining lease term. The trial court found the McMillans had illegally disturbed Creole's peaceful possession of the property. Creole's damages were calculated based on the volume of mix purchased by Weber prior to the padlocking incident, projected over 8½ years. However, the trial court's computation failed to account for several factors that could reduce the damages, including other subleases that were not introduced into evidence, which could have provided additional income beyond the surcharge. Despite the objections from the McMillans' counsel regarding the admissibility of evidence, the trial court's findings were upheld on appeal. Mr. Bell testified that the plaintiff exercised lease options, renewing the lease through February 1974, resulting in a gross lease term from March 1, 1967, to February 20, 1974, totaling seven years. The premises were occupied for 27 months, with 18 months by Weber, 7 months by Nichols, and 2 months by Lachiolet, leaving a net unoccupied term of four and three-quarters years. The plaintiff incurred a loss of profit at an annual rate of $2,418.88, leading to a total loss of $11,489.68 for the unoccupied period. The defendants sought a credit for unpaid rent from when Weber vacated on August 12, 1968, until February 28, 1974, but evidence showed the plaintiff consistently mailed rental checks, which the defendants refused to accept. Defendants are credited $765 for rent received from Nichols and Lachiolet during their occupancy, but cannot claim rent for the unoccupied months due to their illegal actions. Consequently, the trial court's judgment in favor of plaintiff Creole Corporation was amended from $20,526.48 to $10,724.68, while all other aspects of the judgment were affirmed, with appellants bearing the appeal costs. In the application for rehearing, the plaintiff argued that the gross lease term should be ten years instead of seven, acknowledging that the original lease could extend this long if options were exercised. However, the court maintained that the lease effectively ended in February 1974 when the plaintiff chose not to renew. The request for adjusting the judgment for inflation was denied due to a lack of evidentiary support. The application for rehearing was denied.