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Mehta v. Baton Rouge Oil Company9/22/2000
in the supplemental and amending petition should bear interest only from the date of that demand. An analysis of the oral reasons given by the judge in awarding the sum of $32,400.00 enables us to identify the source of the demands for which the awards were made. In those reasons, the judge stated that the sum here awarded was "representing eighteen months at $1,800.00" and the reasons also explain that the last month ended on December 31, 1988. Louisiana Civil Code Article 1868 provides that in such circumstances, payment by an obligor must be imputed to the debt that becomes due first. Applying that provision, sixteen of the months covered by the court's judgment fall in the time period affected by the amending and supplemental petition and only two months relate to the original petition. To put it in numerical terms, the interest on a sum of $3,600.00 would date from the judicial demand of the first petition, and the interest on the remainder of that judgment, $28,800.00, would date from the judicial demand of the supplemental and amending petition.
Accordingly, we find that the trial court correctly granted the motion for a protective order and held that the filing of the amended petition asserted a new demand and that the judicial interest on the subsequent rentals would not begin to accrue until the date that they were demanded judicially. The judgment of the lower court correctly fixes these dates precisely as August 19, 1987 for the original petition and November 24, 1992 for the amended petition.
However, it is not clear from the record if the lower court reached the question as to what part of the judgment, if any, remained unpaid at the time of the hearing. Although the reasons for judgment pronounce the correct method for the computation of interest, there is no mention of applying the formula to the facts before the court. It may be an oversight, but neither the reasons for judgment nor the judgment itself discusses any evidence upon which the trial court applied the formula. It is true that the judgment says " he motion for protective order is granted; plaintiffs are enjoined from invoking a judgment debtor examination." This implies that the court calculated the judgment to be paid in full according to the findings of law. But such an important part of the dispute, in fact, the very heart of the matter, should not be left to implication.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth in this opinion, the granting of a protective order is affirmed. The matter is remanded to the district court to clarify its ruling and declare if it has, in fact, determined the judgment to be satisfied in accordance with the views expressed herein. Otherwise, the judge should conduct a hearing to determine whether the judgment has been satisfied, and if not, to compute the amount due. If the court concludes that the judgment has not been satisfied, it should also determine the amount of attorney fees and costs to be awarded to the plaintiffs. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed. Costs of the appeal are to be assessed against appellants.
AFFIRMED IN PART AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
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