Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 97-2379 SECTION "N"
May 17, 2000
ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is Pacific Leasing, Inc's Motion to Vacate or Modify Stay of Execution. For the following reasons, Pacific Leasing Inc.'s Motion is GRANTED and the Stay is VACATED.
A. BACKGROUND
On January 20, 2000, this Court granted N.J. Collins Inc.'s ("NJC") Re-Urged Motion for Stay of Enforcement of Judgment Pending Appeal. As part of the Stay Order, NJC was required to grant Pacific Leasing, Inc. ("Pacific") "an unconditional security interest in the unencumbered assets of the corporation within 30 days. . . ." Not surprisingly, a controversy has arisen over whether this condition has been satisfied, and Pacific has moved to vacate or modify the stay on several grounds.
B. LAW AND ANALYSIS
In order to obtain a stay pending appeal, the moving party must demonstrate: (1) that it is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) that it would suffer irreparable injury if the stay were not granted; (3) that granting the stay would not substantially harm the other parties; and (4) that granting the stay would serve the public interest. See National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 808 F.2d 1057, 1059 (5th Cir. 1987). In the January 20, 2000 Stay Order, this Court found that NJC had made a showing sufficient to support a stay.
However, the Court now finds that a stay is no longer justified, since keeping the stay in place will likely harm Pacific and will not serve the public interest. Most significant to this finding is the fact that NJC has repeatedly failed to execute a security interest in its unencumbered assets that complies with Louisiana law. The first UCC-1 Financing Statement NJC tendered contains no description of collateral, and the second UCC-1 Financing Statement, which NJC included as part of its opposition to the current motion, fails to state the "manufacturer's serial or other identification number" for any of the three motor vehicles listed as collateral.
A financing statement must contain, inter alia, "a statement indicating the types, or describing the items, of collateral." See La. R.S. 10:9-402.
"A financing statement affecting a titled motor vehicle, subject to filing with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of motor vehicles, shall also state the vehicle's year of manufacture, make, model, body style, and manufacturer's serial or other identification number." Id.
Given the clarity of the law, NJC's failure to include a proper description of collateral in its first and second UCC-1 Financing Statements mystifies the Court, which can come to only one conclusion: NJC is either engaging in dilatory tactics in order to avoid paying its debt or is simply feckless. In either case, without a properly executed security interest, there is a strong likelihood that Pacific will never be able to collect its debt. And, in either case, the Court cannot be called on repeatedly to correct each of NJC's bungled attempts to secure the relief it desires, or be asked to counsel NJC in advance on how to draft a proper security interest, without squandering judicial resources and harming the public interest. Thus, a balancing of the four factors set forth in Von Raab no longer justifies the stay of execution.
Similarly, on December 3, 1999, this Court was forced to deny NJC's first Motion for Stay of Enforcement of Judgment Pending Appeal because NJC "failed to provide sufficient information [for the Court] to assess the appropriateness of its request. . . ." The law is clear that such evidence is required. Indeed, even a layman would know that a Court needs evidence to make decisions.
Or submit a proper motion.
C. CONCLUSION
The Court finds that continuing the stay of execution of judgment in this case is likely to harm Pacific and the public interest. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Pacific Leasing, Inc's Motion to Vacate or Modify Stay of Execution is GRANTED and the Stay is VACATED.