An appeal from a group of men who were beaten and robbed while staying at an Orleans Parish hotel has been dismissed by a Louisiana court.
The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal Civil District Court, Orleans Parish dismissed the appeal on Sept. 7, after attorneys for Norris Dearmon, Shawn Rivers, John Roper II, Shawn White and Davis Bexlay failed to submit a formal letter of appeal within the allowed time against St. Anne Lodging.
The men claim that on Nov. 21, 2013, they were guests of St. Anne Lodging "when they were beaten and robbed in their hotel room by unknown individuals." A petition for damages against the hotel was filed in November 2014. In it, the men claimed the hotel was negligent in failing to provide adequate security.
The claim was filed against St. Anne Lodging and Bourbon Orleans Hotel and QBE North America Insurance Group.
In October 2016, the hotel filed a "motion for summary judgment" against the men claiming that they "had no admissible evidence to establish that the hotel breached a duty of care owed" or that "the incident was reasonably forseeable." The courts agreed granting the hotel and its affiliates summary judgment in December 2017.
"Because the instant appeal was not filed within 30 days from the date of the district court’s judgment, we decline to exercise our discretion to convert the plaintiffs’ appeal to a writ application," court documents said.
In its most recent ruling, the courts also remanded the matter back to a lower court for consideration. In the ruling the courts found that although summary judgment was granted.
"The judgment does not name the party against whom the ruling is ordered and does not specify what relief is granted," the opinion read. "The absence of this necessary decretal language means that the judgment is not final and appealable."