Wallace C. Drennan, Inc. V. Latoya Cantrell, in Her Official Capacity as the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, Josh Hartley, in His Official Capacity as Acting Director of the Department of Public Works, City of New Orleans, and The City of New Orleans (2023)

Plaintiff-Appellant, Wallace C. Drennan, Inc., (“WCD”) seeks a rehearing of this Court's October 25, 2023 opinion that reversed in part and affirmed in part the trial court's December 27, 2022 judgment, which partially denied WCD's alternative writ of mandamus and declined to award interest for the failure of the Defendant-Appellee, City of New Orleans (“the City”), to timely pay six invoices pursuant to La. R.S. 38:2191. We grant the rehearing to amend this Court's previous opinion to find that the City had forty-five days from April 27, 2020, to pay Invoice No. 23662-2.B.2.2.

In its application for rehearing, WCD maintains that this Court erroneously found a discrepancy in the testimony of Ingrid Raboteau (“Raboteau”), the invoice manager for the Department of Public Works, with respect to Invoice No. 23662-2.B.2.2. Upon further review of the record, we find merit in this assertion. The inconsistencies in Raboteau's testimony which we referenced in our opinion appear to be in connection with a different invoice and not Invoice No. 23662-2.B.2.2. The evidence thus indicates that the City, not WCD, provided the template containing the bid item error for Invoice No. 23662-2.B.2.2.

Accordingly, the application for rehearing is granted and we amend this Court's previous opinion to find that the City had forty-five days from April 27, 2020, to pay Invoice No. 23662-2.B.2.2.

APPLICATION FOR REHEARING GRANTED; JUDGMENT AMENDED

Judge Karen K. Herman