DESARAY JOSEPH AND NELSON WINSTON INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THEIR MINOR CHILD v. LES ENFANTS DE LAFOURCHE LLC LAFOURCHE LEARNING ACADEMY AND KERSTEN CHRISTENSON (2026)

This matter is before us on appeal by defendant, Les Enfants de Lafourche, LLC d/b/a Lafourche Learning Academy (“Les Enfants”), from a judgment of the trial court awarding plaintiffs, Desaray Joseph and Nelson Winston, individually and on behalf of their minor child, N.W., attorney's fees and costs. This case involves injuries suffered by a four-month-old, which were allegedly sustained at his daycare on December 27, 2023.¹ The infant's parents, Desaray Joseph and Nelson Winston, filed suit against the daycare, Les Enfants, and its employee, Kerstin Christenson, seeking damages for the injuries he sustained.

After discovery was propounded requesting that Les Enfants produce internal and external video surveillance footage on the date of the injury, plaintiffs filed a motion to compel and for sanctions contending that Les Enfants failed to produce the external video surveillance requested as well as supplemental documents and answers to interrogatories. Plaintiffs asked the trial court to compel these responses and, if the court determined that “the internal and external video surveillance footage [was] unavailable due to the actions of Les Enfants,” plaintiffs requested that the trial court impose sanctions against Les Enfants, including, but not limited to, a judgment on liability, a negative inference that the content of the footage would have been negative for Les Enfants, or the striking of its defenses.

The motion was heard on January 27, 2025. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court found that Les Enfants failed to preserve evidence that it knew was relevant to pending and imminent litigation and failed to provide an adequate explanation for failing to preserve such evidence. The trial court thus granted the motion for sanctions, imposed an adverse jury instruction, and awarded plaintiffs attorney's fees and costs. In accordance with its ruling, the trial court signed a judgment on February 19, 2025, from which Les Enfants suspensively appealed.

During the pendency of that appeal, the trial court signed a separate judgment on April 3, 2025, ordering Les Enfants to pay plaintiffs $9,600.00 in attorney's fees and $523.25 in costs, as awarded at the January 27, 2025 hearing. Les Enfants also suspensively appealed the trial court's April 3, 2025 judgment, which is now before us.

On review of the February 19, 2025 judgment, another panel of this Court recently concluded that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the motion for sanctions without foreclosing the possibility that the video footage could be replicated. Joseph v. Les Enfants De Lafourche, LLC, 2025-0518 (La. App. 1st Cir. 11/20/25), 424 So. 3d 1174, 1178.² This Court thus: (1) reversed the portion of the trial court's judgment granting plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions; (2) rendered judgment ordering Les Enfants to “conduct a reasonable inquiry, in conformity with the rules of discovery, to determine whether it is still in possession of the video footage from the external camera and, if available, to produce a copy of the footage to plaintiffs”; and (3) remanded the matter to the trial court with instructions. See Joseph, 424 So. 3d at 1179.

The judgment now before us on appeal awarded attorney's fees and costs because plaintiffs prevailed on their motion for sanctions. However, considering this Court's reversal of the trial court's grant of the motion for sanctions, we must likewise reverse the April 3, 2025 judgment awarding plaintiffs’ attorney's fees and costs. See LaCerte v. State, 2020-1000 (La. App. 1st Cir. 4/16/21), 323 So. 3d 414, 417; Collins v. State through Department of Natural Resources, 2016-1196 (La. App. 1st Cir. 4/28/17), 2017 WL 1591634, *1 (unpublished); Delhi Plantation, LLC v. Fifth Louisiana Levee District, 2023-83 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 4/24/24), 3 87 So. 3d 767, 772.

Accordingly, the April 3, 2025 judgment of the trial court is reversed. We issue this memorandum opinion pursuant to Uniform Rules - Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-16.1(B). Costs of this appeal are assessed one-half to the to the appellant/defendant, Les Enfants de Lafourche, LLC d/b/a Lafourche Learning Academy, and one-half to the appellees/plaintiffs, Desaray Joseph and Nelson Winston, individually and on behalf of their minor child, N.W.

REVERSED.

FOOTNOTES

1.   A detailed recitation of the facts and procedural history of this matter can be found in a related appeal, Joseph v. Les Enfants De Lafourche, LLC, 2025-0518 (La. App. 1st Cir. 11/20/25), 424 So. 3d 1174, 1175-1177.

2.   In that appeal, this Court noted that the February 19, 2025 judgment lacked decretal language and remanded the matter to the trial court. Thereafter, the trial court signed an amended judgment on August 11, 2025, containing appropriate decretal language, which this Court reviewed. See Joseph, 424 So. 3d at 1177.

MILL ER, J.