Tyrone Butler v. Reverand Richard Sandberg and the Moral Alliance of St. Helena, 289 So.3d 638

Butler sued Rev. Richard Sandberg and The Moral Alliance of St. Helena for defamation; defendants filed a special motion to strike under La. C.C.P. art. 971 and the court granted it after Butler failed to timely respond or appear.
Defendants moved for attorney’s fees and costs under La. C.C.P. art. 971(B); the district court set a hearing for August 25, 2017 by an order entered May 23, 2017.
The record shows the clerk mailed a “Notice of Hearing” by regular mail to counsel’s address; neither Butler nor counsel appeared at the August 25 hearing. Butler’s lead counsel had been suspended in February 2017; co-counsel (Ponthieu) remained counsel of record.
The district court awarded defendants $55,551.85 in fees and costs on August 25, 2017; Butler moved for a new trial and then appealed the fee judgment.
The court of appeal reviewed whether service of the hearing notice complied with La. C.C.P. art. 1313(C) (requiring registered/certified mail, sheriff, or commercial courier for pleadings/orders setting a court date) and concluded the record showed only regular mail.
Holding: the August 25, 2017 judgment awarding fees was an absolute nullity for defective service under art. 1313(C); the judgment was vacated and the matter remanded.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether service of the May 23 order setting the Aug. 25, 2017 fee hearing complied with La. C.C.P. art. 1313(C)	Service was not by registered/certified mail, sheriff, or commercial courier as required, so Butler lacked proper notice	Notice was mailed to counsel of record’s address and Butler/ counsel waived nothing; service to counsel suffices	Service was defective—record shows only regular mail; judgment is an absolute nullity and is vacated
Whether mailing to the address associated with Butler’s disbarred attorney (Thiel) defeated service	Mailing to disbarred counsel’s address could not effectuate service	Co-counsel Ponthieu remained counsel of record, shared the same address; notice to counsel of record is notice to client	Court rejected Butler’s disbarment-argument as meritless in principle but emphasized that because no proper method of service (per art.1313(C)) was proven, the fee judgment still fails; court noted that service to Ponthieu at her address by proper method would have been sufficient

Kingdom Builders Cmty. Dev. Corp. v. Louisiana Bd. of Elementary & Secondary Educ., 233 So. 3d 94 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (strict construction of art. 1313(C) and due process purpose)
Adair Asset Management, LLC v. Honey Bear Lodge, Inc., 138 So. 3d 6 (La. App. 3d Cir.) (service defects may render judgment absolutely null)
Roper v. Dailey, 393 So. 2d 85 (La.) (burden to prove lack of service is by preponderance)
Tunnard v. Simply Southern Homes, L.L.C., 985 So. 2d 166 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (judgment against unserved defendant is absolutely null)
Jones v. Rodrigue, 771 So. 2d 275 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (notice to attorney of record constitutes notice to client)
Franklin v. Franklin, 470 So. 2d 634 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (service to a listed/shared address can be proper service)