Barton v. Gulf States Entertainment

655 F. Supp. 782, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1972
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Louisiana
DecidedFebruary 19, 1987
DocketCiv. A. No. 83-710-A
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 655 F. Supp. 782 (Barton v. Gulf States Entertainment) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barton v. Gulf States Entertainment, 655 F. Supp. 782, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1972 (M.D. La. 1987).

Opinion

JOHN V. PARKER, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the court on motion of defendant, the City of Baton Rouge, to dismiss and on motion of defendants, Gulf States Entertainment, Inc. and Jay Cooper, for partial summary judgment. Plaintiff opposes both motions. Defendant, American Casualty Company, opposes the motion for partial summary judgment insofar as it seeks a declaration that there is insurance coverage for punitive damages. A supplemental memorandum in support of the motion for partial summary judgment has [784]*784been filed. The City of Baton Rouge has filed a supplemental memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss. Gulf States and Cooper have filed a reply memorandum regarding insurance coverage for punitive damages. Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1343 and pendent jurisdiction. No oral argument is necessary.

Plaintiffs claim that they were attempting to obtain tickets to a movie at Cinema 8 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, owned and operated by defendant Gulf States, that the ticket cashier refused them the tickets and summoned security, that the guard and other off-duty police officers, employed by Gulf States to maintain order, took the plaintiffs to the cinema manager’s office, and that they were beaten and otherwise ill treated there. Plaintiffs sue for violation of their constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and for violation of various state law rights protected by Louisiana Civil Code articles 2324 and 2315, implicitly including false arrest. Plaintiffs sue Gulf States, Cooper, the manager, their insurer, American Casualty Company, the excess liability insurer for those defendants, United States Fire Insurance Company, various police officers, the City of Baton Rouge and its insurer, North River Insurance Company.

The City of Baton Rouge was dismissed upon its motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted but that motion addressed only the § 1983 claim, not the pendent claims under state law. North River Insurance Company and United States Fire Insurance Company were dismissed by joint motion to dismiss on November 3, 1986.

The City now moves to dismiss the pendent state law claims against it. The City points out that this court recognized that it could not be held liable where the sole basis of liability is through respondeat superior, the complaint having failed to allege any governmental policy or custom which could give rise to municipal liability under Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). Since the only allegations against the City were that it employed the police officers, the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim was dismissed against the City. The City now argues that “pendent party” jurisdiction is not applicable, so that the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the state law claims against the City. The claims are purely state law because a municipality is liable under Louisiana law for torts committed by its agents and employees, but no such respondeat superior liability is allowed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Al-dinger v. Howard, 427 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 2413, 49 L.Ed.2d 276 (1976) first enunciated the doctrine which has become known as “pendent party jurisdiction.” Where a federal district court clearly has Article III jurisdiction over claims against some parties and a state law claim is made against another party which is derived from a common nucleus of operative fact, the court may under some circumstances adjudicate the claim against the additional party even though there is no independent jurisdiction over that party. As Aldinger points out, it is the Congress, not the judiciary which confers jurisdiction upon district courts. 96 S.Ct. at 2421. While 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) grants jurisdiction over actions brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, it is well established that § 1983 imposes municipal liability only if there is a governmental custom or policy. Monell, supra. The mere fact that a state claim is asserted against an additional party arising out of the same incident does not act to extend the limited jurisdiction of this court; neither does judicial economy. See Locust v. Degiovanni, 485 F.Supp. 551 (E.D.Pa.1980). Under Aldinger this court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the state law claims against the city.

Moreover, should the power to decide these claims exist in this court, the court in its discretion declines to exercise that power. All claims against all parties could be adjudicated in state court and there is no cause to judicially extend the jurisdictional barriers erected by the Congress. The motion to dismiss will be granted.

The defendants Gulf States and Cooper move for partial summary judgment as follows: (1) dismissal of the § 1983 claim [785]*785against Gulf States; (2) dismissal of the § 1983 claim against Cooper; (3) dismissal of the false arrest claims; and (4) declaration of insurance coverage for punitive damages. Although presented as a motion for summary judgment, it is apparent that the motion as to Gulf States must be considered as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. No facts are involved, only the allegations of the complaint are relied upon. Defendants claim that Gulf States is alleged to be liable only as the employer of Cooper and the police officers, and that Gulf States may not be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on the basis of vicarious liability. Defendants claim that the transcript of the criminal trial of plaintiffs and testimony of the plaintiffs and Cooper show that Cooper is not liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, since he allegedly did not participate in any of the beatings or in the arrest. Defendants claim that plaintiffs' convictions on the arrests is a complete defense to the false arrest claim. Finally, defendants Gulf States and Cooper claim that the insurance policy issued by American Casualty Company covers punitive damages. Gulf States claims that coverage is available to it since the injury definitely was not expected nor intended from its standpoint and that the test developed in the jurisprudence for coverage of intentional torts is whether the injury itself, and not the act, was expected or intended. Cooper claims that the testimony at the criminal trial demonstrates that none of the injuries nor the arrest were expected or intended by him. The supplemental memorandum of Gulf States and Cooper seeks to inform this court of additional authority for the “jurisprudential rule that the insurer of an employer or corporation can be liable under its policy for intentional acts of the insured’s employees,” Ashland Oil, Inc. v. Miller Oil Purchasing Co.,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
655 F. Supp. 782, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1972, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barton-v-gulf-states-entertainment-lamd-1987.