Blanche v. Varner

273 So. 3d 620
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 22, 2019
DocketNo. 52,659-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 273 So. 3d 620 (Blanche v. Varner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blanche v. Varner, 273 So. 3d 620 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

STEPHENS, J.

Sandra B. Blanche appeals a judgment by the Monroe City Court, Parish of Ouachita, State of Louisiana, granting the exception of no cause of action filed by the defendant, Billy Varner in his capacity as director of the DeSiard Street Homeless Shelter. Sandra Blanche, appearing in proper person, appeals the trial court's judgment, which we affirm for the following reasons.

DISCUSSION

Blanche filed suit against Billy Varner in his capacity as the shelter director of the DeSiard Street Homeless Shelter. In her sole allegation against Varner, Blanche claimed she was turned away from the shelter on Friday, June 8, 2018. According to Blanche, a homeless female, she had no place to stay for shelter. Blanche alleged she was given no reason as to why she was not allowed to stay at this homeless shelter, but she was assigned work duty. In *622her petition, Blanche sought damages in the amount of $ 5,000.00.

In response, Varner filed an exception of no cause of action, arguing Blanche failed to state a cause of action which would afford her a remedy by law or contract. Varner claimed the DeSiard Street Homeless Shelter is a privately run, charitable nonprofit entity. In his exception, he noted that the shelter's services are generally available to persons in need, but that the shelter is not obligated to provide such services. Moreover, according to Varner, he had prior experience with Blanche and reasonable grounds to refuse her admittance into the shelter overnight.

At the hearing on the exception, Varner explained why he denied Blanche overnight accommodations at the shelter. The trial court noted that those reasons did not have "a whole lot to do with what the exception is," but hoped it would answer Blanche's question about why she had been denied shelter. Ultimately finding that Blanche had failed to assert a cause of action against Varner, a judgment was rendered granting the exception. This appeal by Blanche ensued.

LEGAL PRINCIPLES

On appeal, Blanche generally argues that the trial court erred in granting Varner's exception, specifically maintaining that the trial court did not allow her to present documents in support of her claims. She argues that Varner denied her shelter due to personal reasons, but provides no legal or contractual support for her position.

Provided by La. C.C.P. art. 927(A)(5), the peremptory exception of no cause of action tests the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff's petition by determining whether the law affords a remedy on the facts alleged in the petition. Scheffler v. Adams and Reese, LLP , 2006-1774 (La. 2/22/07), 950 So.2d 641 ; Gipson v. Fortune , 45,021 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/27/10), 30 So.3d 1076, writ denied , 2010-0432 (La. 4/30/10), 34 So.3d 298. A "cause of action," when used in the context of the peremptory exception of no cause of action, refers to the operative facts that give rise to the plaintiff's right to judicially assert the action against the defendant. White v. St. Elizabeth B.C. Bd. of Directors , 45,213 (La. App. 2 Cir. 6/2/10), 37 So.3d 1139. The purpose of the exception of no cause of action is not to determine whether the plaintiff will prevail at trial, but is to ascertain if a cause of action exists. Bogues v. Louisiana Energy Consultants, Inc. , 46,434 (La. App. 2 Cir. 8/10/11), 71 So.3d 1128. The exception is triable on the face of the petition, and for the purpose of determining the issues raised by the exception, the well-pleaded facts in the petition must be accepted as true. Fink v. Bryant , 2001-0987 (La. 11/28/01), 801 So.2d 346.

The burden of demonstrating that the petition states no cause of action is upon the mover. Wright v. Louisiana Power & Light , 2006-1181 (La. 3/9/07), 951 So.2d 1058 ; Scheffler, supra . All reasonable inferences are made in favor of the nonmoving party in determining whether the law affords any remedy to the plaintiff. Villareal v. 6494 Homes, LLC , 48,302 (La. App. 2 Cir. 8/7/13), 121 So.3d 1246. Generally, no evidence may be introduced to support or controvert the exception. However, a jurisprudentially recognized exception to this rule allows the court to consider evidence that is admitted without objection to enlarge the pleadings. Villareal, supra .

Generally, an exception of no cause of action must be overruled unless the allegations in the petition exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than the *623premise on which the defense is based, i.e. , unless the plaintiff has no cause of action under any evidence admissible under the pleadings. Villareal, supra ; Steed v. St. Paul's United Methodist Church , 31,521 and 31,522 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/24/99), 728 So.2d 931, writ denied , 1999-0877 (La. 5/7/99), 740 So.2d 1290.

An appellate court's review of a trial court's ruling sustaining an exception of no cause of action is de novo because the exception raises a question of law, and the trial court's decision is based only on the sufficiency of the petition. Fink, supra . The essential question is whether, in the light most favorable to plaintiff and with every doubt resolved in plaintiff's favor, the petition states any valid cause of action for relief. Wright, supra.

In ruling upon an exception of no cause of action, we must accept the allegations of the petition as true and conduct a de novo review of the matter. After carefully reviewing the contents of Blanche's petition in the light most favorable to her, we conclude that it does not state a cause of action. In her petition, Blanche makes the sole allegation that she, a homeless female, was "turned away" from the homeless shelter by the director, Varner, and she was given no reason for the denial of services.

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Related

Gipson v. Fortune
30 So. 3d 1076 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
White v. St. Elizabeth B.C. Board of Directors
37 So. 3d 1139 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Steed v. ST. PAUL'S UNITED METH. CHURCH
728 So. 2d 931 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
Wright v. Louisiana Power & Light
951 So. 2d 1058 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2007)
Fink v. Bryant
801 So. 2d 346 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2001)
Scheffler v. Adams and Reese, LLP
950 So. 2d 641 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2007)
Bogues v. Louisiana Energy Consultants, Inc.
71 So. 3d 1128 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
Villareal v. 6494 Homes, LLC
121 So. 3d 1246 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)
Scientific Drilling Int'l v. Meche, 2010-0511 (La. 4/30/10)
34 So. 3d 298 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2010)
Chase v. Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Partnership
740 So. 2d 1290 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
273 So. 3d 620, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blanche-v-varner-lactapp-2019.