Burmaster v. Gravity Drainage District No. 2

602 So. 2d 1045, 1992 La. App. LEXIS 2286, 1992 WL 155874
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 23, 1992
DocketNo. 92-CA-121
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 602 So. 2d 1045 (Burmaster v. Gravity Drainage District No. 2) 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
Burmaster v. Gravity Drainage District No. 2, 602 So. 2d 1045, 1992 La. App. LEXIS 2286, 1992 WL 155874 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

KLIEBERT, Chief Judge.

This litigation by Mrs. Burmaster, individually and as natural tutrix of her minor children (hereafter “Burmasters”), plaintiff-appellee, arose from the death of Mr. Burmaster who was killed on April 23, 1977, when he fell from a three foot wide concrete bulkhead into a water-filled drainage pit and was drowned. The bulkhead and pit were located on premises owned and operated by the St. Charles Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 2. The Bur-masters initially named several entities as defendants, including the Drainage District, the Parish of St. Charles, and the Parish Police Jury (the “Council”), as well as various insurance companies (hereafter collectively defendants-appellants).

In a brief responding to the Drainage District’s motion for summary judgment, the Burmasters contended the Parish and the Council were liable for the plaintiffs’ damages, based on, among other things, the following alleged facts:

1. The Parish provided .80% to 90% of the maintenance services, including personnel and equipment, needed by the Drainage District.
2. The Parish organized the Drainage District, appointed its members and solicited and provided funds for the Drainage District.
3. The Parish and the Drainage District were “inseparable,” and the organizational “lines” between them were transcended by the control and operational participation of the Parish.

In defense, the Parish and the Council sought a summary judgment of dismissal, arguing that the above enumerated facts as well as others in the record did not warrant holding the Parish liable for the torts of a distinct political subdivision, the Drainage District.

On June 16, 1982, the Parish’s motion for summary dismissal was granted, and both the Parish and the Council were adjudged not liable for the Burmasters’ loss. In its judgment of dismissal, which was not appealed, the trial court specifically held that neither the Parish nor its Council were responsible for the torts of the separate political subdivision, the Drainage District. At a subsequent trial of the Burmasters’ claims, the Drainage District, by judgment [1047]*1047dated June 3, 1983, was found solely liable for Mr. Burmaster’s death, on the ground that the Drainage District’s facilities “presented an unreasonable risk of injury.” Therefore, the trial judge awarded judgment against the Drainage District in favor of the Burmasters. This judgment was appealed by the Drainage District and affirmed. See Burmaster v. Gravity Drainage District II, 448 So.2d 162 (5th Cir.1984).

On December 23, 1984 the Burmasters filed against the Drainage District and the Parish a “Motion to Examine Judgment Debtor and Successor in Title” wherein it was alleged that the governing body of St. Charles Parish had assumed complete control of the Drainage District and had thus placed itself in the position of the judgment debtor. This was followed, on June 6, 1986, by a “Motion/Petition to Make Judgment Executory Against Successor in Title” wherein the plaintiffs made defendants the St. Charles Parish Council and made the allegation that the Parish had taken over the activities and assets of the Drainage District and should thus be ordered to pay the judgment against it. Following the filing of oppositions based on the form of the pleadings by the Parish to the foregoing motions/petitions, the plaintiffs then filed first and second supplemental petitions to make the judgment executory on September 8th and October 2nd, 1986, respectively. Subsequent to this, the Parish filed against the Burmasters’ pleadings, exceptions of no cause and no right of action (predicated on sovereign immunity of the Parish), res judicata (based on the June 16, 1982 judgment of dismissal above referred to), an exception of prescription, and answers. The Parish also filed a motion for summary judgment.

Following a November 1991 hearing the trial court denied the Parish’s motion for summary judgment, referred the Parish’s peremptory exceptions of no right or cause of action and prescription to the merits and granted the plaintiffs’ oral motion to amend the pleadings. The Parish applied for writs to this Court. See Docket No. 90-C-821. This Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling on the motion for summary judgment and its ruling on the referral of the peremptory exception to the merits and pointed out that an order to amend the pleadings could only be filed by the filing of a written pleading. Accordingly, the case was remanded to the trial court.

On February 20, 1991 the Burmasters filed their third supplemental and amending petition wherein it was alleged that by the enactment of Parish Council Ordinance 83-3-11 a merger took place whereby the Drainage District was divested of its assets and liabilities, including the judgment in petitioners’ favor, and as a consequence petitioners were entitled to have their judgment recognized as an obligation of the Parish. The Burmasters also filed, on the same day, a written motion and order authorizing the filing of the petition in order to assert a claim for a declaratory judgment.

Following a hearing on the merits, the trial court by judgment dated December 2, 1991 granted plaintiffs’ request for a declaratory judgment holding that “St. Charles Parish is liable for the Burmaster judgment rendered against Gravity Drainage District No. 2” on June 7, 1983. The judgment was grounded in the holding that although there was no formal merger through the enactment of Ordinance 83-3-11, a copy of which is annexed as Appendix No. 1, and the actions taken by the Council, there was a de facto merger of the Drainage District with the Parish, hence, St. Charles Parish assumed the liabilities of Gravity Drainage District No. 2.

The Parish appeals the judgment arguing error of the trial court’s ruling on the following questions:

“A. Whether the lower court’s finding of merger has any basis in fact or law.
B. Whether the lower court erroneously disregarded the well established rule that management of a corporate entity does not render the manager liable for the entity’s pre-management breach of its obligations.
[1048]*1048C. Whether the lower court erred in denying the exception of res judica-ta.
D. Whether the lower court erroneously disregarded the Parish’s sovereign immunity.
E. Whether the lower court’s judgment is contrary to law, because even if the Parish were “merged” with the Drainage District, the Parish may only pay the judgment by a special assessment levied against the constituents of the Drainage District.
F. Whether the lower court erroneously denied the exception of prescription.”

For the reasons hereinafter stated we vacate the trial court order and dismiss the action against the Parish of St. Charles.

We consider first the appellants’ argument on the Exception of Res Judicata, i.e., the judgment of June 16, 1982 originally dismissing the Parish from the litigation barring the “current effort to render the Parish responsible for the Drainage District’s torts.” Such is not the case.

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602 So. 2d 1045, 1992 La. App. LEXIS 2286, 1992 WL 155874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burmaster-v-gravity-drainage-district-no-2-lactapp-1992.