Carpenter v. Catahoula Parish School Board

566 So. 2d 1013, 1990 WL 107480
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 30, 1990
DocketNo. 89-1283
StatusPublished

This text of 566 So. 2d 1013 (Carpenter v. Catahoula Parish School Board) 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
Carpenter v. Catahoula Parish School Board, 566 So. 2d 1013, 1990 WL 107480 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

STOKER, Judge.

This matter is before us on a supervisory writ applied for by James Carpenter, Jr. The issue in this case is whether the trial court abused its discretion in not allowing Carpenter to file an amended petition to assert a cause of action in tort against the Catahoula Parish School Board. We reverse.

FACTS

James Carpenter, Jr., a tenured teacher in the Catahoula Parish school system, was dismissed from his positions as the principal of the Sicily Island Elementary School and as a classroom teacher at Martin Junior High School after the Catahoula Parish School Board (School Board) found him guilty of willful neglect of duty, incompetence and dishonesty in connection with his duties as principal of Sicily Island Elementary School. Carpenter filed a motion for judicial review by the district court of the School Board’s findings, alleging they are not supported by sufficient evidence and were the result of a political vendetta against him by the school superintendent. [1014]*1014Carpenter also alleged that he was denied due process through the School Board’s failure to comply with statutory procedures for evaluation, remediation, confrontation and rebuttal. Carpenter demanded reinstatement with back pay, damages for mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and attorney’s fees. The School Board filed a motion to strike seeking to have Carpenter’s demands for general damages and attorney’s fees stricken from his petition on these bases: (1) that reinstatement and baek pay are the sole remedies available to Carpenter for an improper discharge under LSA-R.S. 17:443, (2) that non-pecuniary damages are not available for breach of an employment contract and (3) that there is no statutory or contractual provision allowing recovery of attorney’s fees in this case. The trial court granted the School Board’s motion and struck Carpenter’s requests for attorney’s fees and general damages (including loss of prospective employment).

In order to more clearly state a cause of action in tort, Carpenter attempted to file a first amending petition which enlarged on the original petition by alleging in greater detail the School Board’s intent to inflict emotional distress upon Carpenter, why it was inflicted and how. Carpenter also alleged that the School Board disseminated confidential information about him to third persons. Carpenter reasserted his claims for damages for mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, lost employment opportunities, lost retirement status and for reinstatement with back pay. The claim for attorney’s fees was abandoned.

The School Board would not consent to permit Carpenter to file his amending petition as required by LSA-C.C.P. art. 1151. The trial court denied Carpenter’s motion to file his amending petition on the basis that the cause of action for reinstatement and back pay afforded Carpenter under LSA-R.S. 17:443 constituted an exclusive remedy. Carpenter applied to this court for a supervisory writ which was granted.

OPINION

The substantive issue before us is whether Carpenter is entitled to recover general damages by asserting a cause of action in tort in addition to demanding reinstatement and back pay under LSA-R.S. 17:443 B for improper discharge. The defendant School Board asserts that Carpenter’s failure to appeal the trial court’s holding on the motion to strike (in reality an exception of no cause of action) precludes us from addressing the issue of the correctness of the trial court’s ruling and we should, therefore, only concern ourselves with the issue of Carpenter’s right to amend his petition. However, the two issues are not independent of each other. Although we cannot reverse the trial court’s initial ruling on the motion that was not appealed, we must address the issue of whether Carpenter was entitled to assert a cause of action for general damages in order to determine whether Carpenter should have been granted leave to file an amending petition.

Initially, we note that a motion to strike is not the proper way to procure dismissal of a cause of action. However, the improper designation of a pleading does not control the relief granted since pleadings are governed by their substance. The court may grant appropriate relief under the facts raised in the pleading. LSA-C. C.P. art. 865; Succession of Smith, 247 La. 921, 175 So.2d 269 (1965). Therefore, we will treat the School Board’s motion to strike as an exception of no cause of action directed to plaintiff’s cause of action for general damages, which is essentially what the trial court did. See Adams v. New Orleans Blood-Bank, Inc., 343 So.2d 363 (La.App. 4th Cir.1977).

The trial court dismissed Carpenter’s claim for general damages. If Carpenter is not entitled to a cause of action for general damages as a matter of law, the trial court properly denied leave to amend. LSA-C. C.P. art. 934. However, if Carpenter’s petition is merely vague or alleges insufficient facts to plead a cause of action for general damages, leave to amend should have been granted. LSA-C.C.P. art. 932, art. 934 and art. 1151. Such amendment would not enlarge the pleadings but would merely allege additional facts in order to [1015]*1015set forth the cause of action with greater particularity.

The School Board’s primary contention is that LSA-R.S. 17:443 B purports to set forth an exclusive remedy of back pay and reinstatement for improper discharge of a tenured employee and, therefore, Carpenter is not entitled to a cause of action for general damages. LSA-R.S. 17:443 B states:

“B. If a permanent teacher is found guilty by a school board, after due and legal hearing as provided herein, on charges of willful neglect of duty, or of incompetency, or dishonesty, or of being a member of or contributing to any group, organization, movement or corporation that is by law or injunction prohibited from operating in the state of Louisiana, and ordered removed from office, or disciplined by the board, the superintendent with approval of the board shall furnish to the teacher a written statement of recommendation of removal or discipline, which shall include but not be limited to the exact reason(s), offense(s) or instance(s) upon which the recommendation is based. Such teacher may, not more than one year from the date of the said finding, petition a court of competent jurisdiction for a full hearing to review the action of the school board, and the court shall have jurisdiction to affirm or reverse the action of the school board in the matter. If the finding of the school board is reversed by the court and the teacher is ordered reinstated and restored to duty, the teacher shall be entitled to full pay for any loss of time or salary he or she may have sustained by reason of the action of the said school board.”

We agree with the School Board’s contention that reinstatement and back pay are the proper remedies for a cause of action under LSA-R.S. 17:443 B. However, Carpenter’s petition also purports to allege a cause of action for an intentional tort committed by members of the Cata-houla Parish School Board, for which general damages are the appropriate remedy. LSA-R.S. 17:443 B does not contain any language which can be construed as providing an exclusive remedy which would preclude all tort claims, such as is found in LSA-R.S. 23:1032 of the Worker’s Compensation Act. Moreover, the underlying principles of a statutorily exclusive remedy such as the Worker’s Compensation Act are absent from the Teachers’ Tenure statutes, LSA-R.S. 17:441, et seq.

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Related

Jackson v. St. Landry Parish School System
407 So. 2d 51 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1981)
Brown v. Red River Parish School Bd.
469 So. 2d 1110 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1985)
Succession of Smith
175 So. 2d 269 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1965)
Brown v. Red River Parish School Bd.
488 So. 2d 1132 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
Adams v. New Orleans Blood-Bank, Inc.
343 So. 2d 363 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1977)

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Bluebook (online)
566 So. 2d 1013, 1990 WL 107480, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carpenter-v-catahoula-parish-school-board-lactapp-1990.