Cason v. Saniford

148 So. 3d 8, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 1825, 2014 WL 3611136, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1520
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 6, 2014
DocketNo. 2013 CA 1825
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 148 So. 3d 8 (Cason v. Saniford) 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
Cason v. Saniford, 148 So. 3d 8, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 1825, 2014 WL 3611136, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1520 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

CRAIN, J.

| ^Shannon Cason appeals a summary judgment dismissing her claims against Bethany World Prayer Center and its insurer, Houston Specialty Insurance Company. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

FACTS

Shannon Cason instituted this suit for damages for injuries sustained when her vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by Corey Saniford. Saniford was a participant in Bethany World Prayer Center’s 220i internship program and was driving to a high school prayer meeting when the accident occurred. Cason named Bethany and Houston as defendants, claiming that Bethany was vicariously liable for the acts of Saniford under the doctrine of respon-deat superior. By a second amending petition, Cason alleged that Saniford was an insured under Houston’s policy and that Bethany was an insured under Houston’s policy for the acts of Saniford on the date of the accident. Bethany and Houston moved for summary judgment on the basis that no master-servant relationship existed between Bethany and Saniford such that [11]*11Bethany would be vicariously liable for Saniford’s actions. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment and dismissed Bethany and Houston from the suit. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full-scale trial when there is no genuine issue of material fact. All Crane Rental of Georgia, Inc. v. Vincent, 10-0116 (La.App. 1 Cir. 9/10/10), 47 So.3d 1024, 1027, writ denied, 10-2227 (La.11/19/10), 49 So.Sd 387. Summary judgment is properly granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions, together with any affidavits admitted for purposes of the motion for summary judgment show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ. Pro. art. 966B(2). IsSummary judgment is favored and designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action. La.Code Civ. Pro. art. 966A(2),

Appellate courts review summary judgment evidence de novo under the same criteria that govern the trial court’s determination of whether a summary judgment is appropriate. All Crane, 47 So.3d at 1027. On a motion for summary judgment, the burden of proof is on the mover. La.Code Civ. Pro. art. 966C(2). However, if the mover will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the matter that is before the court on the motion, the mover’s burden does not require that all essential elements of the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense be negated. Instead, the mover must point out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense. Thereafter, the adverse party must produce factual evidence sufficient to establish that he will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial. If the adverse party fails to meet this burden, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the mover is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ. Pro. art. 966C(2); All Crane, 47 So.3d at 1027.

A fact is material when its existence or nonexistence may be essential to the plaintiffs cause of action under the applicable theory of recovery, meaning that the fact potentially insures or precludes recovery, affects a litigant’s ultimate success, or determines the outcome of the legal dispute. Smith v. Our Lady of the Lake Hosp., Inc., 93-2512 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 730, 751. Because it is the applicable substantive law that determines materiality, whether a particular fact in dispute is material can be seen only in light of the substantive law applicable to the case. Richard v. Hall, 03-1488 (La.4/23/04), 874 So.2d 131, 137.

Louisiana Civil Code article 2320 provides that masters and employers are answerable for the damage caused by their servants in the exercise of the functions in which they are employed. For liability to attach under Article 2320, Cason must 14show a master-servant relationship existed; that is, that Saniford is considered to be Bethany’s servant. See Hughes v. Goodreau, 01-2107 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/31/02), 836 So.2d 649, 656, writ denied, 03-0232 (La.4/21/03), 841 So.2d 793; Whetstone v. Dixon, 616 So.2d 764, 770 (La.App. 1 Cir.), writs denied, 623 So.2d 1333 (La.1993). A servant is one employed to perform services in the affairs of another and who is subject to the other’s control or right of control with respect to the physical conduct in the performance of the services. Whetstone, 616 So.2d at 770 (citing Ermert v. Hartford Ins. Co., 559 So.2d 467, 476 (La.1990)). A non-servant agent con[12]*12tributes to the master’s business, but is not such a part of his master’s business that his physical acts and the time to be devoted to the business are subject to control. Whetstone, 616 So.2d at 770.

Factors to be considered in determining whether a master-servant relationship exists include compensation, status within the organization, performance of a specific mission, intensity of the relationship, control, the role of the organization in conferring authority and exercising control, and direct benefit to the association. Whetstone, 616 So.2d at 770. An unpaid volunteer may be deemed a servant of the organization accepting his services based upon the organization’s right to control the volunteer’s activities. Whetstone, 616 So.2d at 770.

In support of its motion for summary judgment, Bethany offered Saniford’s deposition testimony, as well as an affidavit of Bethany’s chief financial officer, Jared Stockstill. As evidenced by Cason’s motion to supplement the appellate record, Cason also relied on this evidence in opposition to the motion for summary judgment.1

| .^Stockstill attested that Bethany’s 220i program is a two-semester, ten-month program intended to foster further religious education and ministry of its interns. Interns enrolled in the program are required to pay tuition. Saniford was not financially compensated for the internship and was free to withdraw at any point. Stockstill attested that Saniford was not in the course and scope of employment with Bethany at the time of the accident.

Saniford testified that he enrolled in the 220i program in August of 2010, following his graduation from high school, and that he paid $4,500 in tuition. The accident occurred in January of 2011. Saniford explained that during the internship, he lived in a dormitory on Bethany’s campus. In addition to attending classes, a requirement of the 220i program was ministering to junior high and high school students at club meetings held at area schools. The interns conducted the club meetings at the schools to which they were assigned, generally following a lesson plan prepared by Bethany. Saniford explained that the purpose of the club meetings was not to recruit membership for Bethany, but was “loosely put, witnessing to them, sharing the gospel.” At most meetings, a leader in Bethany’s youth program, referred to as an “overseer,” was present. Interns were not required to have their own vehicles, but were expected to arrange their own transportation to club meetings.

On the morning of the accident, Saniford was driving his mother’s vehicle to one of the schools assigned to him, where his overseer, Joy Baker, would be meeting him. Baker was a volunteer who was not employed by Bethany.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Danny C. Weaver v. City of Shreveport
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
Leet v. Hosp. Serv. Dist. No. 1 of E. Baton Rouge Parish
274 So. 3d 583 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
Henry v. Weishaupt
221 So. 3d 299 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
Alvarado v. Lodge at the Bluffs, LLC
217 So. 3d 429 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
Temple v. Morgan
196 So. 3d 71 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Rogillio v. Avizent & SNL Distribution Services Corp.
196 So. 3d 710 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Ashe v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University
193 So. 3d 228 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Miller v. Tauzin
174 So. 3d 1175 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
148 So. 3d 8, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 1825, 2014 WL 3611136, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cason-v-saniford-lactapp-2014.