Clophus v. Taco Bell Corp./HotN'Now

732 So. 2d 692, 1999 WL 182390
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 31, 1999
Docket98-1794
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 732 So. 2d 692 (Clophus v. Taco Bell Corp./HotN'Now) 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
Clophus v. Taco Bell Corp./HotN'Now, 732 So. 2d 692, 1999 WL 182390 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

732 So.2d 692 (1999)

Jeanette A. CLOPHUS, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
TACO BELL CORP./HOT `N' NOW, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 98-1794.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

March 31, 1999.

*693 Louis D. Bufkin, Lake Charles, for Jeanette A. Clophus.

Jeffrey Charles Napolitano, Metairie, Mayra I. Leyva, for Taco Bell Corporation.

BEFORE: YELVERTON, WOODARD, and GREMILLION, Judges.

YELVERTON, J.

Jeanette Clophus appeals a workers' compensation judgment which denied her benefits for a mental injury. Clophus claims that an encounter with her supervisor produced the disabling injury. The workers' compensation judge found that the incident was not an "extraordinary stressful" situation so as to constitute an accident. Taco Bell answered the appeal claiming the workers' compensation judge *694 erred in failing to sanction Clophus and her attorney. We affirm.

FACTS

Clophus began working for Taco Bell on June 1, 1995, as a management trainee. Before that she had been a school teacher for several years. Clophus claims that an incident with the general manager, Morman Richard, caused her to suffer a disabling mental injury.

On January 18, 1996, Richard called Clophus into his office to talk to her. It is somewhat disputed what exactly happened at this meeting. Clophus claims that Richard started "chewing her out" about different things at work and explaining to her that maybe this job was not for her. She claims that he was yelling at her with a loud, angry tone of voice and accusing her of hiring people that had been fired. Richard, on the other hand, testified that he did not yell at her and used a normal tone of voice. He stated that employees had told him that Clophus was spending a majority of the time in the office and not helping them. Richard further stated that in the meeting he explained to Clophus that fast food was not for everyone, and that as a manager you have to perform with the crew, especially when they are busy. He did admit that he asked her if she had hired people who had already been fired, which was against company policy. Richard testified that, after the meeting, Clophus left to make a deposit but never told him she was not coming back to work.

After making the deposit, Clophus went to see Dr. Percival Kane. Dr. Kane told Clophus that she could not work, and Clophus did not return to work.

MENTAL INJURY

The workers' compensation judge found that Clophus had a history of emotional problems and that although the conversation with Richard was unpleasant for her, it did not illustrate an "accident" or "event" as the source of extraordinary stress. The workers' compensation judge specifically found that a meeting with one's boss to discuss job performance is not extraordinary.

The supreme court recently discussed the standard to be applied in reviewing factual findings in a workers' compensation case in Chaisson v. Cajun Bag & Supply Co., 97-1225, p. 8-9 (La.3/4/98); 708 So.2d 375, 380-381 (citations omitted) as follows:

Factual findings in worker's compensation cases are subject to the manifest error or clearly wrong standard of appellate review. In applying the manifest error-clearly wrong standard, the appellate court must determine not whether the trier of fact was right or wrong, but whether the factfinder's conclusion was a reasonable one. Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, a factfinder's choice between them can never be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong.

Mental injury caused by mental stress is not compensable under the Workers' Compensation Law "unless the mental injury was the result of a sudden, unexpected, and extraordinary stress related to the employment and is demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence." La.R.S. 23:1021(7)(b).

Clophus argues that, unlike the situation in Quillin v. Calcasieu Marine Nat. Bank, 96-685 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/11/96); 690 So.2d 802, there is evidence of stress induced by a "single triggering event" as opposed to stress induced by events over several days. Clophus further argues that, although this conversation with Richard might not have affected the reasonable person, she should be evaluated as an individual. However, as we read the workers' compensation judge's reasons for judgment, the judge regarded Clophus' meeting with Richard as a single identifiable event. She found that the event was not "extraordinary" as required by La.R.S. 23:1021(7). Therefore, we will review the case to determine whether the workers' *695 compensation judge committed manifest error in determining that this conversation did not constitute extraordinary stress related to employment.

The determination of what constitutes "extraordinary stress" is a mixed question of law and fact which must be made on a case-by-case basis. Lewis v. Beauregard Memorial Hosp., 94-318 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/2/94); 649 So.2d 655; Henry v. Gulf Coast Cas. Ins. Co., 95-241 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1/31/96); 670 So.2d 307. This court has held that an evaluation under La.R.S. 23:1021(7)(b) focuses on the effect a particular stress might have on the particular injured employee rather than the "reasonable person" standard. Id. This court recognized that the 1989 amendments to the Workers' Compensation Law reflected an intent by the Legislature to stringently condition the award of workers' compensation benefits for mental injury or illness but that intent is satisfied by the requirement that there be a "sudden, unexpected, and extraordinary stress" proved by "clear and convincing evidence." Lewis, 649 So.2d 655.[1]

Furthermore, in Henry, 670 So.2d at 310, (citing Johnson v. Petron, Inc., 617 So.2d 1358 (La.App. 3 Cir.1993)), this court concluded that in order to establish that "extraordinary stress" was experienced, the employee must "prove merely that his physical work stress went beyond what was usual, regular or customary in relation to the average employee in that occupation."

Clophus filed this workers' compensation claim for mental stress against Taco Bell claiming that the accident occurred due to "constant, repeated harassment brought to a crescendo by termination of employment." At trial Clophus explained that the harassment consisted of verbal comments from some of the workers and managers, locking the safe and giving her the wrong combination, and basically just "constantly trying to set [her] up." She explained that the meeting with Richard was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back."

On appeal Clophus does not dispute that she had a history of mental problems. However, prior to trial, Clophus denied ever having any problems with stress. In her answers to questions regarding her previous work history during the deposition and in her answers to interrogatories, Clophus failed to mention that she worked for the Calcasieu Parish School Board in 1991 teaching at Cherry Street Elementary. Discovery revealed that once Clophus began teaching at Cherry Street Elementary, she started experiencing similar problems with that job. At the trial Delores Hicks, who was the principal at Cherry Street Elementary, explained that Clophus did not teach very long. Clophus could not complete the first semester because she was admitted to Charter Hospital in December for psychiatric treatment. Clophus filed a workers' compensation claim against the School Board in September 1992 alleging:

Claimant experienced pressure and work-related stress at the onset of the 1991-1992 school term because of her principal's high demands and unreasonable deadlines.

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Bluebook (online)
732 So. 2d 692, 1999 WL 182390, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clophus-v-taco-bell-corphotnnow-lactapp-1999.