Dailey v. Travis

872 So. 2d 1104, 2004 WL 324727
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 14, 2004
Docket2002 CW 2051R
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 872 So. 2d 1104 (Dailey v. Travis) 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
Dailey v. Travis, 872 So. 2d 1104, 2004 WL 324727 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

872 So.2d 1104 (2004)

Sharon DAILEY
v.
Helen TRAVIS, et al.

No. 2002 CW 2051R.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

February 23, 2004.
Writ Granted May 14, 2004.

*1105 Clifton Bingham, Jr., Andrew Dreher Benton, Baton Rouge, Counsel for Defendants/Relators Helen Travis, et al.

*1106 Miles Gregory Trapolin, New Orleans, Counsel for Plaintiff/Respondent Sharon Dailey.

Before: KUHN, GUIDRY, and PETTIGREW, JJ.

KUHN, J.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has remanded this writ application to our court for briefing, argument, and opinion. Defendants-relators, Johnnie Jones, Helen Travis, Inez Robinson, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections ("the Department"), assert that the trial court improperly denied their exception raising the objection of prematurity, which they raised in response to a tort action filed by plaintiff-respondent, Sharon Dailey. At issue is whether Dailey was required to exhaust administrative remedies pursuant to Louisiana Corrections Administrative Remedy Procedure ("CARP"), Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:1171-1179, and the Louisiana Prison Litigation Reform Act ("LPLRA"), Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:1181-1191, before asserting her claims in district court.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 12, 2001, Dailey filed this personal injury suit against the defendants for injuries allegedly sustained during her incarceration at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women ("Correctional Institute").[1] Dailey claims that on October 17, 2000, prison employees ordered her to climb on top of a water buffalo, a trailer-mounted water tank used for irrigation. Dailey asserts the prison employees knew she was not physically fit to be on top of the vehicle, knew the vehicle was not functioning properly, and knew that it was not designed for transportation. Dailey contends she fell off of the water buffalo and was severely injured. Dailey initially received treatment at the prison infirmary and was treated months later at Earl K. Long Hospital. Dailey asserts that the hospital staff referred her to a spine clinic and an orthopaedic surgeon, but that prison officials failed to provide her with the recommended medical appointments. Dailey maintains that she requested orthopedic treatment through the prison's administrative remedy procedures, but it was not provided. Due to the lack of timely and adequate medical treatment, Dailey complains she continues to suffer from pain in her neck and back.[2]

Claiming that defendants have been negligent, Dailey seeks to recover damages, including medical bills, future medical expenses, and general damages for pain and suffering. Dailey asserts that defendants have violated Louisiana Revised Statutes R.S. 15:760 and 15:831 by failing to provide reasonable medical treatment. Dailey also asserts a claim based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that her civil rights have been violated by defendants' deliberate indifference to her need for medical care.

In response, defendants filed dilatory exceptions raising the objection of prematurity.[3] The defendants urge that Dailey has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies as required by Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:1172 of CARP and Louisiana *1107 Revised Statutes 15:1184 and 15:1191 of the LPLRA. Dailey opposed the exception, arguing that she is entitled to proceed with this trial court proceeding based on the holding of Pope v. State, 1999-2559 (La.6/29/01), 792 So.2d 713. Finding merit in this contention, the trial court denied defendants' exceptions raising the objection of prematurity in a judgment dated August 21, 2002.

Thereafter, defendants filed a writ application, which was denied by this court on March 10, 2003. Defendants then filed a writ application with the Supreme Court that was granted. The Supreme Court remanded the matter to this court for "briefing, argument and opinion." Dailey v. Travis, XXXX-XXXX (La.6/20/03), 847 So.2d 1246.

In their brief, the defendants contend that the trial court erred: 1) in holding that the Pope decision nullified the entirety of CARP legislation as it relates to tort suits; 2) by not applying the LPLRA; and 3) by not retroactively applying the provisions of CARP as amended by Acts 2002, 1st Extraordinary Session, No. 89 ("Act 89"). Dailey urges that Pope governs her case, and she was not required to exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing suit. Additionally, she contends that the amendments to CARP and the LPLRA should not be applied retroactively, because the procedure that existed when she filed her requests cannot be changed.

II. ANALYSIS

In Cheron v. LCS Corrections Services, Inc., XXXX-XXXXR2 (La.App. 1st Cir. 2/23/04), 872 So.2d 1094, 2004 WL 324533, also decided this date, we addressed whether CARP (as amended by Act 89) had retroactive effect, governing whether an inmate's tort suit filed prior to the effective date of Act 89 was premature. In Cheron, we found that Act 89 was both remedial and procedural legislation that was intended to correct inadvertent error in the prior CARP legislation. However, we also determined that though Act 89 could be applied retroactively, it could not be applied retroactively to the facts of the Cheron case without affecting substantive rights. We concluded that the administrative regulations that existed prior to the enactment of Act 89, which established deadlines for the procedures effectuating the unconstitutional CARP legislation, could not be enforced. Thus, we found that the Department was unable to establish that there were valid administrative remedies available to Cheron at the time that his cause of action arose. Accordingly, we held that the Department's exceptions raising the objection of prematurity were properly denied.

In the present case, Dailey filed her First Step request for administrative remedy procedure on January 8, 2001, in which she stated that she had been refused medication. She also complained that she had been refused treatment for her orthopedic problems. In response, Travis completed a First Step Response Form dated January 16, 2001. Travis replied that Dailey's request was granted, stating, "You were seen by [Dr. Suryadevara] on 1/12/00 and started on flexaril. You were also placed on restricted duty status and will be seen by an orthopedic doctor." Thereafter, Dailey filed an unsigned and undated request for a Second Step Review, which stated that she had received a written response to her First Step request but was not satisfied with it. She complained that the First Step response was "only partially granted. No medication have been given... neither is an orthopedic appointment scheduled (It was only stated there would be. No orders were written.)" Dailey's request for review was rejected on January 29, 2001 as "not submitted in a timely manner: over 5 days since first step response."[4]*1108 On July 12, 2001, Dailey filed suit in district court.

An exception raising the objection of prematurity pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 926 A(1) raises the issue of whether the judicial cause of action has not yet come into existence because some prerequisite condition has not been fulfilled. Ginn v. Woman's Hosp. Foundation, Inc., XXXX-XXXX, p. 3 (La.App. 1st Cir.9/22/00), 770 So.2d 428, 430-431, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.2/2/01), 784 So.2d 647.

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Bluebook (online)
872 So. 2d 1104, 2004 WL 324727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dailey-v-travis-lactapp-2004.