Dawson v. Falgout

215 So. 3d 373, 16 La.App. 5 Cir. 373, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2331
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 21, 2016
DocketNO. 16-CA-373; 16-CA-374
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 215 So. 3d 373 (Dawson v. Falgout) 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
Dawson v. Falgout, 215 So. 3d 373, 16 La.App. 5 Cir. 373, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2331 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinions

CHEHARDY, C.J.

hOn appeal, plaintiff seeks review of the trial court’s finding in favor of defendants and dismissal of all of plaintiffs’ demands. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court’s ruling.

Facts

On the night of March 5, 2001, authorities received a 9-1-1 hang-up call originating from 1145 Tensas Drive in Harvey, Louisiana, in Jefferson Parish. According to policy, Jefferson Parish Sheriffs (“JPSO”) deputies were dispatched to the address to investigate. When Deputy Aswald Falgout, a 12-year veteran of the JPSO, arrived, he rang the doorbell and Ms. Phyllis Batiste answered the door. A few seconds later, Bryant Sears, Sr., Ms. Batiste’s longtime boyfriend, walked up behind her and told the deputy that there was no problem. When Deputy Falgout asked Ms. Batiste if there were any problems, Ms. Batiste told him that Mr. Sears had been beating her son, Willis, who had escaped from the house.

In the meantime, Deputy Ryan Singleton, a three-year employee of the JPSO, had arrived so the deputies began speaking with Ms. Batiste and Mr. Sears about the situation. Almost immediately, a young man rounded the corner of the house about 25 to 30 feet away and walked quickly toward them. As he approached, Deputy Falgout turned to ask Ms. Batiste the young man’s name and Ms. Batiste identified him as her son, Willis Batiste. Almost immediately, Deputy Falgout looked back at the young man, who was approaching quickly, and saw the glint of a knife in Willis Batiste’s hand. Immediately, Deputy Falgout drew his service revolver and shouted to Willis Batiste to drop the knife but Batiste raised the knife and struck Mr. Sears. Deputy Singleton, who was a few feet behind Deputy Falgout, also drew his service revolver and instructed Batiste to drop the knife.

D.Twice more, Willis Batiste struck Mr. Sears. Twice more, Deputy Falgout instructed Batiste to drop the knife. When Batiste refused to comply with the third request, Deputy Falgout shot him once in the lower right side.

After the shooting, Deputy Singleton approached Batiste, who had dropped the knife handle when he fell. At this point, the deputies observed that the knife blade had been broken during the struggle so Mr. Sears had not been stabbed.

Deputy Singleton testified that the period of time between the moment that Willis Batiste attacked Mr. Sears until he was shot by Deputy Falgout was two to three seconds. Further, the dispatch records reflect that the entire episode from the moment Deputy Singleton arrived on scene until he called for an ambulance for Willis Batiste was 46 seconds.

Procedural History

On March 2, 2002, plaintiff, William Dawson, individually, and as surviving father of Willis Batiste, filed suit against Aswald Falgout, Ryan Singleton, Harry Lee,1 in his capacity as Sheriff of Jefferson Parish, and JPSO’s insurer. On March 5, 2002, plaintiffs, Phyllis Batiste, individually and as the natural tutor of her minor children, Jasmine Sears, Bryant Sears, Jr., [377]*377and William Batiste filed suit against Harry Lee,2 in his official capacity of Sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Aswald Falgout, Ryan Singleton, Hospital Service District No. 1 Jefferson Parish d/b/a West Jefferson Medical Center, and Boyd Edwards.3

On June 10, 2002, William Dawson moved to consolidate the two matters for trial. On May 19, 2009, the trial judge signed the order of consolidation.

On December 15, 2015, the matter proceeded to trial before the bench. After hearing the testimony and reviewing all the evidence, the trial court found in Isfavor of defendants and dismissed all of plaintiffs’ demands. Plaintiff, Phyllis Batiste, in proper person, appeals that ruling.

Law and Argument

On appeal, Ms. Batiste contends that the trial court erred in failing to find that the deputies were negligent when they used “excessive and unreasonable force” against her son, Willis Batiste. Ms. Batiste further contends that the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office was negligent because “Officers Aswald Falgout and Ryan Singleton did not have the proper training to deal with this domestic issue.” Finally, Ms. Batiste contends that she “acquired ineffective assistance of counsel” because she was not advised by her attorney that the trial was before the judge, not a jury.

Standard of Review

It has long been “well-settled that a court of appeal may not set aside a trial court’s finding of fact in the absence of ‘manifest error’ or unless it is ‘clearly wrong,’ and where there is conflict in the testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even though the appellate court may feel that its own evaluations and inferences are as reasonable.” Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840, 844-45 (La. 1989); Arceneaux v. Domingue, 365 So.2d 1330, 1333 (La. 1978). Further, if the trial court’s findings are reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety, the court of appeal may not reverse even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Rosell, supra.

When findings are based on determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses, the manifest error-clearly wrong standard demands great deference to the trier of fact’s findings; for only the factfinder can be aware of the variations in demeanor and tone of voice that bear so heavily on the listener’s understanding and belief in what is said. Where documents or objective evidence so contradict the witness’s story, or the story itself is so internally inconsistent or implausible on its face, that a reasonable fact finder would not credit the witness’s story, the court of appeal may well find manifest error or clear Rwrongness even in a finding purportedly based upon a credibility determination. But where such factors are not present, and a fact-finder’s finding is based on its decision to credit the testimony of one of two or more witnesses, that finding can virtually never be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong.

Rosell, 549 So.2d at 844-45 (citations omitted). With these principles in mind, we must review the record and determine if the trier of fact erred in its conclusion.

[378]*378Negligence

Louisiana has adopted a duty-risk analysis in order to determine whether to impose liability pursuant to La. C.G. art. 2315. To prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove: (1) the conduct in question was the cause-in-fact of the resulting harm; (2) defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff; (3) the requisite duty was breached by the defendant; (4) the risk of harm was within the scope of protection afforded by the duty breached; and (5) actual damages. Faucheaux v. Terrebonne Consolidated Government, 615 So.2d 289, 292 (La. 1993); Mart v. Hill, 505 So.2d 1120 (La. 1987). Under the duty-risk analysis, all five inquiries must be answered affirmatively for plaintiff to recover for a defendant’s negligence. Mathieu v. Imperial Toy Corp., 94-0952 (La. 11/30/94), 646 So.2d 318, 322.

First, cause-in-fact is generally a “but for” inquiry. If the plaintiff probably would not have sustained the injuries but for the defendant’s conduct, such conduct is a cause-in-fact. Fowler v. Roberts, 556 So.2d 1, 5 (La. 1989).

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Bluebook (online)
215 So. 3d 373, 16 La.App. 5 Cir. 373, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dawson-v-falgout-lactapp-2016.