Duplessis v. Warren Petroleum, Inc.

672 So. 2d 1019, 95 La.App. 4 Cir. 1794, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 520, 1996 WL 138564
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 27, 1996
Docket95-CA-1794
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 672 So. 2d 1019 (Duplessis v. Warren Petroleum, Inc.) 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
Duplessis v. Warren Petroleum, Inc., 672 So. 2d 1019, 95 La.App. 4 Cir. 1794, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 520, 1996 WL 138564 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

672 So.2d 1019 (1996)

Anthony James DUPLESSIS, et al.,
v.
WARREN PETROLEUM, INC., et al.

No. 95-CA-1794.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 27, 1996.

*1020 Eileen C. McCarthy and Dwan S. Hilferty, New Orleans, for Appellants.

Carter & Cates, Sidney H. Cates, IV, New Orleans, for Appellees.

Before BARRY, KLEES and BYRNES, JJ.

BARRY, Judge.

A.J., James, Joseph, Clarence and Shannon Duplessis sued Warren Petroleum, Inc., Rex Leinweber, its manager, Cart Enterprises, Inc., and Gene Cart based on intentional racial discrimination and wrongful discharge, retaliation, tortious interference with their *1021 contract of employment, defamation, slander, and libel. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Warren Petroleum and Leinweber and the plaintiffs appeal.[1]

The plaintiffs were employed by Cart Enterprises and/or Gene Cart in January, 1990 and worked in the maintenance shop at Warren Petroleum's Venice site. A.J. Duplessis was a carpenter and the others were helpers. On January 15, 1991 A.J. Duplessis asked Cart if he and his son, Shannon, could take the day off in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday to attend a march in Plaquemines Parish. Gene Cart gave his permission. Cart also allowed Joseph Duplessis take the day off. A.J. Duplessis was suspended the next day and discharged about a week later allegedly because Warren Petroleum wanted him fired for taking leave to observe King's birthday. According to the petition, a white carpenter replaced A.J. Duplessis. Joseph, Clarence, and Shannon Duplessis were discharged soon after allegedly due to cutbacks, but a part-time employee who had not requested leave on the holiday, was given full-time work.

The plaintiffs alleged that none of their replacements had observed Martin Luther King's birthday. They claimed that their discharges were due to racial discrimination prohibited by La.R.S. 23:1006, La.R.S. 51:2231 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Clarence, Joseph, and Shannon also alleged retaliation against their family because A.J. Duplessis filed an EEOC claim. The plaintiffs alleged that Warren Petroleum and Leinweber tortiously interfered with their "contract of employment with Gene Cart and Cart Enterprises..." The plaintiffs also alleged that the defendants defamed, slandered, and libeled them "by failing to report the true nature of their dismissal from employment."

Warren Petroleum and Rex Leinweber supported their motion for summary judgment with affidavits of Gene Cart and Rex Leinweber, who declared that under the contract between Warren Petroleum and Cart Enterprises Warren Petroleum exercised no supervision or control over Cart employees and had no authority as to hiring and firing decisions of Cart Enterprises.[2] Cart was a contractor and the plaintiffs were subcontractors. According to Cart, Shannon Duplessis never reported to work on January 15, 1990 and Clarence worked that day; he gave Joseph Duplessis permission to take the day off. He said A.J. Duplessis was fired because he violated Cart's policy that subcontractors cannot fail to report in order to work another job (A.J. took off January 15, 1990 to work another job). Cart stated that Warren Petroleum did not direct him to terminate the plaintiffs' employment; the decision was made by Cart Enterprises. According to Leinweber, he received no requests from plaintiffs' prospective employers for information relating to their employment. In answers to interrogatories all plaintiffs listed Cart Enterprises as their employer in January, 1990. According to the defendants' statement of uncontested facts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found no employer-employee relationship between Warren Petroleum and A.J. Duplessis.

Plaintiffs submitted affidavits in which they declared that every morning Warren Petroleum's head engineer Jeff Adams, or another Warren Petroleum engineer, gave Cart work orders and directions and Cart distributed them to the crew. The affidavits *1022 stated that Warren Petroleum set the 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. work day, provided tools, set lunch after 12:00 p.m., and they signed a Warren time sheet. A.J. Duplessis stated that he went to Warren Petroleum to interview with Adams for a job at Warren Petroleum; once he was hired, he brought his brothers to the job as his crew. He stated that he reported for work on January 15, 1990, but not much work was scheduled. He asked for the day off to attend the march at 1:00 p.m. and Cart approved it. According to A.J. he then set up a private job which would take a couple of hours. When he returned to work the next day he was suspended and on January 23, 1990 he and his son, Shannon, were fired. Joseph and Clarence reported to work on January 15, but there was little work. Joseph asked to take off the day but Clarence worked. Joseph and Clarence were laid off on January 26, 1990 allegedly due to cutbacks. All four were replaced in approximately one week.

The plaintiffs also submitted the affidavit of Charles Barthelemy, an employee of Brown & Root (another contractor) who did maintenance work at Warren Petroleum. He stated that Warren Petroleum's employees participated in supervising Brown & Root employees and the tools were provided by Warren Petroleum. He knew that at least two and as many as four people were hired to replace the Duplessis family.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo and use the same criteria as the trial court. Summary judgment is a drastic remedy and should be granted only if the pleadings, depositions, interrogatory answers and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue of material fact and movers are entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. La.C.C.P. art. 966; Beis v. Bowers, 94-0178 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1/19/95), 649 So.2d 1094, writ denied, 95-0429 (La. 3/30/95), 651 So.2d 847. Any doubt is resolved in favor of trial on the merits. Raine v. CECO Corporation, 627 So.2d 713 (La.App. 4th Cir.1993).

"Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters therein." La.C.C.P. art. 967. It is insufficient for an affiant to merely declare that he has personal knowledge of a fact. The affidavit must affirmatively establish that the affiant is competent to testify as to the matter by a factual averment showing how he came by the knowledge. Barham & Churchill v. Campbell & Associates, 503 So.2d 576 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987), writ denied, 503 So.2d 1018 (La.1987). An affidavit in opposition which contains hearsay statements aimed at impeaching the credibility of the mover's affidavit does not create a material issue of fact and defeat the summary judgment. Charles v. Faust, 487 So.2d 612 (La.App. 4th Cir.1986).

The plaintiffs primarily filed an intentional discrimination in employment suit under La.R.S. 51:2231 et seq. (Louisiana Commission on Human Rights), La.R.S. 23:1006 (Intentional Discrimination in Employment), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.). In discrimination actions the plaintiff has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence a prima facie case of discrimination. Then the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate some legitimate, non-discriminatory reason.

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Bluebook (online)
672 So. 2d 1019, 95 La.App. 4 Cir. 1794, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 520, 1996 WL 138564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/duplessis-v-warren-petroleum-inc-lactapp-1996.