Green v. Garcia-Victor

248 So. 3d 449
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 16, 2018
DocketNO. 2017–C–0695
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 248 So. 3d 449 (Green v. Garcia-Victor) 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
Green v. Garcia-Victor, 248 So. 3d 449 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

JUDGE TERRI F. LOVE

This application for supervisory review arises from petitions filed by cab drivers against Uber drivers alleging violations of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. Following supplementation of the original petition, the Uber drivers filed an exception of no cause of action, which the trial court denied. The Uber drivers sought our supervisory review. This Court denied the writ, and the Uber drivers sought review from the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Supreme Court remanded the matter for full briefing, oral argument, and opinion.

This Court considered the matter en banc and finds that the trial court did not err by denying the Uber drivers' exception of no cause of action because the cab drivers set forth a cause of action. Thus, the application for supervisory review is denied.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A group of cab drivers ("Cabbies") filed a Petition Based Upon Unfair Trade Practices, Request for Class Certification and *452Request for Injunctive Relief against a group of Uber drivers ("Ubers") alleging that they were operating in violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act ("LUTPA"). The Cabbies contended that the Ubers' violations of the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Safety Law, the Louisiana Driver's License Law, and other municipal ordinances constituted unfair trade practices.

The Ubers filed Exceptions of No Cause of Action and No Right of Action. The trial court granted the Exception of No Cause of Action as to the Cabbies' LUTPA claims, but denied the Exception of No Right of Action regarding the alleged violations of the Louisiana Driver's License Law. This Court and the Louisiana Supreme Court denied writs on that judgment. Green v. Garcia-Victor , 16-0447, unpub. (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/31/16), writ denied , 16-1249 (La. 10/28/16), 208 So.3d 379.

The Cabbies filed a First Supplemental and Amended Petition asserting additional violations of municipal ordinances to establish liability pursuant to LUTPA.2 The Cabbies then filed a Second Amending, Supplemental and Restated Petition alleging that the Ubers performed the same work as the Cabbies, who have commercial driver's licenses, but were not subject to the same regulatory requirements, which resulted in disparate treatment by the City of New Orleans. The Cabbies contended that the Ubers: (1) accepted passengers for cash without the Uber app; (2) staged and used cab stands; (3) accepted fares to and from the airport without authorization; (4) failed to notify Uber (the Transportation Network Company "TNC")3 and its insurer of accidents; (5) transported passengers without a chauffeur's license; and (6) prohibited cabs from picking up and dropping off customers at the Voodoo Experience Music Festival. The Cabbies further asserted that the Ubers were engaging in illegally providing transportation services for hire, and that their non-compliance with state regulatory rules resulted in unfair competition pursuant to LUTPA. Moreover, the Cabbies averred that they "suffered an ascertainable loss of money or movable property, corporeal or incorporeal, as a result of the use or employment by Defendants of an unfair and unlawful trade practice in violation of Louisiana Revised Statute § 51:1405." They asserted that they suffered "harm, injuries, and damages, including loss of income, relevant market share, business reputation, goodwill, and attorneys' fees and costs." The Cabbies also alleged the following class of defendants, for purposes of class action: "All UberX drivers operating in New Orleans during the time of April 16, 2015 through the present."

Subsequently, the Ubers filed an Exception of No Cause of Action regarding the Second Amending, Supplemental and Restated Petition. The trial court denied the exception and stated the petition, as written, sufficiently stated a cause of action. The Ubers sought supervisory review from this Court. This Court denied writs. Green v. Garcia-Victor , 17-0695, unpub. (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/13/17). The Louisiana Supreme Court granted writs and remanded *453the matter "for briefing, argument, and full opinion." Greekv. Garcia-Victor , 17-2071 (La. 02/02/18), 233 So.3d 614. This Court heard the matter en banc on April 18, 2018.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"Questions of law are reviewed by the appellate court under the de novo standard of review." Cosey on behalf of Hilliard v. Flight Acad. of New Orleans, LLC , 17-0364, p. 3 (La. App. 4 Cir. 10/25/17), --- So.3d ----, ----, 2017 WL 4803829, *3. "Exceptions of no cause of action present legal questions, which are reviewed using the de novo standard of review." O'Dwyer v. Edwards , 08-1492, p. 3 (La. App. 4 Cir. 6/10/09), 15 So.3d 308, 310.

NO CAUSE OF ACTION

"An exception is a means of defense, other than a denial or avoidance of the demand, used by the defendant, whether in the principal or an incidental action, to retard, dismiss, or defeat the demand brought against him." La. C.C.P. art. 921. An exception of no cause of action is a peremptory exception. La. C.C.P. art. 927(A). "The function of the peremptory exception is to have the plaintiff's action declared legally nonexistent, or barred by effect of law, and hence this exception tends to dismiss or defeat the action." La. C.C.P. art. 923. "On the trial of the peremptory exception pleaded at or prior to the trial of the case, evidence may be introduced to support or controvert any of the objections pleaded, when the grounds thereof do not appear from the petition." La. C.C.P. art. 931. However, "[n]o evidence may be introduced at any time to support or controvert the objection that the petition fails to state a cause of action." La. C.C.P. art. 931. "The burden of demonstrating that the petition states no cause of action is upon the mover." 831 Bartholomew Investments-A, L.L.C. v. Margulis , 08-0559, p. 10 (La. App. 4 Cir. 9/2/09), 20 So.3d 532, 538.

"The questioned [sic] posed by an exception of no cause of action is 'whether the law provides a remedy against the particular defendant.' " 2400 Canal, LLC v. Bd. of Sup'rs of Louisiana State Univ. Agr. & Mech. Coll. , 12-0220, pp. 6-7 (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/7/12), 105 So.3d 819, 825, quoting Badeaux v. Southwest Computer Bureau, Inc. , 05-0612, 05-0719, p. 7 (La. 3/17/06), 929 So.2d 1211, 1216-17. "An exception of no cause of action tests 'the legal sufficiency of the petition by determining whether the law affords a remedy on the facts alleged in the pleading.' " Moreno v.

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Bluebook (online)
248 So. 3d 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-garcia-victor-lactapp-2018.