Haley v. McManus

593 So. 2d 1339, 1991 WL 310810
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 27, 1991
DocketCA 90 1396
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 593 So. 2d 1339 (Haley v. McManus) 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
Haley v. McManus, 593 So. 2d 1339, 1991 WL 310810 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

593 So.2d 1339 (1991)

Larry W. HALEY, Sr., Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Larry W. Haley, Jr.
v.
Joyce McMANUS, East Feliciana Parish School Board and International Indemnity Company.

No. CA 90 1396.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

December 27, 1991.

*1340 Steven R. Giglio, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-appellee Larry W. Haley, Sr., etc.

Timothy E. Pujol, Donald T.W. Phelps, Baton Rouge, for defendants-appellants Joyce McManus, Horace Mann Ins. Co.

Richard Nevils, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant East Feliciana Parish School Bd.

Before COVINGTON, C.J., and SAVOIE and LEBLANC, JJ.

COVINGTON, Chief Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment of the district court which held an elementary school teacher, her malpractice insurer, the school board which employed her, and its insurer liable to the parents of a seven-year-old boy for a whipping administered to the boy on May 5, 1987, with a belt by the teacher. The parents contended at trial that the blows from the belt, which struck the boy about his head and shoulder, precipitated petit mal epileptic seizures and resulted in psychiatric treatment for overanxious disorder relating to his continued school attendance. The district court awarded plaintiffs a judgment of $10,000.00 in general damages, $1,000.00 to each parent for loss of consortium, and all costs and experts' fees, together with interest. Additionally, judgment was rendered granting indemnity to the school board and its insurer from the teacher and her malpractice insurer for all damages awarded to the plaintiffs, and dismissing the third party *1341 claims of the teacher and her malpractice insurer against the school board and its insurer.

For the reasons hereinafter stated, we reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand.

Many of the facts established at trial are undisputed. It is clear from the record that Larry Haley, Jr., is a physically attractive child who suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder with hyperactivity. This condition predated the incident herein, and was suspected but not diagnosed prior thereto, and was untreated until after the incident. It also was the cause of Larry's being a "discipline problem" throughout his kindergarten and first grade years at Jackson Elementary School, according to his former teachers and the principal. Larry had a minimal attention span, would not remain at his desk, and frequently was uncooperative with his teachers and disruptive of the classroom. Larry's parents testified that he has always been a very active child, but it is clear from the record that they did not or could not perceive the extent to which his behavior was a problem at school, and regarded him as a normal little boy. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Haley finished high school; Mrs. Haley testified that after failing two grades, she dropped out of ninth grade to get married, and Mr. Haley dropped out of eleventh grade, working since as a diesel and gasoline mechanic and a pipe welder. The Haleys denied ever receiving a request from the school or Larry's teachers that he be evaluated because of his behavior; Mrs. Haley stated that she initiated a request to have Larry evaluated because she was concerned about his doing so poorly in school, and had discovered while visiting at a neighbor's house that this could be done. She testified that the school never obtained the necessary forms for her to sign. However, Larry's teachers and principal testified that such requests were made by them to no avail and that the Haleys would not sign the necessary authorization forms, and that all attempts to discuss Larry's problem behavior with his parents were unproductive.

On the day in question, May 5, 1987, Larry's teacher, defendant Joyce McManus, had taken a belt away from another student. She testified that she was having problems with Larry that morning, as he would not do what she told him and had called her "nigger" several times, so she told him to report to the principal. When Larry refused to go, she stated that she swung the belt to strike the desk in front of him in order to get his attention and frighten him. She did not remember striking Larry. However, on being shown photographs of the marks on Larry taken by his father later that day, she admitted that the marks corresponded to where the belt accidentally hit him.

The record establishes that Ms. McManus had received several unsatisfactory reviews of her teaching performance that year. The indication is that the basis for these reviews was an inability to properly control her students. However, the evidence also indicates that she was assigned to the class of "low achievers" among the six first grades at Jackson Elementary. Although both Ms. McManus and Shirley F. Cupit, the principal at the time, initially denied that Ms. McManus had been informed prior to this incident that she would not be recommended for rehiring the following school year, Ms. Cupit later testified that she personally delivered the letter containing this notification to Ms. McManus. The letter, which was filed into evidence, is undated. Ms. McManus testified that she did not return to school after the day of this incident and that she resigned. Therefore, she must have received this notification prior to the incident in question. Plaintiffs contend that anger over this letter, coupled with her anger at Larry personally, led to her taking her frustration out on Larry with the belt, and that the photographs of the marks on the child negate the "accidental" character of the belt strikes on him. Ms. McManus did not report this incident to anyone; the plaintiffs contacted the school and school board after Larry came home that afternoon with the marks on his face and shoulder.

*1342 The trial judge found that "... the actions of the teacher, Ms. McManus, were not maliciously, willfully and deliberately intended to cause bodily harm."[1] He further found that the school board was liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior for the "negligence" of its employee. As for the claims between the two groups of defendants, the court held that LSA-R.S. 17:416.4 was the controlling statute in this instance and that pursuant to its provisions, Ms. McManus and her insurer, Horace Mann Insurance Company, were not entitled to indemnity from the East Feliciana Parish School Board, but that the school board and its insurer, International Indemnity Company, were entitled to indemnity from McManus and Horace Mann. The court also based its decision that the school board and its insurer were entitled to indemnity on the case of Barbin v. State of Louisiana, 506 So.2d 888 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1987).

Ms. McManus and Horace Mann suspensively appealed the judgment of the district court, contending that the court erred (1) in awarding damages for loss of consortium; (2) in failing to award defense costs or indemnity to Ms. McManus from the school board; (3) in ordering Ms. McManus to indemnify the school board; and (4) in awarding excessive damages of $10,000.00.

The East Feliciana Parish School Board and International Indemnity Company suspensively appealed the judgment also, appealing only the loss of consortium awards to the parents and the amount of general damages.

Plaintiffs have answered the appeal, contending that the trial court erred in refusing to award them damages for their own mental and emotional injury pursuant to Lejeune v. Rayne Branch Hospital, 556 So.2d 559 (La.1990).

We will turn to the questions regarding the awards of damages first.

GENERAL DAMAGES AWARD

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
593 So. 2d 1339, 1991 WL 310810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haley-v-mcmanus-lactapp-1991.