Henry v. Taco Tio, Inc.

606 So. 2d 1376, 1992 WL 310230
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 28, 1992
Docket24112-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 606 So. 2d 1376 (Henry v. Taco Tio, 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
Henry v. Taco Tio, Inc., 606 So. 2d 1376, 1992 WL 310230 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

606 So.2d 1376 (1992)

Laurie Katherine HENRY, Individually and as Tutrix for her minor children, James Christopher Henry and Joshua Edward Henry, Appellant,
v.
TACO TIO, INC., et al., Appellees.

No. 24112-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 28, 1992.

*1378 Kidd-Culpepper by Paul Henry Kidd, Monroe, for appellant.

Davenport, Files & Kelly by Mike C. Sanders, Monroe, for appellee Taco Bell Corp.

Brady D. King, II, Monroe, for State Farm Ins. Co.

Charles S. Smith, Monroe, for Taco Tio, Inc.

Jack Wright, Jr., Monroe, for James and Darlene Doull.

Before SEXTON, LINDSAY and HIGHTOWER, JJ.

LINDSAY, Judge.

The plaintiff, Laurie Katherine Henry, appeals from a summary judgment in favor of Taco Bell Corporation (TBC), dismissing TBC as a defendant in a tort suit which she filed against TBC and a restaurant franchise owner who was her former employer and the father of her two illegitimate children. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

In 1985, the plaintiff was hired to work at the Taco Bell restaurant on Highway 165 in Monroe. This restaurant was one of four Taco Bell franchises owned by James Doull in the Monroe/Ruston area. (The franchise agreements with TBC were in Mr. Doull's name individually, but he operated the restaurants through Taco Tio, a corporation he owned with his wife, Darlene Doull.)

In May of 1986, Mr. Doull made sexual advances, and the plaintiff succumbed. (She now contends that she was in fear of losing her job.) The plaintiff and Mr. Doull thereafter maintained a sexual relationship which lasted almost three years and resulted in the plaintiff becoming pregnant three times.

The plaintiff's first pregnancy was terminated by abortion in August, 1986. The other pregnancies resulted in the births of James Christopher Henry (DOB—6/5/87) and Joshua Edward Henry (DOB— 10/1/88).

During her relationship with Mr. Doull, the plaintiff worked at his various Taco Bell franchises and eventually became a store manager. For several months in 1986, the plaintiff and Mr. Doull even lived together openly. (However, Mr. Doull moved out when he learned of the plaintiff's first pregnancy.) Eventually, Mr. Doull's wife, who lived in San Antonio, Texas, learned of the affair. Although the record is unclear as to who told Mrs. Doull, Mr. Doull believed that it was the plaintiff herself. (She denied this allegation.)

Thereafter, the Doulls offered the plaintiff a lump sum of money and assistance in obtaining a job at another Taco Bell not owned by the Doulls if she would resign from Mr. Doull's employment. According to the plaintiff, this arrangement was to remain a secret between the Doulls and the plaintiff. However, the plaintiff confided in her sister, who then called Mrs. Doull to question her about the offer.

The plaintiff claimed that the next morning, on January 17, 1989, an enraged Mr. Doull was waiting for her at the franchise where she worked. When she entered the restaurant to open it for business, he physically assaulted her. He then fired her and ordered her off the premises. The police *1379 were summoned to the restaurant. Mr. Doull was arrested for battery and the plaintiff for trespassing.

Subsequently, the plaintiff was hired at another Taco Bell in Jackson, Mississippi, on Mr. Doull's recommendation. Unlike the Doulls' franchises, this restaurant was a "company store" owned by TBC. The plaintiff claimed that her employment there was in fulfillment of her bargain with the Doulls.

The plaintiff filed suit on January 9, 1990, individually and on behalf of her two minor children. Named as defendants were Mr. and Mrs. Doull; their corporation, Taco Tio, Inc.; TBC; and the defendants' liability insurers. In a lengthy petition, the plaintiff asserted numerous causes of actions against the defendants. (However, the plaintiff has specifically resisted efforts to characterize her suit as one for sexual harassment.) As to TBC, the plaintiff asserted that it was responsible for Mr. Doull's actions because he was TBC's agent. She also contended that TBC was aware of her relationship with Mr. Doull and did nothing to protect her. The plaintiff claimed that a TBC district manager even advised her to have an abortion during her third pregnancy.

The plaintiff characterized herself as being "imprisoned by this socio-economic bondage as a minimum-wage sexual play thing." The items for which she seeks damages range from "the loss of all of those romantic, hedonistic, and material satisfactions a normal 20 year old female might expect from a traditional courtship and wedding, without children born out of wedlock," to "loss of individual dignity and the privilege in sharing in the American dream." The plaintiff also sued on the children's behalf. She claimed damages for them because of their illegitimate status, arguing that they will be deprived of a "traditional" American childhood and "an adequate and satisfactory education," and that they will probably be "second class citizens."

On February 6, 1990, TBC filed an answer in which it denied exercising any control over the daily operations of the Doull franchises or having any knowledge of the sexual relationship between the plaintiff and Mr. Doull until after the termination of the plaintiff's employment. It further maintained that the plaintiff was hired at a company store in Mississippi on February 2, 1989, upon the representations of the plaintiff and Mr. Doull that it was a normal employee relocation. She was soon promoted to assistant manager, but quit without notice in July, 1989. TBC also denied that any district manager advised the plaintiff to have an abortion.

On June 17, 1991, TBC filed a motion for summary judgment and an alternative exception of no cause of action. In connection with the motion, the parties filed into the record the depositions of the plaintiff, Mr. Doull, and Woodrow Jones, a TBC district manager who supervised the plaintiff in Mississippi.

After a hearing on July 31, 1991, the trial court granted the motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims against TBC, with prejudice. In its written opinion, the trial court found that TBC was not the plaintiff's employer, nor was Mr. Doull an employee or agent of TBC. Furthermore, the trial court stated that it found no theory of law under which TBC could be held liable under the facts of this case.

The plaintiff appeals.

DISCUSSION

Summary judgment is properly granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. Art. 966; Barto v. Franchise Enterprises, Inc., 588 So.2d 1353 (La.App. 2d Cir.1991), writ denied, 591 So.2d 708 (La.1992).

Deposition Testimony

The material facts relevant to TBC's motion for summary judgment are not seriously *1380 disputed. In her deposition, the plaintiff stated that she succumbed to Mr. Doull's sexual advances because she feared for her job. However, her testimony clearly established that Mr. Doull neither did or said anything from which she could have reasonably inferred that rejecting his attentions would have endangered her employment. The plaintiff also stated that she did not have any personal knowledge to contradict Mr. Doull's assertion that he did not tell anyone at TBC of their sexual relationship. Nor did she know of anyone at TBC who knew of the births of their children at the time.

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Bluebook (online)
606 So. 2d 1376, 1992 WL 310230, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henry-v-taco-tio-inc-lactapp-1992.