Hoffpauir v. City of Crowley

241 So. 2d 67
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 18, 1971
Docket3202
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 241 So. 2d 67 (Hoffpauir v. City of Crowley) 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
Hoffpauir v. City of Crowley, 241 So. 2d 67 (La. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

241 So.2d 67 (1970)

Dudley HOFFPAUIR, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
CITY OF CROWLEY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 3202.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

November 2, 1970.
Rehearing Denied December 3, 1970.
Writ Refused January 18, 1971.

*68 Davidson, Meaux, Onebane & Donohoe by V. Farley Sonnier, Lafayette, for plaintiff-appellant.

Joseph S. Gueno, Jr., Crowley, for defendant-appellee.

Before FRUGÉ, SAVOY and HOOD, JJ.

HOOD, Judge.

Plaintiff, Dudley Hoffpauir, instituted this suit against the City of Crowley to recover a sum of money alleged to be due him as "sick leave" benefits under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 33:2214(B). Judgment was rendered by the trial court in favor of defendant, and plaintiff has appealed.

There is no dispute as to any of the pertinent facts. Hoffpauir suffered a heart attack on May 27, 1969, while in the performance of his duties as a policeman for the City of Crowley. He has been disabled continuously since that time. The city paid him his full salary from the date of the accident until September 30, 1969, a period of a little more than four months.

On September 1, 1969, after Hoffpauir had become disabled, his salary was increased from $435.00 to $540.00 per month, and he received one month's pay at that increased rate.

On September 30, 1969, the Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund of the City of Crowley, Louisiana, met for the purpose of deciding "whether or not to put Captain Dudley Hoffpauir on disability retirement, as recommended by Dr. Cecil G. Edwards and based on a report of Dr. Martin Samson." At that meeting a motion was made, seconded and adopted that plaintiff "be retired, subject to re-evaluation at six month intervals." From and after the date on which that action was taken, plaintiff has received no further payments from the City of Crowley, but he has received from the Police Pension Fund monthly payments of two-thirds of his average monthly salary for the previous twelve month period. His payments from the Pension Fund have amounted to $314.42 per month.

Plaintiff instituted this suit against the City of Crowley, demanding judgment against that defendant for "the full sick leave benefits since the onset of his disability to date, legal interest on the overdue payments, costs of court and reasonable attorney's fees." As already noted, judgment on the merits was rendered by the trial court in favor of defendant, and this appeal was taken by plaintiff from that judgment.

Plaintiff contends that he is entitled to receive from the City of Crowley his full salary, as "sick leave" benefits, for a period of 52 weeks after the date he became disabled, all as provided by LSA-R.S. 33:2214 (B). He takes the position that after he *69 will have received his full salary for that period of time, then he thereafter will be entitled to receive from the Police Pension Fund two-thirds of his average monthly salary, as provided in LSA-R.S. 33:2234. In a written brief submitted in behalf of plaintiff, it is argued "that a policeman is entitled to fifty-two (52) weeks full salary sick leave following which, if he is still disabled, he is entitled to retirement under the provisions of 2234."

Defendant contends that the Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund was required by the provisions of LSA-R.S. 33:2234 to retire plaintiff when the board found him to be disabled while in the performance of his duties, and that pursuant to the mandatory provisions of that statute the board did retire plaintiff on September 30, 1969. It asserts that upon plaintiff's retirement his right to receive further payments from the city ceased, and that thereafter he was relegated solely to the retirement benefits provided by LSA-R.S. 33:2234 to be paid from the Police Pension Fund.

The issue presented, therefore, is whether plaintiff is entitled to receive from the City of Crowley his full salary for 52 weeks as sick leave benefits under LSA-R.S. 33:2214(B), or whether the city is obligated to pay him such benefits only from the time he became disabled until the date on which he was formally retired pursuant to the provisions of LSA-R.S. 33:2234, a period of about four months. Both parties concede that eventually, after the expiration of one of the two above-mentioned periods of time, Hoffpauir is entitled to receive retirement benefits from the Police Pension Fund amounting to two-thirds of the highest average monthly salary for any continuous twelve month period of time worked prior to retirement.

The pertinent part of LSA-R.S. 33:2214 (B), as amended by Act 97 of 1968, provides:

"B. Each employee of the police departments of the municipalities covered by this Sub-part shall be entitled to and given with full pay a sick leave aggregating not less than fifty-two (52) weeks during any calendar year when the conditions actually warrant. Any police department employee who draws such full pay during sick leave shall have such pay decreased by the amount of workmen's compensation benefits actually received by such employee." (Emphasis added)

LSA-R.S. 33:2234, as last amended by Act 148 of 1966, provides in part that:

"The board shall retire from service in the police department any member of the department found by a majority vote of the board to have become physically or mentally, permanently or temporarily, disabled while in the performance of his duties, as determined by the report of the department physician, and shall place the retired member on the pension or relief roll. * * * The amount of the pension or relief shall be two-thirds of the highest average monthly salary for any continuous twelve month period of time worked prior to retirement, but shall not be less than $100 per month. * *" (Emphasis added)

The provisions of each of the above-quoted statutes are mandatory, and it appears from a casual reading of them that one is repugnant to the other. One section requires that a disabled policeman be given his full pay for 52 weeks as a sick leave benefit. The other provides that he shall be retired when found to be disabled, and thereafter he shall receive only two-thirds of his average monthly salary.

Both parties to this suit contend primarily that the provisions of these two statutes are not conflicting and that they can be reconciled. They disagree, however, as to the interpretation which should be placed on them. Plaintiff argues that the legislative intent was to give the disabled policemen a sick leave benefit, consisting of his full salary for 52 weeks, and thereafter to provide him with retirement benefits of two-thirds of his average *70 monthly salary. Defendant contends that LSA-R.S. 33:2234, providing for retirement benefits, applies only to a policeman who becomes disabled "while in the performance of his duties," and that LSA-R.S. 33:2214(B), providing for sick leave benefits, applies only to a policeman who becomes disabled while not engaged in the performance of his duties.

It is a settled rule of law that in the construction or interpretation of laws, courts must give effect to all statutory provisions when possible. There is a presumption that every word, sentence or provision in an act is intended to serve some useful purpose, and that no unnecessary words or provisions were used. LSA-C.C. art. 17; Chappuis v. Reggie, 222 La. 35, 62 So.2d 92 (1952); Hall v. Rosteet, 247 La. 45, 169 So.2d 903 (1964); Jarrell v. Gordy, 162 So.2d 577 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1964).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Lasyone v. Phares
818 So. 2d 1068 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
Opinion Number
Louisiana Attorney General Reports, 2000
Imbornone v. Department of Police
471 So. 2d 274 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1985)
Averette v. Jordan
457 So. 2d 691 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Traigle v. Gulf Coast Aluminum Corp.
422 So. 2d 1190 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1982)
Tri-Parish Bank & Trust Co. v. City of Eunice
343 So. 2d 1121 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1977)
Peyrefitte v. Harvey
312 So. 2d 159 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1975)
Hoffpauir v. City of Crowley
242 So. 2d 578 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
241 So. 2d 67, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoffpauir-v-city-of-crowley-lactapp-1971.