Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners v. Boisvert

103 So. 2d 507, 1958 La. App. LEXIS 903
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 26, 1958
DocketNo. 8812
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 103 So. 2d 507 (Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners v. Boisvert) 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
Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners v. Boisvert, 103 So. 2d 507, 1958 La. App. LEXIS 903 (La. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

GLADNEY, Judge.

This appeal by the defendant is from a judgment granting an injunction restraining him from engaging in the practice of medicine without a license as required under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 37 :- 1261 et seq. In argument on behalf of appellant three errors are assigned to the decree from which he has appealed.

First, it is contended an exception of no cause of action should have been sustained as the acts of the defendant alleged in the petition as constituting the practice of medicine are too vaguely stated. Before discussing this point we note the defendant judicially admits he had never obtained the certificate or permit required under the provisions of Revised Statutes of 1950, R.S. 37:1270, LSA.

The practice of medicine is defined in Section 1261:

“As used in this Part, ‘the practice of medicine, surgery, or midwifery’ means the holding out of one’s self to the public as being engaged in the business of diagnosing, treating, curing, or relieving any bodily or mental disease, condition, infirmity, deformity, defect, ailment, or injury in any human being other than himself whether by the use of any drug, instrument or force, whether physical or psychic, or of what other [509]*509nature, or any other agency or means; or the examining, either gratuitously or for compensation, of any person or material from any person for such purpose whether such drug, instrument, force, or other agency or means is applied or used by the patient or by another person; or the attending of a woman in childbirth without the aid of a lincensed physician, surgeon or midwife; or the using of any other title other than optician, to indicate that he is engaged in the business of refracting of fitting glasses to the human eye.”

Paragraph one of plaintiff’s petition alleges :

“That your petitioner is informed and verily believes that Robert A. Boisvert, of legal age and a resident of the Parish of Rapides, State of Louisiana, is holding himself out to the public as being engaged within Rapides Parish, State of Louisiana, in the business of diagnosing, treating, curing or relieving bodily or mental diseases, conditions, infirmities, deformities, defects, ailments and injuries in human beings other than himself, and is examining such persons for such purpose; that he is also treating, curing and releaving bodily and mental diseases, conditions, infirmities, deformities, defects, ailments and injuries in human beings other than himself; and in connection therewith is using instruments and force, physical and psychic and other agencies and means and examining for compensation persons other than himself.”

The petition does not track closely the wording of Section 1261 and does not specifically set forth times, places and circumstances. As pleaded herein, undoubtedly, the exception of no cause of action seeks to accomplish the same result as a plea of vagueness or an objection to the admissibility of evidence in support of paragraph one of the petition.

This legal issue was disposed of by this court in State Board of Medical Examiners v. McHenery, 1953, 69 So.2d 592, 595, wherein Judge Hardy, as the organ of this court, stated:

“Counsel argues that Article 1 of plaintiff’s petition is primarily a verbatim duplication of the statutory definition of the practice of medicine, that the effect of the averment of paragraph 2 is simply to indicate defendant’s unlawful practice of medicine, which averments are ‘merely conclusions of the pleader, no facts being set forth upon which to base the same * * * contrary to the provisions of the Pleadings and Practice Act, LSA-R.S. 13:3601 et seq., and the established jurisprudence of the state.
“It is quite true that Article 1 of plaintiff’s petition closely follows the definition of the practice of medicine as set forth in LSA-R.S. 37:1261. However, when plaintiff alleges that the defendant is engaged in the defined acts, the effect is to allege that defendant is practicing medicine. The details as comprehended in the allegation in this instance are, therefore, not conclusions but facts. In other words, the plaintiff, in effect, is saying that the defendant has done and performed certain specified acts. Proceeding with its petition plaintiff avers in Article 2 thereof that the acts described constitute the practice of medicine under the statutes designated. We find nothing objectionable in this article since it merely elaborates the definition of the acts as described in Article 1. Article 3 is a plain, definite allegation that defendant has not obtained the certificate or permit required by law.
“Summarizing the three articles recited, it is clear that plaintiff has alleged (1) that defendant has performed certain acts; (2) that the acts performed constitute the practice of medicine, and (3) that defendant has failed [510]*510to obtain the required certificate or permit for the practice of medicine.
“Our appreciation of the allegations discussed fails to indicate that they have done violence to the requirements of ordinary and proper pleading, or that they have prejudiced the defendant in any respect. The argument that these allegations are mere conclusions possesses little merit, for, in our opinion, they constitute facts which, if established, would lead to the conclusion sought. In a broad sense every allegation of pleading is the foundation for a conclusion. We can conceive of no other method or manner of detailing the facts upon which this plaintiff could base its cause of action and seek the relief which is prayed. It is true that plaintiff might have specified times and places in which and circumstances and conditions under which the described acts were performed by defendant, but we know of no authority which makes such specification requisite or essential. It follows that defendant’s exception was properly overruled.”

Counsel for appellant relies upon State v. Varnado, 1944-1945, 208 La. 319, 23 So.2d 106 as authority for holding plaintiff’s petition fails to set forth a valid cause of action. There the Supreme Court sustained a motion to quash a bill of information in which the defendant was charged with a statutory offense described in the exact language of the statute imposing penalties on gambling. The decision of the Court was predicated on Article 227 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, LSA-R.S. 15:227, which provides the indictment must state every fact and circumstance necessary to constitute the offense. The pleadings in the instant case follow civil procedure and are governed by the Pleading and Practice Act and the Code of Practice. In Honeycutt v. Carcer, La.App.1946, 25 So.2d 99, 100, the court stated:

“Counsel for appellant re-urges the exceptions in this court. It is contended that the defendant was entitled to the information requested in the exception of vagueness. A plaintiff is only required to set out in his petition the facts on which his cause of action is based in a clear and concise form, so as to give the defendant sufficient information to enable him to make his defense. The information requested in the exception of vagueness was more a matter of evidence than pleading. A plaintiff is not required to detail in his petition the evidence which he expects to advance in support of his demand. The defendant has not been prejudiced because of a failure to allege the details requested in the exception of vagueness.”

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Related

Beaver v. Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners
206 So. 2d 118 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1968)
Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners v. Bates
103 So. 2d 567 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1958)

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Bluebook (online)
103 So. 2d 507, 1958 La. App. LEXIS 903, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louisiana-state-board-of-medical-examiners-v-boisvert-lactapp-1958.