Mitchell v. City of New Orleans

187 F. Supp. 3d 726, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63492, 2016 WL 2819608
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMay 13, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO: 06-4021
StatusPublished

This text of 187 F. Supp. 3d 726 (Mitchell v. City of New Orleans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell v. City of New Orleans, 187 F. Supp. 3d 726, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63492, 2016 WL 2819608 (E.D. La. 2016).

Opinion

SECTION: “J”(4)

ORDER & REASONS

CARL J. BARBIER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Against the City of New Orleans on Application of State Law Provisions Regarding Caps on Damages (Rec. Doc. 100) filed by Plaintiffs,. Judon-na Mitchell and LaShonda Saulsberry, and an opposition thereto (Rec. Doc. 108) filed by Defendant the City of New Orleans (“the City”). Having considered the motion and legal memoranda, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that the motion should be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This civil rights case arises from an incident involving two former New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) officers that resulted in the death of Raymond Robair. On July 31, 2006, Plaintiffs, the adult daughters of Robair, filed this lawsuit against the City of New Orleans and various former eihployees of the NOPD. (Rec. Doc. 1.) Due to pending criminal proceedings that arose out of the same facts and circumstances, this matter was stayed on March 14, 2007. (Rec. Doc. 12.)

On July 29, 2010, the United States filed an indictment in the Eastern District of Louisiana against Melvin Williams and Matthew Dean Moore, the two NOPD officers involved in Robair’s death. According to evidence presented at the criminal trial, Williams and Moore stopped Robair on a city street on the morning of July 30, 2005. While Moore . restrained Robair, Williams kicked Robair in the side and struck him repeatedly with a metal baton. Robair suffered fractured ribs andi a ruptured spleen, which triggered massive internal bleeding. Williams and Moore drove Robair to Charity Hospital, where they told medical personnel that they suspected Robair was suffering from a drug overdose. Neither officer mentioned that Ro-bair’s condition was a result of a trauma. Based on this information, the hospital staff initially treated Robair as an overdose patient. Robair was immediately taken to the operating room once doctors discovered that he had internal bleeding, but it was too late to save him. Robair was pronounced dead at Charity Hospital shortly after his arrival.

After Robair’s death, Williams and Moore filled out an incident report describing their interactions with Robair and the staff at Charity Hospital. According to the report, the officers saw an unidentified man clutch his chest and fall to the ground, so they took the man to the hospital. The report did not mention Williams’ use of force on Robair. Later, Moore false[728]*728ly stated to the FBI that Williams never used force on Robair.

Following a jury trial, Williams was convicted of causing the death of Robair while depriving him of his civil rights, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242.1 On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences. See United States v. Moore, 708 F.3d 639 (5th Cir.2013). After all direct appeals in the criminal case concluded, the Court lifted the stay and reinstated this case to the Court’s active docket. (Rec. Doc. 16.)

After the stay was lifted, Plaintiffs filed them First Amended Complaint. (Rec. Doc. 36.) Plaintiffs assert federal claims against the City under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 for deprivation of civil rights. Id. at 11-14. In addition, Plaintiffs assert a survival action and wrongful death action under Louisiana law, seeking to recover damages suffered by Robair before death and damages suffered by the Plaintiffs as a result of the wrongful death of their father. Id. at 14.

Plaintiffs filed the instant Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Against the City of New Orleans on Application of State Law Provisions Regarding Caps on Damages (Rec. Doc. 100) on April 11, 2016. The City opposed the motion on April 26, 2016. The motion is now before the Court on the briefs.

PARTIES’ ARGUMENTS

Plaintiffs move for a partial summary judgment ruling that Louisiana’s $500,000 damages cap against a municipality for the wrongful death of any one person applies separately to Judonna Mitchell and to La-Shonda Saulsberry, and another separate $500,000 cap applies to Plaintiffs’ survival claim. (Rec. Doc. 100-1, at 1.) In short, Plaintiffs argue that the cap for wrongful death damages is applied “per plaintiff’ rather than “per death victim,” and a separate cap applies to their survival action damages. To be clear, Plaintiffs do not seek a ruling that they are entitled to damages on any of their claims. They seek only a ruling that, in the event they are awarded damages on their wrongful death claims and survival claim, three $500,000 caps are allowed: (1) a $500,000 cap on Mitchell’s wrongful death claim; (2) a $500,000 cap on Saulsberry’s wrongful death claim; and (3) a $500,000 cap on their survival action claim.

In response, the City stipulates that the $500,000 statutory cap is applicable. (Rec. Doc. 108, at 1.) However, the City argues that each Plaintiff is not entitled to a separate $500,000 statutory cap for wrongful death damages. Id. According to the City, the law is clear that the total liability of the City for wrongful death damages cannot exceed $500,000, regardless of the number of wrongful death claimants. Id. at 2-3. In addition, the City clarifies its position that is it not liable to Plaintiffs for damages and asserts that the trier of fact must assess the percentage of fault attributable to the City, if any, if this matter goes to trial. Id. at 3-4.

LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994). When, assessing whether a dispute [729]*729as to any material fact exists, a court considers “all of the evidence in the record but refrains from making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence.” Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., 530 F.3d 395, 398 (5th Cir.2008). All reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party, but a party cannot defeat summary judgment with conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated assertions. Little, 37 F.3d at 1075. A court ultimately must be satisfied that “a reasonable jury could hot return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Delta, 530 F.3d at 399.

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Bluebook (online)
187 F. Supp. 3d 726, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63492, 2016 WL 2819608, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-city-of-new-orleans-laed-2016.