Parker v. Town of Woodworth

86 So. 3d 141, 11 La.App. 3 Cir. 1275, 2012 WL 717355, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 256
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 7, 2012
DocketNo. CA 11-1275
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 86 So. 3d 141 (Parker v. Town of Woodworth) 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
Parker v. Town of Woodworth, 86 So. 3d 141, 11 La.App. 3 Cir. 1275, 2012 WL 717355, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 256 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

EZELL, Judge.

|! This appeal raises the issue of whether the payment of fine for a traffic violation precludes a person from filing a civil suit for false arrest claiming that there was no probable cause for the initial traffic stop.

[142]*142FACTS

On January 4, 2009, Patricia Parker was driving a 1989 Dodge truck south on U.S. Highway 165 in the Town of Woodworth. The vehicle was owned by Frederick Jefferson who gave Ms. Parker permission to use it. She had picked up two coworkers, and they were on their way to work at the Wesley Center, a retreat center of the United Methodist Church. Officer David Godwin began to follow Ms. Parker. According to Ms. Parker, Officer Godwin stopped Ms. Parker after she turned onto Methodist Parkway Road from Coulee Crossing Road. Officer Godwin asked for Ms. Parker’s license, insurance, and registration. Ms. Parker claims that she asked Officer Godwin why he was stopping her and he told her that she “looked suspicious.”

When Officer Godwin returned, he told her that her license had been suspended and asked if there was someone else who could drive the vehicle. Her coworkers could not drive so she called her supervisor who sent someone else to drive the car. Officer Godwin informed them that this person could not drive the car either because she did not have permission from the owner of the vehicle. The truck was then towed.

Ms. Parker received four citations: (1) driving under suspension; (2) unlawful use of a driver’s license; (3) no insurance; and (4) no registration. Ms. Parker went to court on January 22, 2009. The Mayor was the magistrate judge presiding over the proceedings. Each person got a turn to talk to the Mayor in the hallway. Ms. Parker explained to the Mayor that her license should not have been launder suspension because she had paid all her fees and fines on time for an earlier stop that had occurred in Rapides Parish. She also showed him proof of insurance and registration on the vehicle. The Mayor dismissed the “no registration” charge. Ms. Parker asked for more time to prove that her license had not been suspended, and the Mayor gave her until February 18.

Ms. Parker went back on February 18 with documentation showing that her license had not been suspended when she was stopped. She showed the information to the Mayor and Dorothy Gunner. The Mayor refused to drop the unlawful use charge. The Mayor told her that she could at least pay the unlawful use charge that day.

On that same day, Ms. Parker was presented with a bill of information indicating the four charges. Handwritten notes indicate that the unlawful use charge was paid that day. Ms. Parker was given until March 18 to come up with money to pay the remaining two fines.

A typed section on the bill of information stated: “I, Patricia N. Parker, do hereby plead guilty to the charge of U15, mi, 865A, 729A TKT & Complaint No. /cll576-l-2-3-4. and do hereby request an extension to pay no later than the 18th day of Feb, 1909.” A signature line with the initials “PP” and a notary signature line signed by “Dorothy A. Gunter” followed. The “19” in front of the “1909 ” was also scratched through. Ms. Parker admitted that she made the initials “PP” but stated that none of the other handwriting was hers. She also indicated that none of the other handwriting was on the document, including Ms. Gunter’s signature, when she filled in the initials “PP.” Ms. Parker also stated that she signed her full name off to the side by a handwritten “x” and signature line indicating she had been given an extension to March 18. Ms. Parker went back on March 18 to try and get the other charges dropped, but the Mayor was not there.

|3On April 14, 2009, Ms. Parker filed suit against the Town of Woodworth and Offi[143]*143cer David Godwin claiming she suffered damages as a result of an illegal stop. Subsequently, on June B, 2009, she received two notices that warrants had been issued for her arrest. She showed her attorney and was arrested on August 31, 2009. She spent twenty-five days in jail.

The Town and Officer Godwin filed a motion for summary judgment on July 20, 2009, which was denied. A writ of review was sought in this court which was denied.

Ms. Parker was deposed in November 2010. The Defendants once again filed a motion for summary judgment. Following a hearing, a judgment granting the motion for summary judgment was signed on May 25, 2011. Ms. Parker appealed this judgment.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The standard of review to be utilized in reviewing a judgment granting a motion for summary judgment has been articulated by the supreme court as follows:

Appellate courts review summary judgment de novo, using the same criteria that govern the trial court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate, and in the light most favorable to the non-movant. Suire v. Lafayette City-Parish Gov’t., 04-1459, p. 11 (La.4/12/05); 907 So.2d 37, 48; Hines v. Garrett, 04-0806, p. 1 (La.6/25/04); 876 So.2d 764, 765 (per curiam); Goins v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 01-1136, p. 5 (La.11/29/01[sic]); 800 So.2d 783, 788 (citing Taylor v. Rowell, 98-2865, p. 3 (La.5/18/99); 736 So.2d 812, 814). It is well-settled that summary judgment procedure, as set forth in article 966 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of actions. La. C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2). Summary judgment shall be rendered if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966(B). A fact is material if it potentially insures or precludes recovery, affects a litigant’s ultimate success, or determines the outcome of the legal dispute. Hines v. Garrett, 04-0806, p. 1 (La.6/25/04); 876 So.2d 764, 765 (citing Smith v. Our Lady of the Lake Hosp., Inc., 93-2512, p. 27 (La.7/5/94); 639 So.2d 730, 751). A genuine issue of material fact is |4one as to which reasonable persons could disagree; if reasonable persons could reach only one conclusion, there is no need for trial on that issue and summary judgment is appropriate. Id.

Yokum v. 615 Bourbon Street, L.L.C., 07-1785, pp. 25-26 (La.2/26/08), 977 So.2d 859, 876-78 (footnotes omitted).

The Town and Officer Godwin, as the movants, bear the initial burden of proof and must show that no genuine issue of material fact exists. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(C)(2). However, the Town and Officer Godwin do not bear the burden of negating all essential elements of Ms. Parker’s claim since Ms. Parker has the burden to prove that she was illegally detained. Id. The Town and Officer Godwin need only point out a lack of support for an essential element of Ms. Parker’s claim. Id. The burden then shifts to Ms. Parker to show some support that she can meet her evi-dentiary burden on that element. Id. If she cannot meet the burden, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the motion for summary judgment should be granted. Id.

The Town and Officer Godwin argue that a guilty plea bars Ms. Parker from collaterally attacking the existence of probable cause for the stop, defeating her claim for false arrest. Ms. Parker argues that summary judgment was inappropriate. She argues that payment of a fine for [144]*144a violation other than an initial stop does not preclude her from pursuing a false arrest claim.

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Bluebook (online)
86 So. 3d 141, 11 La.App. 3 Cir. 1275, 2012 WL 717355, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 256, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-town-of-woodworth-lactapp-2012.