Rambo v. WILLIS-KNIGHTON MED. CENTER

793 So. 2d 254
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 20, 2001
Docket34,864-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 793 So. 2d 254 (Rambo v. WILLIS-KNIGHTON MED. CENTER) 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
Rambo v. WILLIS-KNIGHTON MED. CENTER, 793 So. 2d 254 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

793 So.2d 254 (2001)

Patsy A. Haley RAMBO, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
WILLIS-KNIGHTON MEDICAL CENTER, d/b/a Willis-Knighton Community Education Center, and David Samuels, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 34,864-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 20, 2001.
Rehearing Denied August 16, 2001.

*255 Jones & Jones by Johnnie A. Jones, Sr., Baton Rouge, Counsel for Appellant.

Pugh, Pugh & Pugh, L.L.P. by Lamar P. Pugh, Shreveport, Counsel for Appellees.

Before GASKINS, CARAWAY & PEATROSS, JJ.

*256 PEATROSS, J.

In this sexual harassment suit, Plaintiff, Patsy Rambo, appeals the following judgments of the trial court: (1) the trial court's sustaining Defendants', Willis-Knighton Medical Center, d/b/a Willis-Knighton Community Education Center, and David Samuels ("Defendants"), Exception of No Cause of Action as to Ms. Rambo's claim under La. R.S. 23:301-303, the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law; (2) the trial court's sustaining Defendants' Exception of Prescription regarding Ms. Rambo's claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000(2), et seq.; and (3) the judgment on the merits after trial, which dismissed the remainder of Ms. Rambo's demand with prejudice. For the reasons stated herein, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

FACTS

Patsy Rambo was employed by Willis-Knighton Medical Center ("WK"), in the housekeeping department, from September 23, 1996, to October 21, 1998. In March 1998, she was transferred from the WK Health Center in Bossier to the Shreveport location and was assigned to the "outside" area, which included the buildings surrounding the actual hospital building.

During her employment with WK, Ms. Rambo made many complaints to the Human Resource Department, in accordance with WK's grievance procedure, including harassment and mistreatment by her supervisor at WK Bossier City (not Mr. Samuels); being threatened by other employees; having items stolen from her purse; that WK was having her followed; and that she was forced to submit to a strip search by a female security officer whom Ms. Rambo alleges was a lesbian.[1] None of these complaints, made during the time she was employed, however, involved Mr. Samuels. On March 10, 1998, Mr. Samuels became Ms. Rambo's immediate supervisor. She alleges that, shortly after becoming her supervisor, Mr. Samuels began sexually and verbally harassing her. Initially, according to Ms. Rambo, Mr. Samuels made sexual comments and gestures to her, including placing his hands on her "private parts." Ms. Rambo testified that, in late March of 1998, she attempted to make a complaint about Mr. Samuel's alleged sexual harassment by arranging a meeting with Nila Willhoite, Senior Vice President of Administration of WK. On Ms. Rambo's arrival at Ms. Willhoite's office, however, Ms. Willhoite informed her that she had spoken with Jerry Fielder, Director of Human Resources[2], and had learned that Ms. Rambo had filed suit *257 against WK[3]; and, therefore, she could not discuss anything with her. Ms. Rambo testified that she then sent a letter, via facsimile, to Ms. Willhoite containing her allegations against Mr. Samuels. The letter advised Ms. Willhoite that Ms. Rambo had not intended to discuss the then-pending lawsuit, but, rather, was attempting to inform her that she "didn't appreciate being sexually, verbally abused and harassed." At trial, Ms. Willhoite denied having ever received the letter from Ms. Rambo, either by facsimile or through the mail. While Ms. Rambo was in possession of a copy of that letter, she could not, however, produce verification of the receipt of the letter by Ms. Willhoite.[4] Ms. Rambo admitted in her testimony that she made no other attempt to report Mr. Samuel's alleged harassment to WK. In this regard, Marcia Bonanno and Debbie Fortson, both Human Resource Managers at WK, testified that no complaint had been lodged with the Human Resource Department by Ms. Rambo concerning any alleged sexual harassment. Mr. Fielder corroborated this testimony. Instead, Ms. Rambo began concealing a tape recording device in her brassiere in order to capture discussions between her and Mr. Samuels, portions of which were introduced at trial by both Ms. Rambo and Defendants.[5]

On October 14, 1998, while providing deposition testimony in her suit against WK Bossier ("Bossier lawsuit") involving the search by the security officer (See footnote number 1), Ms. Rambo admitted that she had listed her grandson as a child/dependent on her insurance enrollment forms in order to obtain insurance coverage for him. According to WK, Ms. Rambo failed to attend a meeting scheduled, with her knowledge and approval, to discuss WK's discovery of her falsification of the personnel record. It was for these stated reasons that Ms. Rambo's employment was terminated on October 21, 1998.

In her petition filed in the case sub judice, Ms. Rambo alleges that WK did not have an adequate sexual harassment policy; that she was wrongfully discharged for pretextual reasons; that between March and October 1998, Mr. Samuels made continuous sexual advances on her, including sexual messages and inappropriate and unwelcome touching of her person; and that Mr. Samuels threatened to terminate her employment. The allegations of abuse formed Ms. Rambo's claims under La. C.C. art. 2315, La. R.S. 23:301, et seq., and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The trial court granted Defendants' Exception of Prescription regarding the Title VII claims because Ms. Rambo failed to file her petition within 90 days of her receipt of the Dismissal and Notice of Rights from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The trial court also granted Defendants' Exception of No Cause of Action regarding the claims under La. R.S. 23:301-303. Finally, after a bench trial, the trial court found *258 that Ms. Rambo had failed to carry her burden of proving sexual harassment under "any theory of law," and, therefore, dismissed with prejudice the remainder of her suit.

DISCUSSION

Exception of No Cause of Action

Ms. Rambo challenges the trial court's sustaining Defendants' Exception of No Cause of Action regarding her claims pursuant to Louisiana's Employment Discrimination Law, La. R.S. 23:301-303[6], while allowing her claim under state tort law to proceed to trial. We find that any error in dismissing Ms. Rambo's claims under 23:301, et seq., was harmless in light of the evidence adduced at trial and the conclusion of the trial court after hearing and evaluating such evidence.

The function of an exception of no cause of action is to test the legal sufficiency of the petition by determining whether the law affords a remedy on the facts alleged in the pleading. Everything on Wheels Subaru, Inc. v. Subaru South, Inc., 616 So.2d 1234 (La.1993); Darville v. Texaco, Inc., 447 So.2d 473 (La.1984). No evidence may be introduced to support or controvert the objection that the petition fails to state a cause of action. La. C.C.P. art. 931. The court, therefore, reviews the petition and accepts well pleaded allegations of fact as true; and the issue at the trial of the exception is whether, on the face of the petition, the plaintiff is legally entitled to the relief sought. Everything on Wheels Subaru, Inc. v. Subaru South, Inc., supra; Kuebler v. Martin, 578 So.2d 113 (La.1991); Martin v. Bigner, 27,694 (La.App.2d Cir.12/6/95), 665 So.2d 709.

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Bluebook (online)
793 So. 2d 254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rambo-v-willis-knighton-med-center-lactapp-2001.