Willis v. EAN Holdings

218 So. 3d 1063, 2015 La.App. 1 Cir. 1539, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 625
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided April 12, 2017·No. NO. 2015 CA 1539·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

HIGGINBOTHAM, J.

| gPlaintiff-appellant, Ms. Marsha Willis (Ms. Willis), appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee, Rental Insurance Services, Inc. (RIS), and dismissal of her claims with prejudice.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On August 3, 2011, Ms. Ida Mae Willis entered into a rental agreement with EAN Holdings, LLC d/b/a Enterprise Rent A Car (Enterprise) for the use of a Toyota Corolla. The next day, Ms. Ida Mae Willis’ daughter, Ms. Willis, was driving the vehicle when she was involved in an accident with Mr. Troy Thibodeaux. After the accident, on June 23, 2012, Mr. Thibodeaux filed a petition for damages in the 19th [1065]*1065Judicial District Court against Ms. Willis and RIS (hereafter referred to as the Thi-bodeaux litigation). RIS made Ms. Willis aware through a phone message that it was not providing a defense for her because she was not an authorized driver under the rental agreement. However, RIS negotiated a settlement agreement with Mr. Thibodeaux whereby Mr. Thibodeaux dismissed his claims against all parties, including Ms. Willis, in exchange for payment made by RIS.

Thereafter, Ms. Willis sought discovery responses from RIS and Mr. Thibodeaux, but, because of the agreement settling all the claims of Mr. Thibodeaux, the trial court signed an order suspending discovery. The trial court also awarded sanctions related to an answer filed by Ms. Willis in favor of RIS under La. Code Civ. P. art. 863. Ms. Willis appealed the trial court’s judgments awarding sanctions and suspending discovery. The judgments were affirmed by this court. See Thibodeaux v. Rental Ins. Services, Inc., 2013-1947 (La. App 1st Cir. 4/24/15) 2015 WL 1882456 (unpublished), writ denied, 2015-1213 (La. 9/25/15), 178 So.3d 567.

The litigation forming the basis of this appeal by Ms. Willis began on August 6, 2012, when she filed a Petition for Damages naming Enterprise, Toyota |sMotor Corporation, and Mr. Thibodeaux as defendants. Subsequently, Ms. Willis filed an amended and supplemental petition adding as defendants RIS and Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company (Empire). In her petition, Ms. Willis set forth several theories of recovery against RIS including state law claims of fraud and breach of contract, and federal law claims under the Fourteenth Amendment as well as civil right violations under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1985 and 42 U.S.CA. § 1983, and equal rights violations under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1981. Ms. Willis contends that RIS, in informing her that she was not an authorized driver more than one year after the accident, and settling the Thibodeaux litigation without her permission, prevented her from being able to prove that the accident was not her fault, and placed her in a position in which it appeared she owed Mr. Thibodeaux money through the settlement agreement.

On April 21, 2015, RIS filed a motion for summary judgment contending that no genuine issues of material fact exist regarding any of the causes of action Ms. Willis set forth in her petition. RIS’ motion for summary judgment was heard by the trial court on June 1, 2015, after which the trial court concluded that Ms. Willis “has no evidence to support any issues of material fact against [RIS] ” and “has shown no basis for recovery against [RIS].” On June 16, 2015, judgment was signed granting RIS’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing Ms. Willis’ claims against RIS with prejudice. It is from this judgment that Ms. Willis appeals raising four assignments of error.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

On appeal, summary judgments are reviewed de novo under the same criteria that govern the trial court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Sunrise Const. and Development Corp. v. Coast Waterworks, Inc., 2000-0303 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/22/01), 806 So.2d 1, 3, writ denied, 2001-2577 (La. 1/11/02), 807 So.2d 235. Summary judgment is appropriate only if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions, together with |4any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. Code Civ. P. art. 966(B)(2).1 The initial burden of proof is on [1066]*1066the moving party; however, if the moving party will not bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party’s burden on the motion is satisfied by pointing out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party’s claim. Thereafter, the nonmoving party must produce factual support sufficient to establish that they will be able to satisfy their evidentiary burden of proof at trial; failure to do so shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and the motion should be granted. La. Code Civ. P. art. 966(C)(2).

In support of its motion for summary judgment, RIS attached several documents including: Empire’s motion for summary judgment,2 Enterprise’s rental agreement with Ms. Ida Mae Willis showing Ms. Willis was not an authorized driver, and the letter from RIS’ attorney to the Judge in the Thibodeaux litigation stating that Mr. Thibodeaux agreed to dismiss all claims against all parties in exchange for payment made by RIS. The letter was also signed by Mr. Thibodeaux’s attorney. The evidence presented by RIS revealed .that even though Ms. Willis was not an authorized driver under the rental agreement, RIS still settled Mr, Thibodeaux’s claims on behalf of Ms. Willis, and Ms. Willis was not required to make any payments related to the accident. RIS contends that because Ms. Willis did not have a contract with RIS, she had no claim under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1981 or for breach of contract. Additionally, RIS asserts that it is not a state actor nor acting under the color of state law, thus Ms. Willis has no valid claim under the | ^Fourteenth Amendment or 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983, and further, Ms. Willis presented no evidence of conspiracy or an intent to deceive; therefore, she does not have a claim under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1985 or for fraud.

Out of an abundance of caution, we will address all of Ms. Willis’ assignments of error and causes of action raised in her petition and amended petitions.

First, in order to have a cause of action under the Fourteenth Amendment and-claim protection under the due process clause or assert a claim under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983, Ms. Willis must prove that she has been deprived of a right secured by the United States Constitution by one acting under color of state law. Sanders v. State ex rel. Dept. of Health and Hospitals, 2011-0814 (La.App. 1 Cir. 8/2/12), 2012 WL 3133694, *7 (unpublished). To claim the protections of due process, Ms. Willis must show the existence of some property or liberty interest that has been adversely affected by state action. American International Gaming Assn., Inc. v. Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Comm’n, 2000-2864 (La.App. 1 Cir. 9/11/02), 838 So.2d 5, 16. Clearly, RIS is a private corporation and was in no way acting under the color of state law. Thus, Ms. Willis could not meet her burden of proving her Fourteenth Amendment due process claims or § 1983 claims.

With respect to Section 1981,3 the United States Supreme Court has ex[1067]*1067plained that the provision was “meant,, by its broad terms, to proscribe discrimination in the making or enforcement of contracts against, or in favor of, any race.” Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 276 n.23, 123 S.Ct.

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Willis v. EAN Holdings, 218 So. 3d 1063, 2015 La.App. 1 Cir. 1539, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 625 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

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