Burton v. Lester

• Decision Date: 14 February 1955
• Docket Number: No. 42167,42167
• Citation: 79 So.2d 333,227 La. 347
• Parties: Cleve BURTON et al. v. Harlan F. LESTER.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 333

79 So.2d 333

227 La. 347

Cleve BURTON et al. v. Harlan F. LESTER.

No. 42167.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

Feb. 14, 1955.

Rehearing Denied March 21, 1955.

Lunn, Irion, Switzer, Trichel & Johnson, Shreveport, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Comegys & Harrison, Shreveport, Harry V. Booth (of Booth, Lockard, Jack & Pleasant), Shreveport, of counsel, for defendant-appellee.

Dodd, Hirsch & Barker, Baton Rouge, amicus curiae on behalf of defendant-appellee.

McCALEB, Justice.

In December, 1953, Harlan F. Lester filed a complaint in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Louisiana seeking damages for personal injuries sustained as the result of the alleged malpractice and negligence of his physician, Dr. Edith Rigsby Burton, in administering shock treatments to him for a mental disorder. That action was brought against Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, the liability insurance carrier of Dr. Rigsby, under LSA-R.S. 22:655, the direct action staute of this State.

During the pendency of the case in the Federal Court, the insurance company, Dr. Rigsby and her husband, Cleve Burton, instituted the instant suit in the District Court of Caddo Parish against Lester under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, LSA-R.S. 13:4231-13:4246, praying for a declaration of non-liability on the ground that Dr. Rigsby was without fault and, alternatively, for judgment fixing the amount of damages to which Lester might be entitled if the Court found otherwise.

Lester excepted to the petition, contending that it did not state a case for declaratory relief, and also pleaded that the Court was without jurisdiction ratione materiae. After a hearing, the District Judge dismissed the suit on the exception of no right or cause of action, concluding 'that the Declaratory Judgments Act of Louisiana does not extend to contested litigation on the merits of ex delicto actions'. Plaintiffs then appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit and that court certified certain questions of law to us for determination, stating that the suit presented matters of first impression and of far reaching importance which should be settled by this tribunal.

There are eight questions presented by the certification of the Court of Appeal. Several of them are phrased in broad terms and, to answer them, would require a dissertation upon the construction and application of the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, far beyond the needs of this particular case. However, forasmuch as we are aware that the courts throughout the State are frequently confronted with demands for declaratory relief, we believe that it is in order to give our views respecting the general application of the statute, which, at the same time, will provide the key to the procedural question posed in this suit. And, rather than remand the case to the Court of Appeal for decision, we exercise the privilege accorded us by Section 25 of Article 7 of the Constitution of considering and disposing of the case as though it had been directly appealed to this court.¹

The precise issue in the instant matter is whether the courts of this State should entertain an application for declaratory relief in a controversy arising out of an alleged offense or quasi offense when there is an action already pending in another forum involving the question of liability ex delicto of one of the plaintiffs in the suit.

The Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act was adopted by the Legislature in 1948, see Act 431 of 1948, also Act 22, Extra Session of 1948. The statute contains 16 sections, LSA-R.S. 13:4231-13:4246, the most important of these being the first, LSA-R.S. 13:4231, which invests courts within their respective jurisdictions with broad discretionary powers to declare rights, status or other legal relations between litigants.² The only limitation upon the powers thus conferred is to be found in Sections 5 and 6 of the Act, LSA-R.S. 13:4235-13:4236, and is of a discretionary nature, providing that the court may refuse to render a declaratory judgment when it would not terminate the controversy or remove the uncertainty which gives rise to the proceeding.

The other sections of the Act deal with matters of no appreciable consequence. Sections 2, 3 and 4, LSA-R.S. 13:4232-13:4234, list different sorts of rights and particular types of cases which are subject to delaratory procedure but then Section 5, LSA-R.S. 13:4235, renders these sections superfluous by declaring that 'The enumeration in R.S. 13:4232 through R.S. 13:4234 does not limit or restrict the exercise of the general powers conferred in R.S. 13:4231, in any proceeding where declaratory relief is sought * * *.' Section 7 LSA-R.S. 13:4237, provides for the review of all declaratory orders or judgments³ and Section 8, LSA-R.S. 13:4238, gratuitously states that supplemental relief may be granted wherever necessary or proper. Section 9, LSA-R.S. 13:4239, permits trials on issues of fact as well as law in proceedings for declaratory relief; Section 10, LSA-R.S. 13:4240, allows costs to be awarded equitably and Section 11, LSA-R.S. 13:4241, provides for the joinder of all persons having an interest which would be affected by the declaration. Section 12, LSA-R.S. 13:4242, states that the Act is remedial in nature and that its provisions are to be liberally construed and Section 13, LSA-R.S. 13:4243, provides the interpretation of the word 'person' as used therein. Section 14, LSA-R.S. 13:4244, is a severability clause and Section 15, LSA-R.S. 13:4245, is the stereotyped clause for a uniform interpretation of the statute in those states which enact it to bring it in harmony with Federal laws on the subject. The last Section, LSA-R.S. 13:4246, provides for citation of the statute as the 'Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act.'

Viewed as a whole, the legislation manifests an effort to provide a simplified procedural remedy for all classes of civil disputes and vests in the courts a wide discretion in each case to determine whether it is or is not one for declaratory relief.⁴ The statute is undoubtedly a most valuable supplement to the cumbersome common law procedure but its worth to a State like Louisiana, having a Code of Practice which has worked satisfactorily and efficiently for over 80 years, remains to be proven. At any rate, we do not believe that the statute should be employed as a substitute for the well-defined actions provided for in our Code of Practice or those which have been established by jurisprudence unless, by reason of the special circumstances of the case, the codal procedure does not furnish an adequate remedy.

In adopting this policy, we are not unmindful of the provision of the statute that it should be given uniformity of interpretation with those States that enact it so as to bring it in harmony with the Federal laws on the subject. But, even if we assume that the Legislature acts within its own sphere⁵ in demanding such an interpretation, an examination of the authorities from other states (and the books are full of them)⁶ does not reveal a uniform pattern of application and construction of the statute that this court would be able to follow. Hence, we must perforce construe and apply the act according to its own terms, giving due regard to our established procedure so that it may...