95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 11/27/96, Landrum v. Board of Com'rs of the Orleans Levee Dist.

• Decision Date: 27 November 1996
• Citation: 685 So.2d 382
• Parties: 95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 382

685 So.2d 382

95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 11/27/96

Clarence LANDRUM, Jr., v. The BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE ORLEANS LEVEE DISTRICT, et al.

No. 95-C-1591.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana,

Fourth Circuit.

Nov. 27, 1996.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 23, 1997.

John J. Hainkel, Jr., Ralph R. Alexis, III, Porteous, Hainkel, Johnson & Sarpy, New Orleans, and Gary Benoit, Orleans Levee District, New Orleans, for Defendant/Relator, The Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District.

Joel P. Loeffelholz, New Orleans, for Plaintiff/Respondent, Clarence Landrum, Jr.

Before KLEES, LANDRIEU and MURRAY, JJ.

MURRAY, Judge.

[95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 1] This matter was previously before us when The Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District (the OLB) applied for a supervisory writ to review a trial court judgment denying its exceptions of res judicata, no cause of action and lack of subject matter jurisdiction, as well as its motion for summary judgment. Although we granted the writ and fully reviewed all materials filed by the parties, relief was denied because we found "[t]he pleadings and evidence submitted ... do not establish that [the OLB] is entitled to any relief which would end its involvement in this litigation." However, the Supreme Court granted the OLB's writ and remanded to this Court "for a full opinion after briefing and argument." After full reconsideration in compliance with the Supreme Court's order, we affirm the judgment before us for the reasons which follow.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Clarence Landrum, who was a major and second-in-command in the OLB Police Department, was involved in an automobile accident on August 31, 1989 while he was on duty. Pursuant to OLB guidelines, he submitted to urinalysis and [95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 2] a blood test to detect the presence of alcohol or illegal drugs. The urine specimen was reported as containing tetrahydrocannabinol, the chief intoxicant in marijuana, a controlled substance. Mr. Landrum subsequently submitted a second urine specimen which also reportedly tested positive for marijuana. Mr. Landrum was suspended without pay based upon these reports. In the petition, it is alleged that inadequate security and chain of custody procedures in the urinalysis resulted in inaccurate results, and that the OLB initially refused to give Mr. Landrum the name and address of the facility that performed the urinalysis.

Mr. Landrum's job suspension and the reason therefor were reported by the local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, which cited "board sources" as originating the story. The newspaper account said the information had been confirmed by "[s]everal Levee Board members and a state Civil Service Department source," then quoted two OLB board members who indicated that Mr. Landrum was going to appeal the suspension. One of the board members was also quoted as stating that Mr. Landrum volunteered to take the drug test, and that he [the board member] hoped that further testing would prove the positive test results faulty. According to the newspaper, this board member felt that Mr. Landrum would be exonerated.

After an administrative hearing, Mr. Landrum's employment was terminated by the OLB. This action was appealed to the state Civil Service Commission, but the parties entered into a two-page handwritten settlement agreement prior to the scheduled hearing of that appeal. Under their compromise, the OLB rescinded the suspension and termination, retroactively reinstating Mr. Landrum with full back pay and benefits; all record of the disciplinary action was to be deleted from his personnel file. Under the same agreement, however, Mr. Landrum voluntarily resigned effective that date, June 20, 1990.

[95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 3] Mr. Landrum filed this civil suit in August 1990 against the OLB and other defendants. ¹ He asserts that because the urinalysis results constitute "consumer reports" under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the OLB's initial failure to disclose the testing facility's name and address violated both the FCRA ² and the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. It is further alleged that the OLB's board members and/or unnamed employees improperly divulged the drug test results to the public, giving rise to Mr. Landrum's claims for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, defamation and invasion of privacy.

In January 1995, the OLB filed exceptions of lack of subject matter jurisdiction, res judicata, and no cause of action as well as a motion for summary judgment of dismissal of the suit. After hearing, the trial court rendered judgment overruling all exceptions and denying the motion; no written or oral reasons were furnished. This writ application followed.

DISCUSSION

1. Lack of subject matter jurisdiction

We first address the OLB's exception of lack of subject matter jurisdiction since a determination that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction will end our review. See La.Code Civ. Proc. Ann. art. 3; DeHaven v. DeHaven, 412 So.2d 537 (La.1982).

The Louisiana Constitution grants to the Civil Service Commission "the [95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 4] exclusive power to hear and decide all removal and disciplinary cases." La. Const. art. 10 § 12. The OLB therefore argues that the Civil Service Commission has exclusive jurisdiction of any claim by a classified civil service employee arising out of the events relating to his employment. The OLB has cited Myers v. Ivey, 93-1166 (La.App. 3d Cir. 4/6/94), 635 So.2d 632, and Jackson v. State, 521 So.2d 436 (La.App. 4th Cir.1988), as supporting its position. We find neither of these cases dispositive of the issue here. Myers involved a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress asserted by a current civil service employee based upon his employer's alleged ongoing discriminatory treatment. Similarly, Jackson dealt with a charge of sexual discrimination with regard to conditions of employment. Both of these situations are clearly within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission.

We agree with the OLB that, to the extent that Mr. Landrum sought a remedy for his loss of employment, such a claim had to be pursued through the Civil Service Commission. As noted above, however, the OLB rescinded all disciplinary actions against Mr. Landrum in the compromise agreement of June 20, 1990, and he voluntarily resigned his position. Therefore, Mr. Landrum has no claim against the OLB arising from either his suspension or removal.

The constitutional provision that grants judicial authority to the Commission is narrowly construed since it is an exception to the general rule that district courts have jurisdiction over all civil matters. Greenleaf v. DHH, Metropolitan Developmental Center, 594 So.2d 418, 425 (La.App. 1st Cir.1991) [citing In re Investigation of Smith, 546 So.2d 561, 563 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 550 So.2d 636 (La.1989) ], writ denied, 596 So.2d 196 (La.1992). The Civil Service Commission does not have jurisdiction of tort cases nor can it award monetary damages for tortious conduct. Greenleaf, 594 So.2d at 425; see also Moore v. [95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 5] Board of Supervisors of L.S.U., 559 So.2d 548 (La.App. 2nd Cir.1990). Under the circumstances of this case, Mr. Landrum's tort claims are not an attempt to circumvent the exclusive jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission; he may look to the courts for damages for defamation and other torts arising out of the facts alleged here. Moore, supra; Manale v. City of New Orleans, 673 F.2d 122 (5th Cir.1982); see also Greenleaf, supra. For this reason, the trial court correctly overruled the exception to its subject matter jurisdiction.

2. Exception of res judicata

The next issue to be determined is whether the trial court properly overruled the exception of res judicata. The OLB contends that because the parties entered into a settlement agreement in June 1990, after all of the events and actions asserted as wrongful had occurred, Mr. Landrum's compromise necessarily included a waiver of all claims arising from those events.

We agree with the OLB's contention that the written contract between Mr. Landrum and the OLB is clearly a transaction or compromise as defined in Article 3071 of our Civil Code, which can support a plea of res judicata. However, "[t]ransactions regulate only the differences which appear clearly to be comprehended in them by the intention of the parties, whether it be explained in a general or particular manner, unless it be the necessary consequence of what is expressed; and they do not extend to differences which the parties never intended to include in them." La. Civ.Code Ann. art. 3073 (emphasis added). In determining the parties' intent, the court generally may not consider extrinsic evidence, but must look only to the four corners of the agreement. La. Civ.Code Ann. art. 1848; Fascio v. Lee, 94-1149, p. 3 (La.App. 4th Cir. 2/23/95), 650 So.2d 1236, 1237-38. Thus, compromise agreements extend only to those matters which the parties expressly intend to settle. Condoll v. Johns-Manville Sale Corp., [95-1591 La.App. 4 Cir. 6] 448 So.2d 169 (La.App. 5th Cir.1984).

The language of the agreement at issue here does not suggest any intent to compromise or settle any claims other than Mr. Landrum's assertion that he was erroneously suspended and discharged by the OLB. As noted above, the contract states that all disciplinary actions were rescinded by the OLB, and Mr. Landrum instead resigned, further waiving "any right to any type of future employment" with the OLB. Most importantly, the agreement specifies in paragraph five that "[t]here are no other terms to this agreement."

The OLB's reliance on Ingram Corporation v. J. Ray McDermott & Co., Inc., 698 F.2d 1295 (5th Cir.1983), is therefore misplaced. In Ingram, the court determined that even antitrust claims not known to exist at the time of the compromise were...