Badeaux v. Southwest Computer Bureau, Inc.
| Citation | 929 So.2d 1211 |
| Decision Date | 17 March 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 2005-CA-0612.,No. 2005-CA-719.,2005-CA-0612.,2005-CA-719. |
| Parties | Lloyd BADEAUX & Laura M. Badeaux v. SOUTHWEST COMPUTER BUREAU, INC. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Louisiana |
Charles C. Foti, Jr., Attorney General, Tina Vicari Grant, Charlene Patterson, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellant in No. 2005-CA-0612.
Guglielmo, Marks, Schutte, Terehove & Love, Carey J. Guglielmo, Stephen D. Cronin, Baton Rouge; Underwood Law Firm, Beryl Denise Torrence; Calogero Law Firm, Raquelle M. Badeaux-Phillips, Gerald J. Calogero, New Orleans, for appellee in No. 2005-CA-0612.
Charles C. Foti, Jr., Attorney General, Tina Vicari Grant, Charlene Patterson, Assistant Attorneys General; Calogero Law Firm, Gerald James Calogero, New Orleans, Requelle M. Badeaux-Phillips; Underwood Law Firm, Beryl D. Torrence, for appellant in No. 2005-CA-0719.
Guglielmo, Marks, Schutte, Terhoeve & Love, Carey J. Guglielmo, Stephen Dale Cronin, Baton Rouge, for appellee in No. 2005-CA-0719.
This matter was appealed directly to this court because of a district court's judgment declaring La. R.S. 18:1463 unconstitutional. Because we find plaintiffs' petition did not adequately present a cause of action for defamation under La. R.S. 18:1463 and because the petition did not adequately present a cause of action for general defamation, we conclude that plaintiff should have been granted leave to amend the petition to state a cause of action for the general tort of defamation, without consideration of the constitutionality of La. R.S. 18:1463. Accordingly, we find the district court's declaration of unconstitutionality was premature.
On February 5, 2004, Lloyd and Laura Badeaux ("plaintiffs") filed a petition for damages against Southwest Computer Bureau, Inc. ("Southwest"). In their petition, plaintiffs alleged that on October 2, 2003, Southwest mailed out an anonymous letter to Lafourche Parish residents and registered voters that contained "libelous and/or fraudulent statements and/or intentionally misleading statements about Lloyd Badeaux that were malicious and in reckless disregard as to the truth." Plaintiffs asserted that Southwest acted independently or as an employee of an unknown person in the mailing of the letter. Plaintiffs also alleged that Southwest's actions damaged their reputation and business and caused them emotional harm and a loss of consortium. The petition additionally alleged that Southwest and the unknown person disseminated the anonymous letter to Lafourche Parish residents and registered voters "recklessly and negligently in violation of La. R.S. 18:1463."1 While it appears Lloyd Badeaux was a candidate in the 2004 Lafourche Parish presidency race, the petition itself does not allege his candidacy status.2
On March 29, 2004, Southwest filed an answer and exceptions of no right of action and no cause of action. In its answer, Southwest generally denied the allegations of plaintiffs' petition, and, alternatively, alleged that the pertinent provisions of La. R.S. 18:1463 unconstitutionally impinged upon its constitutional right of free speech and expression. In its exceptions, Southwest asserted that plaintiffs' petition asserted neither a right of action nor a cause of action against it. Southwest's memorandum in support of the exceptions largely focused on the provisions of La. R.S. 18:1463 and their alleged unconstitutionality. The Attorney General was served with notice of the constitutional challenge to La. R.S. 18:1463, and filed a response.
Plaintiffs opposed the exceptions, arguing their petition stated a cause of action for defamation that does not rely on the allegedly unconstitutional statute. Additionally, plaintiffs argued they relied on La. R.S. 18:1463 to show Southwest's actions were negligent per se, and that the statute does not unconstitutionally infringe upon the right of free speech.
After a hearing on Southwest's exceptions, the district court issued a judgment sustaining the exceptions of no right of action and no cause of action and declaring La. R.S. 18:1463 unconstitutional. Consequently, it dismissed plaintiffs' claims with prejudice. In its oral reasons for judgment, the district court stated:
Well, in your petition, you allege that Southwest Computer Bureau, Incorporated was in violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 18[:] 1463. A plain reading of the statute obviously shows that you have no civil remedy in this particular case under these particular allegations, and the Court does agree with the courts in the past that the anonymous letter portion of its is unconstitutional, so, therefore, I'm . . . going to grant the exception.
Following this judgment, both the State, through the Attorney General, and plaintiffs filed motions for new trial, which were denied by the district court.
Subsequently, the State moved for a suspensive appeal returnable to this court, and plaintiffs moved for a devolutive appeal returnable to the Court of Appeal, First Circuit. The district court granted both motions. After review, the court of appeal ordered transfer of plaintiffs' appeal to this court based upon the district court's ruling that La. R.S. 18:1463 is unconstitutional. This court, which has appellate jurisdiction over these matters pursuant to La. Const. art. V, § 5(D), consolidated the plaintiffs' appeal with the State's appeal.
At the outset, we note that the issues presented in this case arise in the context of Southwest's exceptions of no right of action and no cause of action. Although these two exceptions are often confused or improperly combined with the same exception, the peremptory exceptions of no right of action and no cause of action are separate and distinct. La. C.C.P. art. 927(A)(4) and (5); Industrial Cos., Inc. v. Durbin, 02-0665, p. 6 (La.1/28/03); 837 So.2d 1207, 1212. This court has recognized that one of the primary differences between the exception of no right of action and no cause of action lies in the fact that the focus in an exception of no right of action is on whether the particular plaintiff has a right to bring the suit, while the focus in an exception of no cause of action is on whether the law provides a remedy against the particular defendant. Id.
The function of an exception of no right of action is a determination of whether plaintiff belongs to the class of persons to whom the law grants the cause of action asserted in the petition. La. C.C.P. art. 927; Turner v. Busby, 03-3444, p. 4 (La.9/9/04), 883 So.2d 412, 415. The exception of no right of action serves to question whether the plaintiff in the particular case is a member of the class of persons that has a legal interest in the subject matter of the litigation. Id.
In contrast, an exception of no cause of action questions whether the law extends a remedy against the defendant to anyone under the factual allegations of the petition. Industrial Cos., 02-0665 at p. 6, 837 So.2d at 1213. The exception is triable on the face of the petition and, to determine the issues raised by the exception, each well-pleaded fact in the petition must be accepted as true. Id. In reviewing a district court's ruling sustaining an exception of no cause of action, appellate courts conduct a de novo review because the exception raises a question of law and the district court's decision is based only on the sufficiency of the petition. Id. An exception of no cause of action should be granted only when it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of any claim which would entitle him to relief. Id. at p. 7, 837 So.2d at 1213; Barrie v. V.P. Exterminators, Inc., 625 So.2d 1007, 1018 (La.1993). If the petition states a cause of action on any ground or portion of the demand, the exception should generally be overruled. Everything on Wheels Subaru, Inc. v. Subaru South, Inc., 616 So.2d 1234, 1236 (La.1993). Every reasonable interpretation must be accorded the language used in the petition in favor of maintaining its sufficiency and affording the plaintiff the opportunity of presenting evidence at trial. Industrial Cos., 02-0665 at p. 7, 837 So.2d at 1213.
In the instant case, we find plaintiffs have established a right of action in their suit. They clearly belong to the class of persons that has a legal interest in the subject matter of the litigation at issue.
However, plaintiffs have failed to state a cause of action for damages under La. R.S. 18:1463 because the statute exclusively provides injunctive relief and grants no other civil remedy to plaintiffs. La. R.S. 18:1463(D)(1) states: "An affected candidate or voter shall be entitled to an injunction to restrain future violations of Subsections B and C of this Section." (emphasis added). La. R.S. 18:1463(E) states: "Whoever violates any provision of this Section may be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than six months, or both." In their petition, plaintiffs seek damages, which are not recoverable under La. R.S. 18:1463. Even if the petition sought injunctive relief, plaintiffs would not be entitled to injunctive relief in this case because the election is over and plaintiff is no longer an affected candidate. The district court in its oral reasons for judgment stated that "[a] plain reading of the statute obviously shows that you have no civil remedy in this particular case under these particular allegations."
Thus, the district court could have resolved the issue of whether plaintiffs stated a cause of action for defamation under La. R.S. 18:1463 on nonconstitutional grounds and should have done so. As this court has previously stated, "We have consistently held that courts should refrain from reaching or determining the constitutionality of legislation unless, in the context of a particular case, the resolution of this is essential to the decision of the case or...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Morice v. Hosp. Serv. Dist. #3
-
English v. Wood Grp. PSN, Inc.
...the defamatory statements allegedly published by the defendant." Badeaux v. Sw. Computer Bureau, Inc., 2005-0612 (La. 3/17/06), 929 So. 2d 1211, 1218 (citingPage 29Fitzgerald, 737 So.2d at 713); see Haygood v. Begue, No. 13-CV-0335, 2014 WL 1316200, at *6 (W.D. La. Mar. 31, 2014). In other ......
-
State v. La. Land & Exploration Co.
...states a valid cause of action for some person. Id . ; Badeaux v. Southwest Computer Bureau, Inc. , 2005-0612, p. 6-7 (La. 3/17/06), 929 So.2d 1211, 1217 ; Turner v. Busby , 2003-3444, p. 4 (La. 9/9/04), 883 So.2d 412, 415-416 ; 298 So.3d 306 Reese v. State, Dept. of Public Safety and Corre......
-
Teague v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co.
... ... See Executive Recruitment, Inc. v. Guste, Barnett & Shushan, 533 So.2d 129, 131 (La.App ... Badeaux v. Southwest Computer Bureau, Inc., 05-0612, p. 6 ... ...