Briede v. Orleans Par. Dist. Attor. Office

• Decision Date: 22 June 2005
• Docket Number: No. 2004-CA-1773.,2004-CA-1773.
• Citation: 907 So.2d 790
• Parties: Amy BRIEDE v. The ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE; and the New Orleans Police Department (A Political Subdivision of the City of New Orleans).
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

907 So.2d 790

Amy BRIEDE v. The ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE; and the New Orleans Police Department (A Political Subdivision of the City of New Orleans).

No. 2004-CA-1773.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

June 22, 2005.

Daniel E. Becnel, Jr., Darryl J. Becnel, Law Office of Daniel E. Becnel, Jr., Reserve, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellant, Amy Briede.

William D. Aaron, Jr., Special Prosecutor, Richard A. Goins, Special Prosecutor, New Orleans, LA, for Defendants/Appellees, Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office and the District Attorney of Orleans Parish.

(Court composed of Judge DENNIS R. BAGNERIS SR., Judge MICHAEL E. KIRBY, Judge LEON A. CANNIZZARO, JR.).

LEON A. CANNIZZARO, JR., Judge.

The plaintiff, Amy Briede, appeals the dismissal of her case against the defendant, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, on its exception of no cause of action. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On September 27, 2002, Mrs. Briede and her husband, Christopher Briede, were attacked in their Lepage Street home in New Orleans by Darryl Franklin, Bryan Nelson¹ and Damon Dawson. During the course of the attack, the Briedes were beaten with a shotgun and Mrs. Briede was kidnapped and forced to drive her automobile to an ATM machine to withdraw money. She was then forced to return home, where the assailants ordered the couple to lie on the floor side by side. The assailants then shot Mr. Briede in the back and attempted to shoot Mrs. Briede, but the shotgun malfunctioned. Mr. Briede died as a result of the gunshot wound.

Mrs. Briede subsequently filed a wrongful death and survival action in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, naming as defendants the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, the New Orleans Police Department and the City of New Orleans. In her petition, Mrs. Briede alleges that Darryl Franklin and Bryan Nelson previously had been arrested on March 11, 2002, for kidnapping, rape and attempted murder, but were never formally charged with any of the crimes. She alleges that due to the defendants' negligence in failing to properly investigate and timely charge Darryl Franklin and Bryan Nelson for the March 11, 2002 offenses, the two men were released from jail and thereafter committed the crimes on September 27, 2002, that caused her injuries and Mr. Briede's death. Mrs. Briede further alleges that the defendants failed to act prudently with due care for the safety of others by allowing the two dangerous individuals to leave police custody.

The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office filed the peremptory exception of no cause of action, arguing the following: 1) that the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office is not a proper defendant, as it does not have the capacity to be sued; 2) that the Orleans Parish District Attorney and the employees of the District Attorney's Office are absolutely immune from civil liability for claims arising from conduct that occurred within the course and scope of their prosecutorial functions; and, 3) that the district attorney and assistant district attorneys are immune from civil liability in suits based upon administrative negligence absent allegations and proof of malice.

Following a hearing, the trial court rendered judgment sustaining the exception of no cause of action, finding that the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office was absolutely immune from civil liability for the acts and omissions alleged in Mrs. Briede's petition, and dismissed her suit with prejudice.²

Assignment of Error

In her sole assignment of error, Mrs. Briede argues that the trial court erred in granting the District Attorney's Office absolute immunity from liability for its grossly negligent failure to timely institute charges against Darryl Franklin and Bryan Nelson in March 2002, who were then released and later committed the heinous crimes against her and Mr. Briede.

Discussion

The peremptory exception of no cause of action tests the legal sufficiency of the petition by determining whether the plaintiff is afforded a remedy in law based on the facts alleged in the pleading. Fink v. Bryant, 2001-0987, p. 3 (La.11/28/01), 801 So.2d 346, 348-49. For the purpose of determining the validity of such an exception, all well pleaded allegations of fact are accepted as true. City of New Orleans v. Board of Commissioners, 93-0690 (La.7/5/94), 640 So.2d 237. In reviewing a trial court's ruling sustaining an exception of no cause of action, the appellate court should conduct a de novo review because the exception raises a question of law and the trial court's decision is based solely on the sufficiency of the petition. Id. at 253. A petition should not be dismissed for failure to state a cause of action unless it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of any claim that would...