CD v. SC
| Decision Date | 20 April 2022 |
| Docket Number | 54,158-CA |
| Parties | CD, Individually and on Behalf of the Minor, SD, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. SC, Individually and as the Parent and Guardian of DJ, Rock Solid Camps, LLC, and State of Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals, in Solido, Defendants-Appellants |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
JEFF LANDRY, Attorney General, By: Ronald F. Lattier Special, Assistant Attorney General, Counsel for Appellant, State of Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals
MARK A. PERKINS, Counsel for Appellant, Rock Solid Camps, LLC
SONIA COLEMAN, Appellant, In Proper Person, Mother and Guardian of Her Minor Child, DJ
MORRIS & DEWETT, LLC, Shreveport, By: J. Chancellor Nerren, Brandon Trey Morris, Justin C. Dewett, Counsel for Appellees, CD, Individually and on Behalf of the Minor, SD
LAW OFFICE OF KYLE M. ROBINSON, By: Kyle M. Robinson, Bossier City
Before MOORE, PITMAN, STONE, STEPHENS, and ROBINSON, JJ.
The instant appeal was filed by the State of Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals, from an adverse judgment, entered in accordance with the verdict of a 12-person jury, which found the State responsible for the majority of the fault and damages sustained by a young boy who was sexually assaulted by an older boy at a day camp. For the reasons set forth below, we amend the judgment of the trial court in part, and, as amended, affirm.
This case arises out of an incident that occurred at the Rock Solid Camp held at Calvary Baptist Church on Linwood Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 26, 2010. Rock Solid is a summer day camp/sports camp where children of varying ages could swim, engage in sports activities, and take field trips, among other things. On that day, 14-year-old DJ sexually assaulted 8-year-old SD in a shower stall in the men's restroom while both were participants in the camp program.
CD, father of the minor SD, filed a petition for damages individually and on behalf of his son, naming as defendants: (1) SC, the mother of the minor DJ; (2) Rock Solid Camps, LLC; and (3) the State of Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals ("State" or "DHH"). Plaintiff's claims against the State were that SC was employed by the Office of Behavioral Health ("OBH") and/or the Shreveport Mental Health Clinic, both under the umbrella of the DHH, and that SC and/or OBH referred the minor DJ to Rock Solid but failed to warn the camp of DJ's history of predatory sexual behavior involving young children.
Rock Solid answered the petition and filed a cross-claim against DHH, asserting that the State of Louisiana referred DJ to Rock Solid and intentionally "allowed a menace to be enrolled in their facility without notification." DHH expressly denied the claims of plaintiff's petition and Rock Solid's cross-claim and alleged that SC was acting in her capacity as DJ's mother when she enrolled DJ in Rock Solid, not in the course and scope of her employment with DHH. Furthermore, DHH did not refer DJ to Rock Solid, since DJ was neither a client of nor receiving services from the Shreveport Mental Health Clinic, a prerequisite for any referrals by DHH. Therefore DHH had no duty to disclose any information regarding DJ's juvenile history.
Trial was held February 24-27, 2020. At the close of plaintiff's case, DHH filed a motion for directed verdict which was denied by the trial court. Following closing arguments, the case was submitted to the jury which rendered a verdict against defendants and awarded general damages to plaintiff in the amount of $1.25 million. The jury found liability on the part of all three defendants and apportioned fault as follows: 65% to the State of Louisiana, DHH; 30% to Rock Solid; and, 5% to SC. The jury denied Rock Solid's cross-claim, finding that DHH was not liable for any damages to its co-defendant. The trial court rendered judgment in accordance with the jury's verdict against: the State of Louisiana, DHH, in the amount of $812,500, subject to the statutory cap of $500,000, as set forth in La. R.S. 13:5106, together with judicial interest as set forth in La. R.S. 13:5112 ; Rock Solid Camps, LLC, in the amount of $375,000; and, SC, individually and as the parent and guardian of DJ, in the amount of $62,500, with the latter two awards subject to judicial interest from the date of judicial demand.
DHH filed a motion for new trial and/or remittitur, arguing that the damage award was excessive in light of plaintiff's failure to present any medical evidence to support the award, especially considering intervening events such as the minor SD's congenital disease and a second unrelated sexual assault perpetrated upon the minor SD by a stepbrother. The motion was denied, and DHH filed the instant appeal. Neither Rock Solid nor SC filed either an answer to the appeal or an appellate brief.
Sergeant Jeffrey Allday was the Shreveport Police Department sex crimes investigator sent to investigate a report of an incident that occurred on July 26, 2010, at Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is where Rock Solid operated its day camp. Sgt. Allday spoke with Officer White, the responding officer, who related that SD, the eight-year-old victim, had been in a shower stall with the 14-year-old suspect when one of the camp counselors, Jared Green, discovered both boys pulling up their pants.
The victim, SD, was examined by a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) at a hospital, but no injuries were noted, and no evidence was collected. SD was interviewed at Gingerbread House two days after the incident. DJ was taken to the police station, but chose not to make a statement. Sgt. Allday arrested DJ based upon what the counselor witnessed and the statement made by SD.2 Thereafter, DJ was adjudicated delinquent in connection with this incident and a separate one that had occurred in March 2010 at a mental health treatment facility in Shreveport.
When asked on cross-examination whether he revealed to Rock Solid director Shelley McMillian that DJ had been adjudicated delinquent as a sexual predator, Sgt. Allday testified that he could not specifically recall, although he did admit that he might have asked her whether she knew of any previous such incidents involving DJ.
Todd Carlisle testified that he is a probation and parole officer with the State of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice ("OJJ"). Beginning on November 10, 2009, DJ came under his supervision for probation as an interstate compact transfer from Texas when his family moved to Louisiana to be closer to family. Carlisle explained that the interstate compact is an agreement between participating states which provides that youths who transfer from one jurisdiction to another will be supervised as if they were still under the control and supervision of the jurisdiction in which they committed the offense for which they are being monitored.
In the previous case, DJ committed aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 in Texas which, as explained by Carlisle, is comparable to aggravated rape in Louisiana. DJ received probation in Texas. As a participating state, Louisiana was to provide the supervision as ordered by the Texas court, which included, among other things, finding sexual perpetrator counseling for DJ and having DJ abide by a 7:00 p.m. curfew.
Carlisle testified that an interagency services coordination ("ISC") meeting was held on December 9, 2009. Among those in attendance were DJ and his mother, SC; Carlisle and Vernon Williams from OJJ; and, Kim Williams, who was the ISC coordinator.
At the meeting, SC expressed her concern about DJ's grades and the fact that he was having fights at school. According to Carlisle, they also discussed the sexual abuse counseling that DJ was required to have. He assumed that Ms. Williams knew that DJ was on probation for sexual abuse, since she helped coordinate some of his treatment.
Carlisle stated he was informed of the sexual assault allegedly committed in March 2010 by DJ at the Northwest Regional Mental Health Center, which is where DJ had been going for additional counseling. Carlisle noted that DJ was adjudicated as delinquent in connection with this incident as well as the one that occurred in July 2010 at Rock Solid on October 12, 2010, the petition for adjudication for both offenses having been filed two days after the incident at Rock Solid.
Carlisle testified that he was unaware that DJ had attended Rock Solid camp until after the fact. To his knowledge, no one at OJJ knew that DJ was going to Rock Solid. As DJ's probation officer, he would like to have known that information beforehand, so he could have brought it to the Texas court's attention. DJ was a red level offender; he had one adjudication and one allegation of sexual assault of a child, and Carlisle stated that he would have never approved for DJ to attend a camp like Rock Solid One of the treatment recommendations from Dr. Greg Brown, who first evaluated DJ in 2009, was that DJ needed to be watched closely for inappropriate sexual behavior and should not be left unattended or alone with younger children at any time without direct adult supervision. In February 2010, Dr. Brown recommended that DJ be continuously watched on a constant basis and not be left unattended with any children at any time.
Carlisle testified that he could not have disclosed anything to Rock Solid even had he known about the camp. Carlisle stressed during cross-examination that he has to comply with the confidentiality rules applicable to his field. Absent a court order or signed release, he is bound by law not to release DJ's information. He noted that Ms. Williams with the OBH is subject to the same rules.
Kim Williams testified that she worked for the Office of Mental Health, an arm of DHH, in the Shreveport regional office in 2010. Her job primarily entailed working with children with mental health issues...
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CD v. SC
...two judges dissented, finding no abuse of the jury's discretion in assessing the amount. CD v. SC, 54,158, p. 44 (La.App. 2 Cir. 4/20/22), 339 So.3d 88, 109 (Pitman, J. and Stone, J., dissenting). On the application of CD, individually and on behalf of SD, we granted certiorari. CD v. SC, 2......