Landry v. Ascension Parish School Bd.

• Citation: 415 So.2d 473
• Decision Date: 25 May 1982
• Docket Number: No. 14814,14814
• Parties: , 4 Ed. Law Rep. 1361 Lloyd John LANDRY v. ASCENSION PARISH SCHOOL BOARD.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 473

415 So.2d 473

37 A.L.R.4th 834, 4 Ed. Law Rep. 1361

Lloyd John LANDRY v. ASCENSION PARISH SCHOOL BOARD.

No. 14814.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana,

First Circuit.

May 25, 1982.

Robert L. Kleinpeter, Kleinpeter, Kleinpeter & Kleinpeter, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff & appellee.

Gordon R. Crawford, Crawford, Golsmith & Holdridge, Gonzales, for defendant & appellant.

Before COVINGTON, COLE and WATKINS, JJ.

COVINGTON, Judge.

This is an appeal by the Ascension Parish School Board from a judgment of the District Court rendered on February 23, 1981 and signed on March 11, 1981, decreeing that:

"... there be judgment herein in favor of the plaintiff, Lloyd John Landry, and against the defendant, Ascension Parish School Board, reversing the decision of the Ascension Parish School Board terminating the employment of Lloyd John Landry as a classroom teacher and ordering his reinstatement to the position of a teacher with tenure at the high school level and that plaintiff, Lloyd John Landry, be reimbursed for all pay since the date of his discharge, together with all other emoluments and fringe benefits to which he would be entitled had he not been discharged together with all costs of Court."

This suit arises out of the following set of facts: Lloyd John Landry was a teacher with tenure under LSA-R.S. 17:443, et seq., having taught in the public school system for a period of ten years or more with eight years devoted to the Ascension Parish School System. An incident occurred on September 21, 1978, involving Landry and Ray Jacob, a 16 year old male student, in the boys' restroom area, where Landry was on "duty" during recess. The student accosted the teacher, and an argument ensued. Words were exchanged and a scuffle took place between them. The altercation proceeded into the hallway, where a group of students quickly gathered. Thereafter, the scuffle was broken up by the Assistant Principal, Emile Chiquette. Chiquette told Jacob to go to the office, but he refused. Jacob then wrapped his belt around his fist, threatening Landry; and, disregarding the instructions of the Assistant Principal, he left the area, and apparently left the campus.

Shortly thereafter, Jacob reappeared on the campus in the same area, armed with a two by four (2 X 4) piece of wood, approximately 30 inches in length. He immediately sought out Landry in the boys' restroom and physically attacked the teacher, with Landry apparently dodging most of the blows intended for him. After managing to get out of the area, with Jacob in wild pursuit, swinging his board as a weapon, Landry ran to his automobile (which was in the teachers' parking lot), unlocked the car, and obtained a pistol from the glove compartment. Thereafter, he stood in front of his vehicle with the pistol at his side (to have his vehicle behind him to protect himself from any attack from the rear), anticipating Jacob and a group of students coming after him. He was also looking toward the school building, concerned about the safety of his wife, who was also a teacher at the same school. Jacob did in fact appear in the area, still carrying the piece of wood, but retreated when he saw the plaintiff with his pistol in hand. The evidence shows that Landry made certain that the pistol was visible, but he did not point the gun at Jacob, or anyone else.

Plaintiff was never the aggressor. The record also shows that, to the contrary, Landry fled the scene rather than continue the fight with the student, but that Jacob pursued him in an attempt to resume the altercation. It was only when Jacob observed that Landry was also armed, that he reversed his direction and went back toward the school.

The Donaldsonville Police Department was summoned. Upon arrival of the police a short time thereafter, Landry surrendered the pistol to an officer. Landry was removed from the school campus. Subsequently, charges of aggravated assault were filed against both Landry and Jacob, with both cases being tried before Judge A. J. Kling, Jr., Ascension Parish Court, Gonzales, Louisiana. Judge Kling entered a verdict of guilty against both defendants; and, certiorari was granted by the Louisiana Supreme Court only as to Lloyd John Landry.

The Supreme Court reviewed Landry's conviction, and reversed the conviction and sentence, finding that Ray Jacob was the aggressor at all times and that Landry was acting in legal justification or self-defense. State v. Landry, 381 So.2d 462 (La.1980).

The facts have been clearly set forth and judicially accepted in the Landry case, supra, which has been made a part of the record in the instant case. The Supreme Court stated:

"We find it was subjectively reasonable for defendant to conclude that Jacob was intent upon continuing the prior attack. Having been just subjected to a violent armed assault, it was reasonable for defendant, upon seeing Jacob coming in defendant's direction still carrying the weapon, to conclude that Jacob's purpose in approaching was to carry out his previously demonstrated intent to inflict serious bodily harm upon defendant. We hold that defendant had ample reason to fear imminent serious personal harm at the hands of Jacob.

"We also find that defendant's brandishing the gun at Jacob and threatening Jacob with harm, ¹ without actually firing the weapon, was use of reasonable force. Unquestionably, Jacob was the aggressor from the onset of the entire incident. Armed with the club, Jacob was capable of inflicting serious if not fatal injuries on defendant's person. Jacob's persistence and the degree of hostility displayed toward defendant was reasonable cause for defendant to believe that unless a considerable deterring force was employed, defendant could expect a continued armed assault on defendant's person."

Insofar as the facts involved in the tenure hearing are concerned, we note the date referred to by many of the witnesses, in response to the questioning of counsel for the school board, was repeatedly referred to inadvertently as September 28, 1978, when the correct date was September 21, 1978. (There is no dispute that the pertinent incidents occurred on September 21, 1978.)

In addition to the testimony of the students, as summarized in Landry, supra, the testimony of several teachers and the Superintendent was taken during the tenure hearing. The Principal, Violet Marchand, together with the testimony of the Assistant Principal, Emile Chiquette (Chiquet), briefly relates the events which occurred on September 21, 1978. The pertinent testimony from these witnesses, as well as that of Raymond Joseph Brown, James Lester Dykes, Sr., Annie Aucoin Nichols, Clarence M. Simms, Catherine Davis, Helen Sanders, Elaine Rome and Alice Oubre, was to the effect that Lloyd John Landry was a good teacher and had no unusual disciplinary problems with students, and that his manner of handling and coping with students had always been acceptable and reasonable. In addition to the testimony of these teachers and principals, the Superintendent, M. B. Gautreau, testified that the School Board had no policy with reference to firearms on the school campus and no rules with reference to weapons in vehicles on campus.

Superintendent Gautreau, upon inquiry by one board member at the tenure hearing, testified that he did not consider the conduct of Landry as the kind of conduct he would expect from a school teacher. Other than this, there is no testimony in the record which adversely reflects on Landry as a teacher in any respect.

Landry was given an efficiency rating (September 24, 1978 and September 29, 1978) as an "excellent teacher" and as being "extremely capable and knowledgeable".

After the tenure hearing, the Board adopted, by a vote of 6 to 3, a motion, dated December 8, 1978, dismissing Lloyd John Landry as a school teacher effective as of September 21, 1978, without statement of its facts or basis for its conclusions.

The leading case with reference to the procedural requirements in a teacher tenure case is Lewing v. DeSoto Parish School Board, 238 La. 43, 113 So.2d 462 (1959), wherein the Court observed:

"The Teachers' Tenure Act (LSA-R.S. 17:441-444), under which plaintiff's petition was filed, has for its object the protection of worthy teachers. It has been repeatedly held by the courts of...