Opinion

S.J. v. Lafayette Parish School Board

16 So. 3d 615
2009 WL 2244099

Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Filed: Sep 9, 2009
Status: Published
Author: Thibodeaux
On the bench: Cooks, Gene, Gremillion, Jimmie, John, Peters, Saunders, Sylvia, Thibodeaux, Ulysses
Cited by: 4 cases
Authority: More cited than 7.5%

Reversed on other grounds by S.J. v. Lafayette Parish School Board, 41 So. 3d 1119 (2010)

The opinion

THIBODEAUX, Chief Judge,

dissenting for additional reasons.

U dissent for the reasons expressed by-Judge Peters and for this additional reason. It is axiomatic that under Louisiana’s duty-risk analysis, a plaintiff has to prove five elements: duty; breach of duty; cause-in-fact; legal cause; and, damages. Legal cause focuses on whether a defendant owed a duty to this plaintiff under these circumstances. Even assuming the existence of a duty, did the duty of the Lafayette Parish School Board extend to protect C.C. and S.J. from the harm they allegedly suffered from the alleged occurrence, i.e., rape? See Hill v. Lundin & Assocs., Inc., 260 La. 542 , 256 So.2d 620 (1972). It really boils down to a test of foreseeability. In my view, legal cause simply does not exist in this case.

I, therefore, dissent.

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