Ray v. City of Bossier City10/24/2003
PEATROSS, J., concurs.
MOORE, J., dissents with written reasons.
DREW, J., dissents.
The trial court granted defendants' motions for summary judgment and summarily dismissed plaintiffs' claims. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and reverse in part.
Factual and Procedural Background
On March 22, 2001, William A. Ray and Thomas M. Patten filed suit against the City of Bossier City, Danny R. Dison, James D. Hall, David Jones, and Michael Halphen (collectively referred herein as "the City"), claiming that they were constructively discharged from their jobs as Bossier City Police Officers in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
On October 23, 2002, all defendants filed motions for summary judgment, which were scheduled for a hearing on November 14, 2002; plaintiffs' attorney was not served until October 28, 2002. Under La. C.C.P. art. 966 and applicable Louisiana State District Court Rules 9.9(d) and 9.10(c), plaintiffs were required to have served counter affidavits on opposing counsel no later than four days before the hearing (November 10 was a Sunday and the 11th was Veterans' Day, a legal holiday). Defendants had attached 41 exhibits (affidavits, depositions, statements, and documents) in support of their motions.
On November 12, plaintiffs filed a "Motion for Extension to Respond to Defendant's Summary Judgment Motions." This motion to extend was also set for argument on November 14. On that date, the trial court made the following ruling:
. . . I would allow you [plaintiffs] to file a written response, but would not allow you to file any counter-affidavits. In other words, I'd take the position that I would just decide the case on what has already been offered into evidence, or affidavits, or depositions that are contained in the record, . . . I would merely allow you a brief period of time to - to write a response in the form of a memo, but not in the response - not- but not to allow you to offer any additional affidavits * * *
hen I say affidavits, any additional evidence.
(Emphasis added).
On November 22, 2002, plaintiffs filed an opposition brief and attached 15 exhibits, claiming that these exhibits, which primarily were excerpts from depositions, had all been produced in discovery. On December 10, 2002, the trial court granted defendants' motion to strike all of plaintiffs' exhibits. Plaintiffs claim never to have been notified of this ruling. On February 3, 2003, the trial court granted defendants' motions for summary judgment and dismissed all of plaintiffs' claims. Plaintiffs appealed.
The 15 exhibits stricken by the trial court are not in the record. Therefore, plaintiffs attached 13 exhibits to their original appellate brief. The City moved in this court to strike these exhibits and the portions of the brief which refer to them. Claiming to have never received notice of the interlocutory ruling by the trial court striking their exhibits, plaintiffs moved for a stay of the proceedings to seek supervisory review of the trial court's granting of the City's original motion to strike. This court denied both the City's motion to strike and plaintiffs' motion for stay.
Discussion
At the time in question, Danny R. Dison was the Chief of the Bossier City Police Department, James D. Hall was the City Attorney for Bossier City, David Jones was a member of the City Council for Bossier City, and Michael Halphen was the Public Information Officer for the Bossier City Police Department.
Plaintiffs contend that Dison, Hall, Halphen, and Jones all conspired to terminate their employme
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