Case Name: Geneva McKINNEY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry GREENE et al., Defendants-Appellants
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1979-12-21
Citations: 379 So. 2d 69
Docket Number: No. 7258
Parties: Geneva McKINNEY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry GREENE et al., Defendants-Appellants.
Judges: Before SWIFT, STOKER and DOUCET, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 379
Pages: 69–78

Head Matter:
Geneva McKINNEY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry GREENE et al., Defendants-Appellants.
No. 7258.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.
Dec. 21, 1979.
Dissenting Opinion Jan. 3, 1980.
Rehearings Denied Feb. 4, 1980.
Writ Refused March 21, 1980.
Brittain & Williams, Joe Payne Williams, Natchitoches, for defendant-appellant.
Lunn, Irion, Switzer, Johnson & Salley, James B. Gardner, Shreveport, Davis & Simmons, James Lynn Davis, Many, for defendants-appellees.
Tate & McManus, Vernon C. McManus, Eunice, for plaintiff-appellee.
Before SWIFT, STOKER and DOUCET, JJ.

Opinion:
DOUCET, Judge.
Geneva McKinney brought this tort action individually and on behalf of .her minor son, Robert Hicks. In her petition, plaintiff alleged that Robert had been kicked by Larry Greene, principal of the Pleasant Hill Elementary School, as a result of which both she and the child had suffered mental and physical pain, and the child had incurred a disability. Larry Greene, the Sabine Parish School Board and the Insurance Company of North America were named as defendants.
Greene and the Sabine Parish School Board filed third party demands with their answers to plaintiff's petition. Greene brought a third party demand against the school board, alleging that LSA-R.S. 17:416.1 required the school board to provide him with a defense and indemnify him against any judgment rendered against him. The school board's third party demand was brought against Greene's professional liability insurer, Horace Mann Insurance Company, and its own liability insurer, the Insurance Company of North America. The school board sought indemnity from the insurers for any judgment rendered against it, and the imposition of attorney's fees against its insurer, because of the insurer's refusal to defend it.
Following a trial on the merits, judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff in her capacity as tutrix of her minor child and against Larry Greene in the amount of $500.00. Plaintiff's demand against the Sabine Parish School Board and the Insurance Company of North America were dismissed. The third party demands filed by Greene and the school board were also dismissed. Greene appeals the judgment rendered in favor of plaintiff and the dismissal of his third party demand. The school board has answered the appeal, asking that the dismissal of its third party demand be reversed. Plaintiff has not appealed.
The incident giving rise to this suit took place on March 1, 1977 at the Pleasant Hill Elementary School in Sabine Parish. Robert Hicks, a thirteen year old student in the school's special education program, was seen attacking a younger boy on the school playground. Mrs. Doll Carhee, the playground supervisor for that day, intervened and took the two boys to the school cafeteria, where the principal, Larry Greene, was assisting with serving lunch. As Mrs. Car-hee was explaining to Mr. Greene what had taken place on the playground, Robert began to push the other boy again, apparently attempting to start a fight. Mr. Greene shouted at the boys, ordering Robert to "back off." At the time, Mr. Greene was standing on the opposite side of a serving counter from the boys and had a lunch tray in one hand and a serving spoon in the other. He repeated his command twice more then walked around the end of the serving counter and kicked Robert in the buttocks with the side of his shoe.
Mr. Greene testified that he kicked Robert because he felt that a fight was imminent, and Robert had failed to respond to his verbal commands. The force of the kick, although of sufficient intensity to get the child's attention and cause him to stop his activities, was apparently slight. The evidence, which included a report from a physician who examined Robert shortly thereafter, clearly established that he had suffered no physical harm as a result of it.
LSA-R.S. 17 ¡416.1(A) provides that "teachers, principals, and administrators [in] the public schools may, subject to any rules as may be adopted by the parish or city school board, employ other reasonable disciplinary and corrective measures to maintain order in the schools . . . ." Prior to the enactment of that provision, this court had held in Roy v. Continental Insurance Company, 313 So.2d 349 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1975) that corporal punishment, reasonable in degree, is a permissible disciplinary measure, which teachers can use without becoming exposed to civil liability. It is clear that in enacting LSA-R.S. 17 ¡416.1(A) the legislature did not intend to prohibit the use of reasonable corporal punishment by teachers and school officials. Thompson v. Iberville Parish School Board, 372 So.2d 642 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1979). However, the individual school boards were giv en authority to adopt rules regulating and restricting its use.
Pursuant to that authority, on December 15, 1976, the Sabine Parish School Board adopted a resolution concerning the maintenance of discipline in the public schools, which provides in pertinent part: "Section 2.
(a) Corporal punishment for purposes of this resolution, and use in this school system is defined as, and limited to, punishing or correcting a student by striking the student on the buttocks with a paddle a maximum of five (5) times. When such corporal punishment is administered to a student, it must be administered in a reasonable manner taking into consideration the age, size, emotional condition and health of the student.
(b) Nothing contained herein shall be interpreted as prohibiting an employee from using physical force, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances, in defending himself against a physical attack by a student or from using physical force, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances, to restrain a student from attacking another student or employee."
The principal, Larry Greene, was bound to observe these rules. The propriety of his actions in this case must be determined with reference to them.
Greene was clearly prohibited from kicking students as a means of administering corporal punishment in normal disciplinary situations. He argues, however, that his actions were governed by paragraph (b) of the excerpt from the school board resolution quoted above. Assuming for the sake of argument that the child's behavior was of the type contemplated by the school board in adopting that paragraph, we cannot agree that Greene's actions were "reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances". The trial judge correctly concluded that an emergency situation did not exist. Greene had sufficient time to put down the items in his hands, which would have allowed him to use a less offensive but equally effective method of restraining the child.
We conclude that Greene's actions were in violation of the school board's rules governing the use of corporal punishment. We agree that he is liable for the child's injuries, however, we believe that the trial judge's award of $500 is excessive. It is clear that the child's injuries were limited to the embarrassment and humiliation caused by his being disciplined. It is also clear that his behavior justified the principal's use of corporal punishment. We do not believe that Greene's improper administration of that punishment greatly increased the level of embarrassment and humiliation that he would otherwise have suffered if it had been properly administered. Accordingly, we will amend the judgment to reduce the award to $100.
Having decided that the award to plaintiff was properly made, we must determine whether the school board is required to indemnify Greene as alleged in his third party demand. LSA-R.S. 17:416.1(B) provides:
"Should any teacher, principal or administrator in the public school system be sued for damages by any student, the parent of any student or other persons qualified to bring suit on behalf of such student based upon the act or omission of such teacher, principal or administrator in the directing of and disciplining of school children under their care and supervision, it shall be the responsibility of the school board employing such teacher, principal or administrator to provide such defendant with a legal defense to such suit including reasonable attorney's fees, investigatory costs and other related expenses. Should any such teacher, princi pal or administrator be cast in judgment for damages in such suit, it shall be the obligation of the school board employing such defendant to indemnify him fully against such judgment including all principal, interest and costs. Nothing in this section shall require a school board to indemnify a teacher, principal or administrator against a judgment wherein there is a specific decree in the judgment that the action of the teacher, principal or administrator was malicious, and willfully and deliberately intended to cause bodily harm."
In his written reasons for' judgment, the trial judge started with reference to plaintiff's claim against the school board that the school board was not responsible for Greene's "intentional, wrongful acts". However, we find nothing in the written reasons for judgment or in the language of the judgment itself clearly indicating that Greene's act was found to be "malicious, and willfully and deliberately intended to cause bodily harm". Moreover, we have found no evidence in the record that reasonably supports such a finding. Greene's act was obviously deliberate, and was the result of poor judgment on his part. However, the evidence clearly shows that it was not prompted by malice or an intent to produce bodily harm.
The trial judge's refusal to allow Greene's claim for indemnity was apparently based on his approval of the school board's argument in support of its third party demand against Horace Mann Insurance Company. At any rate, that would also explain his refusal to allow Greene's claim for attorney's fees, despite the explicit language of LSA-R.S. 17:416.1(B). The school board contends that the legislature never intended for it to be an "insurer of insurers." It argues that because Greene was covered by a professional liability policy issued by Horace Mann Insurance Company, it should not be required to pay his legal expenses or indemnify him against any judgments.
We find no merit in that argument. LSA-R.S. 17:416.1(B) is clear and unambiguous. Its provisions cannot be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing what the school board contends is the true legislative intent. LSA-C.C. art. 13. The school board has a statutorily imposed obligation to defend its teachers, principals and administrators against this kind of suit and to indemnify them fully against adverse judgments, unless there is a finding that the disciplinary act was willfully and maliciously intended to produce bodily harm. The fact that Greene had limited coverage under a private professional liability policy did not relieve it of that obligation. Greene's third party demand against the school board, should, therefore, have been allowed.
The above reasoning also applies to the school board's third party demand against Horace Mann Insurance Company. Had the legislature elected to do so, it could have granted the school board the right to seek reimbursement from . its employee's private professional liability insurer. Since it did not do so, and the school board does not have a contractual relationship with the insurer, we find no legal basis for granting the relief sought.
The only remaining issue is whether the school board is entitled to recover on its third party demand against the Insurance Company of North America. As we noted earlier, the school board seeks indemnity and attorney's fees, because of the insurer's refusal to defend it. Looking to the language of the policy issued by the insurer, we find that it excludes coverage "for damages, direct or consequential, arising from bodily injury, sickness, disease or death of any person." Plaintiff's petition alleged that the damages sought arose from bodily injuries sustained by the child when he was kicked.
An insurer's obligation to defend suits brought against its insured is determined by the allegations of the plaintiff's petition. The insurer is obligated to provide a defense unless the petition unambiguously excludes coverage. American Home Assurance Company v. Czarniecki, 255 La. 251, 230 So.2d 253 (1969). Coverage was clearly excluded in this case. The school board is, therefore, not entitled to recover on its claim against the Insurance Company of North America.
In accordance with the above, the judgment is amended to award Robert Hicks, represented by his duly qualified tutrix, Geneva McKinney, $100.00 on his claim against Larry Greene, and it is affirmed insofar as it (1) provides for that award, (2) rejects plaintiff's demands against the Sabine Parish School Board and the Insurance Company of North America, and (3) rejects the Sabine Parish School Board's demands against the Insurance Company of North America and Horace Mann Insurance Company. It is reversed insofar as it taxes defendant, Larry Greene, with all costs and fails to award him recovery against the Sabine Parish School Board for the amount of the judgment against him and reasonable attorney's fees.
We believe that an attorney's fee of $2,750.00 would be appropriate considering the nature of the case, the skill of counsel, the result achieved and the time apparently involved. Despite the fact that there were incidental actions, this was not a complex case, and the witnesses were few. The attorney's fee includes both trial and appeal.
It is ordered, adjudged and decreed that there be judgment herein in favor of Larry Greene and against the Sabine Parish School Board in the amount of $100.00, with legal interest from February 24, 1978 until paid, plus an attorney's fee in the amount of $'2,750.00.
Costs of all proceedings, both in the trial court and on appeal, are taxed against the Sabine Parish School Board.
AMENDED AND AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART AND RENDERED.
STOKER, J., dissents and assigns written reasons.
. The existence of these specific rules distinguishes this case from Thompson v. Iberville Parish School Board, supra. In that case, the court had not been fully apprised of the school board's policy on corporal punishment. The court, therefore, evaluated the teacher's conduct in terms of the general principles set out in Roy v. Continental Insurance Company, supra, which are less restrictive than the rules adopted by the school board in this case.