Opinion ID: 457725
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Peremption of the Survival Action

Text: 27 The district court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the survival action on the ground that the one year peremption period is not subject to interruption. We agree with the district court's holding. See, e.g., Pounds v. Schori, 377 So.2d 1195, 1199 (La.1979). Whether the plaintiffs reasonably could have discovered their cause of action is not an issue when a peremptive time period applies. Plaintiffs strongly assert, however, that a peremptive time period is subject to interruption or suspension in certain cases; therefore, plaintiffs would have us apply the theory of contra non valentem to their survival action. 28 As support for their argument plaintiffs rely on Giroir v. South Louisiana Medical Center, 453 So.2d 949 (La.Ct.App.) writs granted, 458 So.2d 108 (La.1984). The italicized portion of the following quote from Giroir provides the basis for plaintiffs' argument: 29 La.R.S. 9:5628 provides (in part) that claims against physicians and hospitals must be filed within one year of the negligent act or within one year from the date of discovery of such act. Plaintiffs allege that they did not learn of the negligent act until some time after Mrs. Giroir's death and that the burden is on the defendant to prove exactly when this knowledge was acquired. 30 This argument has no merit. The general rule is that when it appears from the face of the pleadings (as it does in this case) that a claim is not filed timely, the burden is on the plaintiff to show an interruption or suspension of prescription. Although here we are dealing with peremption rather than prescription, we conclude the same reasoning applies, i.e., plaintiffs must show at what point they learned of the negligent act in order to prove that the peremptive period began running at some point other than at Mrs. Giroir's death. There is no such evidence in the record. 31 Further, it has been held that La.R.S. 9:5628, which makes no specific provisions for wrongful death or survival actions, is a general statute. As such, it conflicts with art. 2315, which is a special statute providing a one-year time period for survival actions. The general rule is that in cases of conflict, the special statute prevails. Therefore the survival action is not governed by the time period provided in La.R.S. 9:5628, but by that provided in art. 2315. 32 453 So.2d at 954-55 (citations omitted) (emphasis added). While the italicized portion of the quotation, standing alone, would provide support for the plaintiffs' contention, when the entire passage is read, no support for the plaintiffs' contention exists. When the Giroir court states that they are dealing with peremption, they are referring to the peremptive period of the medical malpractice statute. When the court goes on to state that the time for beginning the running of the peremptive time period is the time of the learning of the negligence, the court is obviously still referring to the medical malpractice statute and not to any other peremption period. The medical malpractice statute specifically provides that the peremptive period will not begin to run until the negligent act occurs or is discovered. 33 In light of the substantial Louisiana authority in support of the proposition that peremptive periods are not subject to interruption or suspension, we decline to adopt plaintiffs' unsupported contention. The plaintiffs' argument appears to be grounded on a misreading of Giroir and goes against the pronouncements of the state's highest court. The district court correctly granted defendant's motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' survival action. 34