Amanda Corbajal, Individually, And On Behalf Of Jameson Morgan v. The Chris Owens French Quarter Parade, Llc, Chris Owens, Inc., Christina Owens, New Orleans Convention Co., Inc., Atain Insurance Company, John Doe, And Abc Insurance Company

Supreme Court of Louisiana
May 21, 2024
Chief Deputy Clerk of Court
For the Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana
AMANDA CORBAJAL, INDIVIDUALLY, AND
ON BEHALF OF JAMESON MORGAN
VS.
THE CHRIS OWENS FRENCH QUARTER
PARADE,
LLC, CHRIS OWENS, INC.,
CHRISTINA OWENS, NEW ORLEANS
CONVENTION CO., INC.,
ATAIN
INSURANCE COMPANY, JOHN DOE, AND
ABC INSURANCE COMPANY
No. 2024-CC-00191
_ _
_ _ _ _
I
N RE: New Orleans Convention Co., Inc. - Applicant Defendant; Applying For
Supervisory Writ, Parish of Orleans Civil, Orleans Civil District Court Number(s)
2020-02483, Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, Number(s) 2023-C-0800;
_ _ _ _ _ _
May 21, 2024
Writ application granted. See per curiam.
Griffin, J., dissents and would deny.
JLW
JDH
SJC
JTG
WJC
JBM
05/21/2024 "See News Release 024 for any Concurrences and/or Dissents."

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA
No.
2024-CC-00191
A
MANDA CORBAJAL, INDIVIDUALLY, AND ON BEHALF OF
JAMESON MORGAN
VS.
THE CHRIS OWENS FRENCH QUARTER PARADE, LLC, CHRIS
OWENS, INC., CHRISTINA OWENS, NEW ORLEANS CONVENTION
CO., INC., ATAIN INSURANCE COMPANY, JOHN DOE, AND ABC
INSURANCE COMPANY
On S
upervisory Writ to the Orleans Civil District Court, Parish of Orleans Civil
P
ER CURIAM
We ordered briefing in this matter to determine whether relator is entitled to
summary judgment on the ground plaintiff is unable to establish that any action or
inaction by relator caused the injury to plaintiff’s minor child. For the reasons that
follow, we conclude summary judgment is warranted.
FA
CTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This matter arises from an incident which occurred during the 2019 Chris
Owens French Quarter Easter Parade. Jameson Morgan, a minor child, was riding
on one of the floats with his grandmother. During the parade, the float on which
Jameson was riding hit a tree limb, causing a wooden piece of the float to break off
and strike him.
As a result, plaintiff, individually and on behalf of her minor child, filed the
instant suit against several defendants, including New Orleans Convention Co., Inc.
(“NOCCI”). Plaintiff claim s defendants were liable for: (1) failure to properly
inspect the float ; (2) failure to properly assess float clearance; (3) failure to warn;
(4)
f
ailure to assure that the truck operator was competent; (5) failure to avoid a
05/21/24

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dangerous situation; (6) negligent injury; (7) failure to keep the minor child safe; and
(8) other unspecified acts of negligence.
NOCCI filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting plaintiff could not
meet her burden of proof of showing that NOCCI was negligent. In support of its
motion, NOCCI relied on affidavit of Dottie Belletto, president and CEO for
NOCCI. Ms. Belletto attested the parade was under the care, custody, and control
of The Chris Owens French Quarter Easter Parade, LLC and its manager/registered
agent, Kitsy Adams. Furthermore, she stated NOCCI had no role in the planning,
preparation, and hiring of employees, nor the care, custody, or control of the parade
at the time of the alleged incident. Finally, Ms. Belletto stated NOCCI played no
role in the formulation for the parade route, nor did it have any role or duty for
inspection of the route, and it had no relationship with the drivers of the floats.
NOCCI also relied on a deposition from Ms. Adams, who testified that
McKinley Cantrell of Cantrell Floats was responsible for inspecting the route to
ensure the floats could safely pass. In this instance, however, the parade route was
changed while in progress because cars were blocking the roadways. As a result,
the New Orleans Police Department, in consultation with Ms. Adams, decided to
change the route to travel down Esplanade Avenue as a detour. This incident
occurred on Esplanade Avenue due to the l ow-hanging limbs of oak trees that line
the avenue. Ms. Adams also testified that NOCCI had no input into the original route
of the parade, nor did it have any input with the police regarding the last- minute
change to the route.
Plaintiff opposed the motion for summary judgment, contending genuine
issues of material fact exist regarding Ms. Bellatto’s involvement with planning the
parade with Ms. Adams. According to plaintiff, Ms. Bellatto and Ms. Adams are
longtime colleagues an d worked together in the planning of this parade.

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Additionally, Ms. Bellatto secured an insurance policy that covered NOCCI for the
parade and she participated in obtaining the permit for the parade.
After a hearing, the district cour t denied the motion for summary judgment.
In oral reasons for judgment, the court found there were “multiple genuine issues of
material fact” and cited NOCCI’s “historical role” in collaborating with others to
conduct the parade.
NOCCI sought supervisory review of the district court’s judgment. The court
of appeal denied the writ.
Upon NOCCI’s application to this court, we ordered written briefing pursuant
to the provisions of La. Code Civ. P. art. 966(H). Having received briefs from both
parties, we now review the district court's ruling on the motion for summary
judgment on the merits.
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DISCUSSION
A ruling on a motion for summary judgment is reviewed under a de novo
standard, with the appellate court using the same criteria that govern the district
court's determination of whether summary judgment is appropriate, i.e., whether
there is any genuine issue of material fact, and whether the movant is entitled to
judgment as a matter of law. Diaz-Molina v. Flower , 2023-01135 (La. 12/19/23),
374 So. 3d 950, 952; Catzen v. Toney , 2022-01261 (La. 1/18/23), 352 So. 3d 972,
974; Jones v. Whips Elec., LLC , 2022-01035 (La. 11/22/22), 350 So. 3d 846, 848;
Guidry v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 2019-1999 (La. 2/26/20), 289 So. 3d 1026, 1027.
Pursuant to La. Code Civ. P. art. 966(D)(1), the burden on the party moving for

1 NOCCI also filed a motion for oral argument After careful consideration, we find oral argument
would not be helpful to the court and therefore deny the motion.

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summary judgment “does not require him to negate all essential elements of the
adverse party's claim, action, or defense, but rather to point out to the court the
absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party's
claim, action, or defense.” See Reynolds v. Bordelon, 2014-2371 (La. 6/30/15), 172
So. 3d 607, 610–11. When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported,
an adverse party may not rest on the mere allegations or denials of his pleadings, but
his response, by affidavits or otherwise, must set forth specific facts showing that
there is a genuine issue for trial. La. Code Civ. P. art. 967(B); Bufkin v. Felipe's
Louisiana, LLC, 2014-0288 (La. 10/15/14), 171 So. 3d 851, 858. Once a motion for
summary judgment has been properly supported by the moving party, the failure of
the non-moving party to produce evidence of a material factual dispute mandates the
granting of the motion. Dauzat v. Curnest Guillot Logging Inc ., 2008 -0528 (La.
12/2/08), 995 So. 2d 1184, 1187 (citing Babin v. Winn–Dixie Louisiana, Inc., 2000-
0078 (La. 6/30/00), 764 So. 2d 37, 40).
In its motion for summary judgment, NOCCI asserted plaintiff cannot prove
an essential element of her claim because she is unable to establish that any action
or inaction by NOCCI caused the injury to plaintiff’s minor child. NOCCI’s motion
was supported by the affidavit of Ms. Belletto and the deposition of Ms. Adams,
both of whom testified NOCCI had no role in the planning and preparation of the
2019 parade or any care, custody, or control of the parade at the time of the alleged
incident.
Because NOCCI properly supported its motion for summary judgment, the
burden shifted to plaintiff to set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue
for trial. In arguing genuine issues exist over NOCCI’s role in the parade, plaintiff
cited a portion of Ms. Adams’ deposition, in which she testified that city permits and
insurance certificates for the 2019 parade were coordinated and obtained by a
NOCCI employee , Melissa Monaghan. However, NOCCI points out that Ms.

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Adams went on to testify that Ms. Monaghan was actually acting as a volunteer for
the Chris Owens Easter Parade and was not acting in her capacity as a NOCCI
employee at the time she secured the permit for the 2019 parade.
Plaintiff also places emphasis on an insurance certificate obtained by NOCCI
which was submitted to the City to allow the permitting of the parade. NOCCI does
not dispute the existence of the insurance certificat e, but explains the certificate
listed NOCCI as the named insured, rather than the Chris Owens Easter Parade. The
mere fact that NOCCI chose to secure insurance to protect its own interests does not
equate to an admission that it assumed responsibility or liability for the parade.
Finally, even assuming for sake of argument that NOCCI had some limited
role in organizing the parade, plaintiff has failed to produce any evidence that any
action or inaction by NOCCI resulted in the injury to plaintiff’s child. Rather, the
undisputed facts indicate the police, in consultation with Ms. Adams, made a
decision during the parade to change the route due to congestion issues. It was
during this unforeseen detour that the float struck a tree limb, causing injury to
plaintiff’s child. Ms. Adams’ undisputed testimony establishes NOCCI had no input
in the decision to detour the parade.
In sum, we find NOCCI has satisfied its burden on summary judgment by
establishing the absence of factual support for an essential element of plaintiff’s
claim. Plaintiff has not produced any evidence of a material factual dispute.
Summary judgment in favor of NOCCI is therefore mandated.

DECREE
For the reasons assigned, the writ is granted and made peremptory. The
judgment of the district court is reversed. Summary judgment is granted, dismissing
the claims of plaintiff, Amanda Corbajal, individually and on behalf of Jameson
Morgan, against New Orleans Convention Co., Inc. with prejudice.