Charles Stricker v. The Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission, Amy Jones, Tristan Thompson, Christian Coyle and AIX Specialty Insurance Company

STATE OF LOUISIANA

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FIRST CIRCUIT

2024 CA 0357

CHARLES STRICKER

t
VERSUS

THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS EXPRESSWAY
COMMISSION, AMY JONES, TRISTAN THOMPSON,
CHRISTIAN COYLE, AND AIX SPECIALTY
INSURANCE COMPANY

Judgment Rendered:
NOV2 2 2024

22st Judicial District Court

In and for the Parish of St. Tammany
State of Louisiana
Case No. 2020- 13451

The Honorable Ellen M. Creel, Judge Presiding

David A. Strauss Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellant
Marco J. Salgado Charles Stricker
Rachel M. Anderson
New Orleans, Louisiana

Karen McInnis
Mandeville, Louisiana

Craig R. Watson Counsel for Defendants/ Appellees
Bert J. Miller
Greater New Orleans Expressway
Metairie, Louisiana Commission, Tristan Thompson,
and AIX Specialty Insurance
Company

BEFORE: McCLENDON, WELCH, AND LANIER, JJ.

C)

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LANIER, J.

In this case where cross motions for summary judgment were filed, plaintiff

challenges the trial court' s judgment, granting defendants' summary judgment and

dismissing his claims with prejudice. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On the morning of August 15, 2019, plaintiff, Charles Stricker, entered the

North Toll Plaza of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (" Causeway") in a 2001

Toyota 4Runner towing an open utility trailer. Mr. Stricker paid his toll and

proceeded onto the southbound lane of the Causeway. At the same time, Curtis

Stansbury was also traveling southbound on the Causeway in a 2014 GMC Terrain.

An accident occurred when Mr. Stansbury struck the rear of the utility trailer being

pulled by Mr. Stricker's vehicle. Following impact, Mr. Stricker lost control of his

vehicle, causing the vehicle and utility trailer to overturn, landing on the driver's

side facing the North Shore. Mr. Stansbury's vehicle was pinned between the left

curb and Mr. Stricker's vehicle. When Sergeant Tristan Thomas of the Causeway
Police arrived at the scene, Mr. Stansbury still had his foot on the gas pedal.

Sergeant Thomas put the vehicle in park and turned the vehicle off. He attempted

to speak with Mr. Stansbury, who was incoherent and unsure of his location or

what had taken place. When EMS arrived on the scene, Mr. Stansbury's blood

sugar was 33, and the paramedics gave him glucose to elevate his sugar levels.

As a result of the damages sustained in this accident, Mr. Stricker brought

suit against multiple defendants - the Greater New Orleans Expressway

Commission (" the Causeway Commission");
AIX Specialty Insurance Company,

in its capacity as liability insurer of the Causeway Commission (" AIX"); the State
of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development

DOTD"); Amy Jones ( a toll booth operator employed by the Causeway

Commission); and Officer Christian Coyle and Sergeant Tristan Thomas

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employees of the Causeway Police Department, a department of the Causeway

Commission). Mr. Stricker claimed the accident was caused by the negligence

and/ or gross negligence of Ms. Jones, Officer Coyle, and Sergeant Thomas, and

that the Causeway Commission was vicariously liable for their actions as its

employees. He further claimed the Causeway Commission and DOTD were

negligent and/ or grossly negligent in causing the accident.

In his petition, Mr. Stricker alleged that the Causeway Commission and Ms.

Jones had constructive knowledge of Mr. Stansbury's condition and failed to

prevent" him from driving his vehicle forward onto the Causeway. Mr. Stricker

further asserted that the Causeway Commission and its employees failed to take

safety measures, failed to close the North Toll Plaza, failed to warn the motorists

already on the bridge, and failed to follow procedures for impaired motorists.

Following a motion for partial dismissal filed by Mr. Stricker, all claims against

DOTD were dismissed without prejudice. Moreover, Mr. Stricker withheld service

on Ms. Jones and Officer Coyle. Thus, this appeal only deals with the claims

against the Causeway Commission, AIX, and Sergeant Thomas ( collectively

defendants").

Defendants answered Mr. Stricker's petition, asserting general denials.

Defendants also raised several affirmative defenses, including: the alleged injuries

and damages were caused by the acts or omissions of persons whom defendants

did not control; the alleged injuries and damages were caused by Mr. Stricker's

own contributory negligence; Mr. Stricker failed to mitigate his damages; Mr.

Stricker's claims were barred by the doctrines of laches, waiver and/or estoppel;

and the defense of discretionary act immunity in accordance with La. R.S.

9: 2798. 1.

Pertinent to this appeal, the parties filed cross motions for summary

judgment. Defendants sought summary judgment, seeking dismissal of all of Mr.

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Stricker' s claims against them. Defendants alleged that the evidence unequivocally

showed that the accident in question did not occur due to a violation of any alleged

legal duty owed by the Causeway Commission or any of its employees. They

further argued that any legal duty owed was met with reasonable actions of the toll

operators and that there was no evidence that any action or inaction of the

Causeway Commission in these circumstances could have or would have

prevented the accident from happening. Finally, defendants asserted that the

discretionary decisions of the Causeway Police Department relative to where to

station its resources and police units and how to address a toll violator all fall under

the discretionary immunity set forth in La. R.S. 9: 2798. 1.

In his cross motion for partial summary judgment on liability, Mr. Stricker

alleged that the Causeway Commission made a promise to the public that its

employees would monitor drivers and vehicles as they entered the causeway

through the North Toll Plaza and that promise created a binding legal duty upon

the Causeway Commission and its employees. Mr. Stricker further asserted that

the Causeway Commission could not escape liability because the duty was
breached.

Following a hearing, the trial court signed a judgment on October 26, 2023,

granting defendants' motion for summary judgment, denying Mr. Stricker's cross

motion for summary judgment, and dismissing, with prejudice, all of Mr. Stricker's

claims against defendants. This appeal by Mr. Stricker followed.

Summary judgment procedure' is favored and " is designed to secure the just,

speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action .... and shall be construed to

accomplish these ends." La. Code Civ. P. art. 966( A)(2). An appellate court

We note that the motions for summary judgment at issue in this appeal were filed under La.
Code Civ. P. art. 966 prior to its amendment by 2023 La. Acts No. 317, § 1, and 2023 La. Acts
No. 368, § 1, which became effective on August 1, 2023.

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reviews the grant or denial of summary judgment de novo under the same criteria

governing the trial court' s consideration of whether summary judgment is

appropriate. Short v. RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc., 2022- 0859 ( La. App. 1 Cir.

2/ 24/ 23), 361 So. 3d 1051, 1058, writ denied, 2023- 00535 ( La. 6/ 7/ 23), 361 So. 3d

973. A court shall grant a motion for summary judgment if the motion,

memorandum, and admissible supporting documents show there is no genuine

issue of material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

See La. Code Civ. P. art. 966( A)( 3) and ( 4). The summary judgment movant

maintains the burden of proof. La. Code Civ. P. art. 966( D)( 1). Nevertheless, if

the movant will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the issue before the court on

the motion, his burden is satisfied by pointing out an absence of factual support for

one or more elements essential to the adverse party's claim, action, or defense.

Thereafter, the adverse party must produce factual support sufficient to establish he

will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial. If the adverse party

fails to meet this burden, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and, if

appropriate, the court shall render summary judgment against him. See La. Code

Civ. P. arts. 966( D)( 1) and 967( B).

Where there are cross motions for summary judgment raising the same

issues, this court can review the interlocutory denial of a summary judgment in

addressing the appeal of the grant of a cross motion for summary judgment.

Huggins v. Amtrust Insurance Company of Kansas, Inc., 2020- 0516 ( La. App.

1 Cir. 12/ 30/ 20), 319 So. 3d 362, 365. In this case, the parties' cross motions for

summary judgment raise the same basic issue, i.e., whether the Causeway

Commission owes a duty to monitor every vehicle that crosses the North Toll Plaza

for safety and driver impairment and to prevent any accident that may occur.

Thus, this court will review the denial of Mr. Stricker's motion for partial summary

judgment in addressing his appeal of the grant of defendants' motion for summary

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judgment. See McDonald v. D' Amico, 2023- 0884 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 3/ 22/ 24), 385

So. 3d 1162, 1166, writ denied, 2024- 00444 ( La. 6/ 19/ 24), 386 So. 3d 674.

Because it is the applicable substantive law that determines materiality,

whether a particular fact in dispute is material can be seen only in light of the

substantive law applicable to the case. Chapman v. Haynes, 2022- 0288 ( La. App.

1 Cir. 9/ 16/ 22), 352 So. 3d 1023, 1027. Mr. Stricker's claims against defendants are

based on negligence and are subject to a duty/risk analysis. See Lafayette Steel

Erector, Inc. v. G. Kendrick, LLC, 2022- 0895 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 8/ 30/ 23), 375

So. 3d 507, 514, writ denied, 2023- 01322 ( La. 12/ 19/ 23), 375 So. 3d 415. For

liability to attach under a duty/risk analysis, a plaintiff must prove five separate

elements: ( 1) the defendant had a duty to conform his conduct to a specific

standard ( the duty element); ( 2) the defendant's conduct failed to conform to the

appropriate standard ( the breach element); ( 3) the defendant' s substandard conduct

was a cause in fact of his injuries ( the cause in fact element); ( 4) the defendant's

substandard conduct was a legal cause of his injuries ( the scope of duty element);

and, ( 5) proof of actual damages ( the damages element). Farrell v. Circle K

Stores, Inc., 2022- 00849 ( La. 3/ 17/ 23), 359 So. 3d 467, 473. A negative answer to

any of the inquiries of the duty/risk analysis results in a determination of no

liability. Landers v. USIC Locating Services., Inc., 2020- 0890 ( La. App. 1 Cir.

4/ 26/ 21), 324 So. 3d 1070, 1073- 1074.

A threshold issue in any negligence action is whether the defendant owed

the plaintiff a duty. Ponceti v. First Lake Properties, Inc., 2011- 2711 ( La.

7/ 2/ 12), 93 So. 3d 1251, 1252. A duty is defined as " an obligation, to which the

law will give recognition and effect, to conform to a particular standard of conduct

toward another." Perkins v. Entergy Corp., 98- 2081 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 12/ 28/ 99),

756 So. 2d 388, 403 ( citing Morris v. Orleans Parish School Board, 553 So. 2d

427, 429 ( La. 1989)). The existence of a duty is a question of law. Farrell, 359

on

So. 3d at 473. Specific duties can arise from codal, statutory, administrative and

local laws, as well as private contracts and custom. Doe v. McKesson, 2021-

00929 ( La. 3/ 25/ 22), 339 So. 3d 524, 537 n. l ( Weimer, C. J., concurring); Martin

v. ISC Constructors, L.L.C., 2023- 0707 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 3/ 13/ 24), 387 So. 3d

630, 635- 636. When no factual dispute exists and no credibility determinations are

required, the legal question of the existence of a duty is appropriately addressed by

summary judgment. Listach v. West Baton Rouge Parish School Board, 2021-

0079 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 6/ 9/ 21), 328 So. 3d 450, 456, writ denied, 2021- 00982 ( La.

11/ 3/ 21), 326 So. 3d 887.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, Mr. Stricker raised numerous assignments of error with respect to

the trial court's judgment, one of which was the trial court's failure to find that

defendants owed a duty to the public to monitor drivers and vehicles before they

enter the Causeway. Mr. Stricker maintains that the duty does not arise from

statutory law or Louisiana jurisprudence, but rather " is an assumed duty based on

the voluntary public representations" and rules the Causeway Commission

imposed on all drivers entering the Causeway." Pointing to the " toll plaza rules"

found on the Causeway Commission' s website, Mr. Stricker argues further that the

public could reasonably believe that the Causeway Commission had the authority

to enact said rules given its statutorily imparted police powers.

At trial, Mr. Stricker would bear the burden of proving the elements of his

claims against defendants.
Thus, for defendants to prevail on summary judgment,

they were required to point out to the court the absence of factual support for any
of the elements of Mr. Stricker's cause of action. See La. Code Civ. P. art.

966( D)( 1). Defendants'
motion for summary judgment focused on the duty

element of the duty/risk analysis. Defendants argued that the accident did not

occur due to a violation of any alleged duty owed by the Causeway Commission.

F&

They further noted that any duty owed was met with reasonable actions by the

Causeway Commission employees.

Mr. Stricker argued that defendants cannot escape the clear theory of

liability based on their assumed duty to keep the Causeway safe by monitoring

traffic. In opposing defendants' motion for summary judgment, Mr. Stricker

alleged that whether the law would have inherently imposed the duty to monitor

traffic entering the Causeway is irrelevant because defendants assumed that duty

through their own public representations on a public website.

In support of their motion for summary judgment, defendants submitted a

copy of Mr. Stricker's petition, as well as deposition excerpts of several witnesses.

According to the testimony of Ms. Jones, she, and toll booth operators Michelle

Booker and Winifred Ordone were working toll lanes 1, 3, and 2, respectively.

Ms. Booker stated she noticed Mr. Stansbury stopped at the end of lane 3.

Although she waved for Mr. Stansbury to move forward, he never did. Ms.

Booker and Ms. Ordone had a conversation about the vehicle after which Ms.

Ordone exited her toll booth and began walking towards Mr. Stansbury' s vehicle.2

As Ms. Ordone approached the vehicle, Mr. Stansbury never acknowledged her.

Ms. Ordone noted that although the driver's side window was rolled up, she was

able to observe an older white male with white hair through window. Ms. Ordone

indicated that based on where Mr. Stansbury was stopped in the lane, the gate for

lane 3 would have hit his car if Ms. Booker had activated the gate. Moreover,

although Mr. Stansbury never made eye contact with Ms. Ordone, she stated that

he appeared normal and that his eyes were open.

According to Ms. Ordone, she was prepared to knock on the window when

Mr. Stansbury slowly drove forward. Based on his speed, Ms. Ordone believed he

2 Ms. Ordone indicated that her lane was a tag only lane, whereas Ms. Booker was in a cash or
tag lane. According to the record, the toll booth operators are trained not to leave their booths if
they are in a cash lane.

3

was going to stop at the toll booth. Ms. Ordone then watched as Mr. Stansbury

drove through lane 3, failing to stop at the toll booth and failing to yield to the

commands of the toll booth operators who were yelling for him to stop. The lane

violation occurred at 9: 07 am. Mr. Stansbury successfully navigated the toll booth

lane without swerving or making contact with any other vehicles or curbs. The

lane violation was then called in to dispatch by Ms. Jones, as the radio in Ms.

Booker's toll booth was not operating correctly.

Ms. Jones testified that she saw Ms. Ordone at Mr. Stansbury' s vehicle

trying to get him to move forward, then heard Ms. Ordone and Ms. Booker

screaming " stop, stop, stop." She then heard Ms. Booker's bell go off so she knew

the lane had been violated. Ms. Jones stated that while she did not get a good look

at the driver, she did note that he was an elderly man with silver hair. From her

vantage point, Mr. Stansbury appeared to be looking forward and not slumped over

at all. With regard to the call she made to the Causeway police, Ms. Jones made

the call as soon as Ms. Booker indicated her radio was not working, relaying Mr.

Stansbury' s license plate number to dispatch. Ms. Jones further noted as follows:

I made the call out to central. Tell them there may be something
wrong, because obviously he was at the beginning of the lane for a
little bit. And then, when he passed through, he completely didn't
heed to [ any] advances to stop. He violated the lane. Just so the

officer knows that there may be something wrong. May have a
language barrier. It could be many things. Nervous. Don't know
where they going. Or lost. You know, not sure. Because we had no
contact.
We can't see anything.

A lot of times, people get confused. And they will stop at the lane,
look around. See if there' s a place for them to turn. Out of state
people.

You get people where they just, they are in a hurry, to get
somewhere. But then, you will get problems. So when you say there
may be something wrong with the driver, you just give the officer a
heads up that we just had something that was just a little more unusual
than just a lane runner occurred. So they can have their guard up, and
be aware of any situation they are walking into.

0

Ms. Jones agreed that had the gate been lowered when Mr. Stansbury' s vehicle was

stopped in the lane, the gate would have hit the car. She noted further that even if

the gate had been lowered, the gate would not have stopped Mr. Stansbury from

entering the Causeway as it has a break away pin in it. Ms. Jones added that the

toll booth operators have no authority to block or barricade vehicles on the

Causeway.

When asked whether there was any physical way to prevent a vehicle from

entering the Causeway, Ms. Jones replied no, and the following discussion

occurred regarding the gate at each toll booth:

Q. Okay. When you close your toll booth -- or let me ask you a better
question. The gate that's in front of the booth, that goes down when?

BY [COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS]:
I'm going to object to the form, on the characterization of
where the gate is located. But subject to that objection.

BY [COUNSEL FOR MR. STRICKER]:
Okay. Let me be clear.

EXAMINATION BY [COUNSEL FOR MR. STRICKER]:

Q. There' s not a gate directly in front of the toll booth, correct?

A. No, sir.

Q. It's further at the beginning of the toll lane; is that a fair
representation?

A. Closer to the gantry, under the gantry.

Q. Under the gantry. Okay. That gate under the gantry, how do you
activate that gate?

A. By a switch that is to the right of us in a lane. There' s a procedure
to doing that.

Q. And what' s that procedure?

A. It's only when we need to close the lane down. So we would have
to red light our lane first, to make sure no cars are entering at the time
of the lowering of the gate. You cannot have any vehicles within the
vicinity of that gate when you're lowering it. We can't take the risk of
it actually hitting a vehicle.

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Once you lower your gate, once it's completely lowered, then
you log off your system to do shift change, break change, restroom
breaks. [ Or] if we get a call out to close the bridge, then we can.

Q. If you know an impaired driver, or you believe an impaired driver
has entered the bridge, do you have the authority to try to close the
bridge while the Causeway [ P] olice deals with that driver?

A. No, sir. We do not close the bridge on our own recognizance. We
have to make sure we have orders to do so.

Q. Okay. Can you request a bridge closure?

A. No, sir, we do not.

Q. The order to close a bridge, does that come through dispatch?

A. Either dispatch or the [ Causeway Police] that is giving the order
out will go over the radioYl

Robert Graham, Jr., an employee of the Causeway Commission since 1995

who is currently serving as its Director of Operations, testified as a corporate

representative for the Causeway Commission. Mr. Graham stated that toll booth

collectors do not have the authority or training to identify motorists who may be

sick or intoxicated. Mr. Graham noted, " So, generally, all they can do is suspect.

And so they're trained to use the phone or radio to notify and call [ Causeway
i4
Police] to have it further checked out properly. Mr. Graham noted that to the

best of their ability, toll booth operators should screen vehicles coming onto the

bridge for all aspects of potential safety. He added, however, that toll booth

operators have no interaction with patrons who have toll tags on their vehicles, and

they do not have the authority to detain anyone.

3 Ms. Booker confirmed that toll booth operators are not allowed to close their gates without
authority from dispatch.

4 All three toll booth operators involved in this case testified that they never received any specific
training concerning identifying impaired or incapacitated drivers as vehicles approach the toll
booths. However, they explained that if they do have a suspicion about a particular driver, the
general practice is to employ delay tactics and to utilize the turnaround near the toll booths,
which allows the Causeway Police time to make it to their location and further investigate the
situation.

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Concerning the Causeway Commission' s decisions about where to station its
resources on the bridge, Mr. Graham indicated that they generally have police

presence at the North Toll Plaza, as this is where the Causeway Police are

stationed.' When asked if he thought it would be " the best safety policy" to have a

police officer stationed at the North Toll Plaza at all times, Mr. Graham responded,

Generally, they try to use their manpower out on the bridge
where things are happening ... so you If something
can respond.

happens, you can respond to different locations quicker than if you're
stationed at the end of the bridge and something happens in the
middle. So we generally try to keep our people on the bridge, that
would be closer, a quicker response time to an emergency.

Mr. Graham was not aware that on the day of the accident in question, there was

not a police officer at the North Toll Plaza.

Also testifying on behalf of the Causeway Commission was Lieutenant

Michael Kelly, a 23 -year employee of the Causeway Police Department.

Lieutenant Kelly had most recently been promoted to lieutenant over field services

and was responsible for purchase orders, communications, internal affairs, water

rescue training, and anything else the commander may assign to him. Lieutenant

Kelly explained that the number of officers on duty during a typical shift changes

depending on the " time of day, shift needs, holidays." He noted that on the day of

the accident, a typical shift would have been four officers, including a sergeant, a

corporal, and two officers. Lieutenant Kelly added that it is within the discretion

of the shift sergeant as to where on the bridge he assigns the officers to help with

traffic flow and that the shift sergeant can adjust accordingly, depending on

problems that arise, the time of the day, or any weather-related issues. When the

shift sergeant is on duty, he " roams" the 24 -mile bridge as he is not assigned to any

specific area.

5 The North Toll Plaza was described as the area right next to the toll booths where the
turnaround is located. Within the building located at the North Toll Plaza, there is an
administrative area for the receptionist, the toll captain's office, and a " counting room."

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Lieutenant Kelly confirmed that the Causeway Police do not provide any

training to toll booth operators with regard to recognizing impaired drivers. He

also stated that toll booth operators have to ask a supervisor or someone with rank

on the bridge for permission before they can drop the gate in their lane, noting that

the gates have breakaways and are not meant to stop cars from entering the bridge.

Lieutenant Kelly added, "[ t]hey'd pop right through it. "I

On the day of this incident, Sergeant Tristan Thomas was the shift sergeant.

Also working the shift in question were Officers Colt Bruhl, who was assigned " at

large," Jason Bourne, who was assigned to the South, and Christian Coyle, who

was assigned to the North.' When the call came in from Ms. Jones about the lane

violation, Officer Coyle advised that he was in Crossover 1000, which is

approximately three miles from the toll booth; there is no crossover between where

Officer Coyle was and the toll booth. Officer Coyle stood by and waited for the

vehicle to come towards his location. The accident occurred before Mr. Stansbury

reached the location where Officer Coyle was stationed. Sergeant Thomas, who

was traveling northbound when the call came in, was first on the scene. According

to the record, the call about the accident came into dispatch at 9: 11 a. m. Sergeant

Thomas arrived on the scene between 9: 12 a.m. and 9: 13 a.m. The bridge was

closed at 9: 15 am.

Lieutenant Kelly testified that under no circumstances should Officer Coyle

have turned northbound against traffic into the southbound lane to " intercept" the

vehicle.
He believed that the officers acted appropriately and that there was

nothing they could have done differently to change the outcome. Officer Coyle

chose not to issue a citation to Mr. Stansbury " due to his medical condition at the

6 Mr. Graham also testified that toll booth operators do not have the ability to initiate the closure
of the bridge; that decision is left up to the Causeway Police depending on what is happening on
the bridge.

7 There was also someone working the motorist assistance patrol truck on the day of the accident.

13

time of the crash." When pressed on whether the Causeway Commission had a

policy to " just allow impaired drivers on the bridge," Lieutenant Kelly replied,

There' s a north and a southbound bridge, you know. I mean, it's an open roadway

in a sense. You know, nobody is monitoring the northbound traffic, so anybody

can get on the bridge just like anybody can drive the roadway." He clarified his

testimony, noting that while the Causeway Police " monitor" all of the bridge,
Lieutenant
motorists getting on the southbound bridge are " loosely observed."

Kelly added further that if a toll booth operator suspects that a driver is impaired in
anyway, they are trained to call the Causeway Police, as the " officers are on active

patrol looking for the same things."

Mr. Stricker testified that he was on his way to work on the morning of the

accident. As he was approaching the toll tag lane of the Causeway, a vehicle

caught his eye as it was stopped some distance from the toll booth. He observed

someone walking towards the vehicle, gesturing for the vehicle to move forward.

The vehicle started creeping forward, and as Mr. Stricker was going through the

toll tag lane, he was able to look over to see an older gentleman in the vehicle. Mr.

Stricker noted that " something wasn't right" but he assumed the Causeway Police

would have been on it." He drove forward, glanced in the rearview mirror to see

what was going on, and settled in for his drive to work. The next thing he

remembered was a big flash and his arm was on the cement. He had only been on

the bridge for approximately three miles at the time of impact.

Mr. Stricker testified that although Mr. Stansbury was behind him when he

entered the bridge, he was still able to see Mr. Stansbury in his vehicle. Mr.

Stricker described Mr. Stansbury as catatonic, locked up, stiff, and not natural

looking. He acknowledged that because he was in a tag only lane, he never had to

stop, adding that he probably had to look back after he cleared the toll booth to see

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Mr. Stansbury. Mr. Stricker stated he was able to see " partially through his side

window," noting that it was a " glance."

Mr. Stricker and Mr. Stansbury shared an ambulance to the hospital after the

accident. According to Mr. Stricker, Mr. Stansbury required glucose to elevate his

blood sugar. Once at the hospital, Officer Coyle spoke with Mr. Stansbury who

indicated he was on his way to breakfast and had no idea how he ended up on the

Causeway.

After our de novo review of the evidence submitted by defendants in support

of their motion for summary judgment, we find defendants met their initial burden

of showing an absence of factual support for the duty element of Mr. Stricker's

claim. As such, the burden shifted to Mr. Stricker to establish the existence of a

genuine issue of material fact or that defendants were not entitled to judgment as a

matter of law. See La. Code Civ. P. art 966( D)( 1); see also Bruno v. Blue Bayou

Water Park, LLC, 2023- 0675 ( La.App. 1 Cir. 12/ 29/ 23), 381 So. 3d 802, 809- 810.

Mr. Stricker attempted to meet this burden by filing an opposition to defendants'

motion for summary judgment, together with numerous exhibits, including many

of the same depositions submitted by defendants, a copy of the accident report, and

a copy of the Causeway Commission's mission statement and the " toll plaza rules,"

taken from their website, as support for his argument that the Causeway

Commission had assumed a clear and specific legal duty to monitor drivers and

vehicles entering the Causeway to ensure the safety of the public crossing the

bridge.'

8 Moreover, as previously discussed, Mr. Stricker later filed his own cross motion for partial
summary judgment on liability, arguing that the Causeway Commission made a promise to the
public that its employees would monitor drivers and vehicles as they entered the Causeway
through the North Toll Plaza and that this promise created a binding legal duty upon the
Causeway Commission and its employees. Mr. Stricker alleged that the Causeway Commission
could not escape liability because the duty was breached. The evidence submitted by Mr.
Stricker in support of this cross motion and by defendants in opposition to the motion was
virtually identical to the evidence that had initially been submitted by the parties in connection
with defendants' motion for summary judgment.

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According to the statement as found on the Causeway Commission' s

website, part of their mission is to " promote safe and efficient vehicular travel

upon the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and other highways and bridges within the

jurisdiction of the department." Moreover, the " toll plaza rules" cited to by Mr.

Stricker provide that all vehicles " roust come to a complete stop at the toll booths

between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m." and that "[ m] ontoring of drivers and vehicles prior to
9
entering the bridges will help insure your safety while crossing the Causeway."

Moreover, the rules provide that while the Causeway Commission is " committed to

minimizing the time required to move through the toll plaza ... safety must remain

paramount."

On appeal, Mr. Stricker argues that the mission statement, the " toll plaza

rules," and the testimony of the Causeway Commission' s corporate representatives,

who both agreed that the role of the Causeway Commission is to keep the

motorists on the Causeway as safe as possible, " demonstrate unequivocally" that

the Causeway Commission assumed both the legal duty to protect motorists on the

Causeway and the role of gatekeeper for the Causeway, at least for vehicles

entering the southbound bridge. We find no merit to Mr. Stricker's argument.

As noted by defendants in brief to this court, Mr. Stricker refers to this duty

as a " blanket of protection" from any potential accident on the Causeway that the

Causeway Commission offers and must provide to all motorists. However, as

correctly pointed out by defendants, Mr. Stricker neither offers support for this

strained" theory on duty nor submits any " specific acts of negligence or breaches

of duty in any actions of the employees [ of the Causeway Commission] to support

such a breach or that such a breach was a cause in fact of the damages.". We agree

9 Although we ultimately conclude the Causeway Commission owes no duty to Mr. Stricker, we
note that the " toll plaza rules" cited to by Mr. Stricker have no application to this case as the
accident in question did not occur between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

In

with defendants that Mr. Stricker has failed to identify any disputed factual issues

as to duty.

After considering all of the evidence submitted by the parties below and

hearing arguments of counsel, the trial court granted defendants' motion for

summary judgment, denied Mr. Stricker's cross motion for summary judgment, and

dismissed, with prejudice, all of Mr. Stricker's claims against defendants. Ruling

from the bench, the trial court stated it would be " hard-pressed to find that there' s a

duty to monitor every entering driver for any possible medical emergency that may

occur within two or three miles of the tollbooth." The trial court noted further that

the duty did not extend as far as Mr. Stricker was asking that it be extended.

Moreover, the trial court concluded that even if there was a duty owed by the

Causeway Commission or its employees, there was no breach of said duty because

the actions taken were appropriate under the circumstances. We agree.

The evidence in this case supports the trial court's finding that there was no

duty imposed on defendants to prevent an accident such as the one before us.

Notwithstanding that the Causeway Commission's mission is to " promote safe and

efficient vehicular travel" across the Causeway, it is illogical to argue that this

mission creates a duty on defendants to prevent every potentially impaired or

incapacitated driver from entering the Causeway or to prevent accidents from

occurring due to third -party negligence. As correctly noted by defendants in brief

to this court, "[ d] espite [ Mr. Stricker' s] overly broad argument to the contrary,

Louisiana law does not and should not recognize any public entity as having such a

gatekeeper' duty to anticipate and prevent third party accidents."

The evidence shows that Mr. Stansbury ignored verbal instructions and

signage to stop at the North Toll Plaza, entered the southbound bridge, and drove

for over two miles before the accident. Defendants had no direct interaction with

Mr. Stansbury prior to him driving onto the Causeway. Moreover, given Mr.

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Stansbury' s alleged condition, there is no evidence or testimony in the record to

support a finding that had any employees of the Causeway Commission acted

differently, the outcome would have been any different. Like the trial court, we

find that based on the facts and circumstances of this case, defendants acted

appropriately.

On our de novo review of the record, we find that defendants were entitled to

summary judgment as a matter of law and that Mr. Stricker's cross motion for

summary judgment was properly denied. Mr. Stricker's assignment of error

regarding duty is without merit, and we pretermit all other issues raised by Mr.

Stricker on appeal.

CONCLUSION

For the above and foregoing reasons, we affirm the trial court's October 26,

2023 judgment, granting summary judgment in favor of the Greater New Orleans

Expressway Commission, AIX Specialty Insurance Company, and Sergeant

Tristan Thomas; denying Charles Stricker's cross motion for summary judgment;

and dismissing, with prejudice, all claims filed by Charles Stricker against the

Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission, AIX Specialty Insurance

Company, and Sergeant Tristan. Thomas. We assess all costs associated with this

appeal against plaintiff/appellant, Charles Stricker.

AFFIRMED.

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