Capers v. Orleans Parish School Bd.
Also decided on this docket: La. Ct. App. 1st Cir., October 26, 1961 133 So. 2d 851; La., May 15, 1887 39 La. Ann. 659
Capers v. Orleans Parish School Bd., 365 So. 2d 23 (La. Ct. App. 4th Cir. 1978).
Cited by
- Green v. Orleans Parish School Board 780 So. 2d 1082 La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 2001
- Glankler v. Rapides Parish School Bd. 610 So. 2d 1020 La. Ct. App. 3d Cir. 1992
- DeGruy v. Orleans Parish Sch. Bd. 573 So. 2d 1188 La. Ct. App. 4th Cir. 1991
- Barnes v. Bott 571 So. 2d 183 La. Ct. App. 4th Cir. 1990
- Morris v. Orleans Parish School Bd. 553 So. 2d 427 La. 1989
- Morris v. Orleans Parish School Board 544 So. 2d 440 La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 1989
- Ferguson v. DeSoto Parish School Bd. 467 So. 2d 1257 La. Ct. App. 2d Cir. 1985
- Rollins v. Concordia Parish School Bd. 465 So. 2d 213 La. Ct. App. 3d Cir. 1985
- Nicolosi v. Livingston Parish School Bd. 441 So. 2d 1261 La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 1983
- Santee v. Orleans Parish School Bd. 430 So. 2d 254 La. Ct. App. 4th Cir. 1983
- Hampton v. Orleans Parish School Bd. 422 So. 2d 202 La. Ct. App. 4th Cir. 1982
- Lawrence v. Grant Parish School Bd. 409 So. 2d 1316 La. Ct. App. 3d Cir. 1982
Authorities cited
Identified automatically; this list may not be exhaustive.
- Partin v. Vernon Parish School Bd. 343 So. 2d 417
- Taylor v. National Indemnity Company 215 So. 2d 203
- Whitfield v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board 43 So. 2d 47
Opinion text
365 So.2d 23 (1978) Joe B. CAPERS, Individually and as the Administrator of the Estate of his minor child, and Eric T. Capers v. The ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, Through its President, and the Travelers Insurance Company. No. 9527. Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit. November 8, 1978. Carl J. Selenberg, New Orleans, for plaintiffs-appellants. Polack, Rosenberg, Rittenberg & Endom, Lawrence W. Koltun, New Orleans, for defendants-appellees. Before LEMMON, STOULIG and SCHOTT, JJ. LEMMON, Judge. This is a suit to recover damages sustained by a six-year old public school student who during the noon recess climbed upon and fell from a commercial-sized garbage *24 container located against the rear fence of the school yard and away from, but accessible to, the main play area. The trial court dismissed the suit after a trial on the merits, and plaintiff (the child's father) appealed. Plaintiff contends that the Orleans Parish School Board was negligent in allowing hazardous objects near the play area and in failing to supervise the child properly. Plaintiff's trial exhibit shows the containers in question as follows: There were 1,140 children enrolled in the elementary school. At the time of the accident there were 250 to 300 students in the yard, supervised by six to eight adults, including two to four teachers, an activities director, two teacher's aids and the principal or assistant. Tort liability is based on the existence of a duty and the breach thereof which causes damage. The standard of care for school teachers and administrators is that of a reasonable person in such a position acting under similar circumstances. Reasonable care includes protecting against unreasonable risk of injury from dangerous or hazardous objects in the school building and on the grounds. In the present case the garbage containers were not inherently dangerous, and placement of the containers against the perimeter fence to the rear of the school building did not create a hazardous condition or expose students to unreasonable risk of injury. Indeed, plaintiff's child could have climbed upon and fallen from many inherently safe objects inside or outside the school building. There is no duty imposed upon school teachers and administrators to fence or remove all otherwise safe objects simply because children might climb upon the objects. Partin v. Vernon Parish School Bd., 343 So.2d 417 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1977); Taylor v. National Indem. Co., 215 So.2d 203 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1968). As to the duty of supervision, the Board's employees must provide reasonable supervision commensurate with the circumstances. Here, supervision of 250 to 300 students by six to eight adults during the noon recess on fenced school grounds constituted reasonable supervision under the circumstances. *25 Whitfield v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Bd., 43 So.2d 47 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1949). The fact that one child wandered to the rear of the yard into an area away from the normal play area does not necessarily indicate substandard supervision, especially when the area contained nothing inherently hazardous and was within the fenced school grounds. The judgment is affirmed. AFFIRMED.