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Phillips v. Francis2/6/2002
ose facts which give a party a right to judicial interference in his behalf'; `the situation or state of facts which entitles a party to sustain an action'.
The court in Trahan further noted that " he cause of action is the state of facts which gives a party a right to judicially assert an action against the defendant." Trahan, 314 So.2d at 353. The two suits involved in the present case are similar in that the object or demand of both Ms. Malbreaux's and Raven's suits is the same, i.e., damages for the wrongful death of their husband and father. In Benoit v. Allstate Ins. Co., 00-0424, p. 6 (La. 11/28/00); 773 So.2d 702, 706, the supreme court noted, " hat phrase [cause of action] has caused considerable difficulty in judicial interpretation over the years, especially when issues of prescription . . . involved." Citing Trahan, the supreme court stated that in the context of an issue of interruption of prescription, a cause of action is "the juridical facts which constitute the basis of the right." Id. Under that definition the court continued, "the term `cause of action' focuses on the conduct of the particular defendant in the occurrence or transaction which gives rise to the plaintiff's demand." Id. Furthermore, the court repudiated the part of its previous decision in Bullock v. Graham, 96-0711 (La. 11/1/96), 681 So.2d 1248, which concluded that the term "cause of action" is synonymous with the amount in controversy. The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, faced with defining the meaning of "cause of action," explained the term as follows in Stovall v. Carimi, 95-0766, pp. 6-7 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/30/95), 667 So.2d 1107, 1110-1111, writ denied, 96-748 (La. 5/3/96); 672 So.2d 692 (quoting Hope, 188 So. at 715):
A cause of action is an act on the part of a defendant which gives rise to a plaintiff's cause of complaint; "the existence of those facts which give a party a right to judicial interference in his behalf"; "the situation or state of facts which entitles a party to sustain an action." (Emphasis in original).
Therefore, Ms. Malbreaux's timely filed cause of action for the wrongful death of her husband interrupted prescription as to the wrongful death action filed on behalf of Raven, the minor child of the deceased.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is reversed. This case is remanded to the trial court for trial on the merits.
All costs of appeal are assessed against Sheriff Mike Neustrom of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Department.
REVERSED AND REMANDED TO THE TRIAL COURT FOR TRIAL ON THE MERITS.
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