Court of Appeal of Louisiana,
First Circuit.Walter W. PRICE and Mysterie Price, Both Individually and on Behalf of the Minor Child F.P.
v.
Darryl NORTH, Edward North, Monica North, and Patrice Hoofkin
NO. 2017 CW 0402
MAY 26, 2017
In Re: Jones Creek Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Baton Rouge, LA, Inc. and Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc., applying for supervisory writs, 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, No. 520419.
Opinion
*1 **1 WRIT GRANTED WITH ORDER. The trial court judgment of February 22, 2017, which overruled the peremptory exception raising the objection of no cause of action filed by the defendants, Jones Creek Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Baton Rouge, LA, Inc. and Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. on the issue of liability, is reversed. The plaintiffs' petitions failed to allege facts sufficient to prove the existence of a legal duty on the part of the defendants, which is a prerequisite to any determination of fault. Seals v. Morris, 410 So.2d 715, 718 (La. 1981); Mathieu v. Imperial Toy Corp., 94–0952 (La. 11/30/94), 646 So.2d 318, 326. Therefore, the defendants cannot be liable for plaintiffs' damages incurred as a result of the tortious acts of third parties, negligent misrepresentation, or negligent supervision absent allegations of some special relationship among the parties that gives rise to a legal duty. See Harris v. Pizza Hut of Louisiana, Inc., 455 So.2d 1364, 1371 (La. 1984); Barrie v. V.P. Exterminators, Inc., 625 So.2d 1007, 1015–1016 (La. 1993); Whetstone v. Dixon, 616 So.2d 764, 770 (La. App. 1st Cir.), writs denied, 623 So.2d 1333 (La. 1993). Accordingly, we sustain the objection of no cause of action. We remand the matter to the trial court, however, with instruction to issue an order granting the respondents, Mysterie Price, individually and on behalf of the minor child, F.P., the opportunity to amend their petitions to state a cause of action, if they can, within a delay deemed reasonable by the trial court. La. Code Civ. P. art. 934.
Court of Appeals of Texas,
Dallas.John DOE I, John Doe II, Jane Doe II, Jane Doe III, Jane Doe IV, Jane Doe V, Jane Doe VI, and Jane Doe VII, Appellants
v.
WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC. and/or d/b/a or a/k/a Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., Kingdom Hall Jehovah's Witnesses of Dallas, Texas, Kingdom Hall Jehovah's Witnesses of Plano, Texas, Kingdom Hall Jehovah's Witnesses of Greenville, Texas, and Reginald Tyrone Jackson, Appellees
No. 05–17–00362–CV
Opinion Filed May 25, 2017
On Appeal from the 14th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas, Trial Court Cause No. DC–14–12402
Attorneys and Law Firms
Lacey Most, Linda Turley, Windle Turley, for Appellants.
Reginald Tyrone Jackson, pro se.
E. Stratton Horres, John O. Miller III, Glen Feinberg, Jennifer D. Aufricht, Stephen Wood, Michael A. Yanof, for Appellees.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Opinion by Chief Justice Wright
*1 By letter dated May 9, 2017, the Court questioned its jurisdiction over this appeal as it appeared the judgment was not final. We instructed appellants to file a letter brief addressing the jurisdictional issue. In a response filed on May 19, 2017, appellants acknowledged our concern and requested that we dismiss the appeal to allow them to “seek clarification from the trial court and timely re-file their notice of appeal upon entry of final judgment disposing of all parties and claims.” We construe appellants' letter as a motion to dismiss the appeal.
We grant the motion and dismiss the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1(a)(1).