Opinion
CIVIL ACTION No. 01-1679 SECTION: I/5
February 2, 2004
ORDER AND REASONS
Defendant, Louisiana Sheriffs' Risk Management Agency, filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of plaintiff's complaint against it. The Louisiana Sheriff's Risk Management Agency argues that it is not an insurance company subject to a direct action pursuant to the Louisiana Direct Action Statute by the plaintiff, Stephanie Chesser. It also contends that there is no separate entity named "Interlocal Risk Management Agency", a defendant in this action. No opposition to this motion was filed.
Rec. Doc. No. 130.
Upon review of the record, the motion, memorandum in support and attachments thereto, and the law, the Court finds that there is no material issue of fact in dispute and that defendant, Louisiana Sheriff's Risk Management Agency, is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. F.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Pursuant to the express provisions of LSA-R.S. 33:1483, the Louisiana Sheriff's Risk Management Agency is not an insurance company and it is not subject to a direct action pursuant to the Louisiana Direct Action statute.
In Logan v. Hollier, 424 So.2d 1279, 1281 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1982), the court held that the Louisiana Municipal Risk Management Agency, an interlocal risk management agency created pursuant to LSA-R.S. 33:1345, "is not an insurance company nor will its actions constitute doing an insurance business. Equally clear is that such an interlocal risk management agency is not subject to the provisions of Title 22, Chapter 1 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. The direct action statute, R.S. 22:655, is one of the provisions of Chapter 1 of Title 22 . . . R.S. 33:1345's meaning is entirely free from ambiguity: No direct action is available under the circumstances presented." See also, Logan v. Hollier, 699 F.2d 758, 759 (5th Cir. 1983). The text of R.S. 33:1483 by which the defendant, the Louisiana Sheriff's Risk Management Agency, was created is substantially similar to 33:1345.
With respect to plaintiff's claim against the "Interlocal Risk Management Agency", R.B. Rives, Jr., the Executive Director of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, stated in his affidavit that he is not aware of any separate entity named the "Interlocal Risk Management Agency," a fact which has not been disputed. The plaintiff named the "Interlocal Risk Management Agency" as a defendant in her first supplemental and amending complaint filed on July 24, 2002, and no answer has been filed by that party. In accordance with F.R.Civ.P. 41(b), the plaintiff's action against the "Interlocal Risk Management Agency" shall be dismissed. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the motion of defendant, Louisiana Sheriff's Risk Management Agency, for summary judgment is hereby GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff's claim against the "Interlocal Risk Management Agency" is DISMISSED pursuant to F.R.Civ.P. 41(b).