Summary
deeming plaintiff's "constitutional argument foreclosed by Minton" where state's refusal to pay plaintiff's damages had persisted for seventeen years
Summary of this case from Ariyan, Inc. v. Sewerage & Water Bd. of New OrleansOpinion
No. 08-31182.
August 21, 2009.
Donald J. Miester, Jr., Perry R. Staub, Jr., Taggart, Morton, Ogden, Staub O'Brien, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Peter F. Caviness, Jerry J. Falgoust, Dauzat, Falgoust, Caviness Bienvenu, Opelousas, LA, for Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, No. 6:06-CV-185.
Before REAVLEY, SMITH, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
Merlin Guilbeau obtained a state-court judgment against St. Landry Parish for injuries he received in an accident on a negligently-maintained road, but he was never paid. He sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the refusal to pay, based on LA.REV.STAT. § 13:5109(B)(2), violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause and that the Highway Safety Act of 1966, 23 U.S.C. § 402, preempts the state statute. After a bench trial, the district court denied relief.
The constitutional argument is foreclosed by Minton v. St. Bernard Parish School Board, 803 F.2d 129, 132 (5th Cir. 1986). There is no preemption merely because Congress enacted a statute to promote highway safety.
The judgment is AFFIRMED, essentially for the reasons given by the district court in its comprehensive ruling.