Dorothy Ross v. State of Louisiana Through the University of Louisiana System, University of New Orleans and Senator Nat G. Kiefer University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena, 352 So.3d 90

UNO licensed the Lakefront Arena to O. Perry Walker (operated by Algiers Charter School Association, ACSA) for a May 12, 2012 graduation; the License required ACSA to obtain general liability insurance naming UNO as an additional insured and to provide a certificate of insurance (COI).
Dorothy Ross sued UNO after slipping and suffering severe injuries at the graduation; UNO answered and reserved rights for contribution/indemnity.
In 2020 UNO asserted a third-party demand against ACSA and Lexington (ACSA’s insurer), attaching the License and the COI to its pleading and alleging Lexington breached its insurance contract and acted in bad faith.
Lexington denied UNO was an additional insured, argued the COI is not the policy and contains disclaimers, attached the actual Lexington policy to its exception, and filed a peremptory exception of no cause of action.
The district court sustained Lexington’s exception and dismissed Ms. Ross’s and UNO’s claims with prejudice; UNO appealed.
The Court of Appeal reversed and remanded, holding UNO’s third-party demand plus the License and COI attached to the pleading were sufficient to state a cause of action; whether coverage exists under the policy is a merits issue for further proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether UNO stated a cause of action against Lexington for breach of insurance contract (peremptory exception of no cause of action)	UNO: the License requires ACSA to name UNO as additional insured and the COI (annexed to the third-party demand) evidences coverage; those pleadings suffice to allege a contractual claim against Lexington	Lexington: COI is not the policy, contains a disclaimer, was issued by broker not insurer, and cannot expand or create coverage; policy attached to exception shows UNO not an additional insured	Court: pleadings plus the License and COI attached to UNO’s third-party demand suffice to plead a cause of action; COI does not conclusively prove coverage but indicates potential—district court erred in sustaining the exception; reversed and remanded

White v. New Orleans Ctr. for the Creative Arts, 281 So.3d 813 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2019) (standard of review and principles for peremptory exception of no cause of action)
Green v. Garcia-Victor, 248 So.3d 449 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2018) (scope of materials court may consider on exception of no cause of action)
Citgo Petroleum Corp. v. Yeargin, Inc., 690 So.2d 154 (La. App. 3d Cir. 1997) (certificates of insurance are not part of the policy and do not expand coverage)
Milburn v. Emanuele, 96 So.3d 638 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2012) (exception reviewed on the four corners of the petition and attachments)
2400 Canal, LLC v. Bd. of Sup’rs of Louisiana State Univ., 105 So.3d 819 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2012) (court may consider the petition and attached documents, not extrinsic evidence on no-cause exception)