Bernard v. Ace Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co.

257 So. 3d 223
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 3, 2018
Docket18-42
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 257 So. 3d 223 (Bernard v. Ace Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bernard v. Ace Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 257 So. 3d 223 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

GREMILLION, Judge.

*225The plaintiff, Vera Bernard (Bernard), appeals the trial court's judgment granting summary judgment in favor of Stanley Access Technologies LLC (Stanley). For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Bernard filed a petition for damages in February 2012, alleging that she sustained injuries in February 2011 at the Lafayette Airport when she struck a revolving door that came to "an abrupt halt" as she was exiting the airport. Stanley was later named as a defendant in an amending petition. Stanley installed the revolving doors at the Lafayette Airport, which were thereafter inspected and certified by Boon Edam, Inc. Stanley filed a motion for summary judgment in July 2017. Following an August 2017 hearing, the trial court granted summary judgment in Stanley's favor finding it owed no duty to Bernard.

Bernard assigns as error:

1. The trial court erred in failing to find that the appellees owed a duty to appellant.
2. Insofar as the trial court determined that Stanley did not owe a duty to Ms. Bernard because there was no contractual relationship between Ms. Bernard and Stanley, such a determination was an error of law.
3. Insofar as the failure to find a duty was owed is based upon the trial court's determination of the issue of garde, the trial court erred in finding that the property owner had garde over the doors involved in plaintiff's accident when the issue of garde had not been addressed by the Motion for Summary Judgment (as well as no other pleading) and there are questions of fact as to who had garde.
4. The trial court erred in failing to find that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence that the door involved in appellant's accident was malfunctioning at or near the time of the appellant's accident, and that the malfunction was due to matters which appellees were contractually obligated to remedy.
5. The trial court erred in failing to find that there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the lack of adequate warning was a contributing factor to the accident in question.
6. The trial court erred in failing to find that there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the appellees breached a duty owed by the appellees to the appellant.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

On appeal, summary judgments are reviewed de novo. Magnon v. Collins, 98-2822 (La. 7/7/99), 739 So.2d 191. Thus, the appellate court asks the same questions the trial court asks to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate.
*226Id. This inquiry seeks to determine whether any genuine issues of material fact exist and whether the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(B) and (C). This means that judgment must be rendered in favor of the movant if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits show a lack of factual support for an essential element of the opposing party's claim. Id. If the opposing party cannot produce any evidence to suggest that he will be able to meet his evidentiary burden at trial, no genuine issues of material fact exist. Id.
Material facts are those that determine the outcome of the legal dispute. Soileau v. D & J Tire, Inc., 97-318 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/8/97), 702 So.2d 818, writ denied , 97-2737 (La. 1/16/98), 706 So.2d 979. In deciding whether facts are material to an action, we look to the applicable substantive law. Id. Finally, summary judgment procedure is favored and designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(A)(2).

Am. Zurich Ins. Co. v. Caterpillar, Inc. , 12-270, p. 4-5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/3/12), 99 So.3d 739, 742-43.

Bernard's amending petition naming Stanley as a defendant alleged that it was under contract with the Lafayette Airport Commission for the "installation, repair, maintenance, upkeep and/or training and/or supervising personnel regarding such acts in regard to the revolving doors involved in plaintiff's accident." Bernard further alleged that her injuries were due to Stanley's negligence in "failing to properly install, inspect, maintain and/or repair the automatic revolving doors, failing to properly train their employees or employees of other defendants herein in the proper repair, maintenance and upkeep of the revolving doors, and such other acts of negligence as may be shown at the trial of this matter."

In support of its motion for summary judgment, Stanley submitted the deposition of Bernard, who stated that she did not know what caused her to fall; the Lafayette Regional Airport incident narrative, which stated that Bernard did not know what caused her to fall; the affidavits of two experts who attested that Stanley was not required by any contract to inspect, maintain, or repair the doors or train employees, that the doors were inspected and certified to have been installed correctly, and the doors operated correctly on the day of the accident. Further, Stanley submitted evidence indicating that the doors were marked with "CAUTION," "AUTOMATIC DOORS," and "KEEP RIGHT" warning signs.

In opposition to the motion for summary judgment, Bernard claimed that the expert witness testimony was based on hearsay and biased, as the parties were employed by subsidiaries of Stanley. Further, Bernard argued that Stanley was required to "inspect, maintain and repair" the doors at the time of the accident and afterward. Bernard attached a "Letter of Guarantee" issued by Stanley, which warranties the door equipment and instructs that, if the equipment malfunctions, the owner shall immediately turn off the door operating equipment and notify Stanley. Bernard further submitted a "Field Report No. 12" indicating that on March 9, 2011, a Stanley representative made notes for an installer to adjust a sensor in the door. According to Bernard, this showed Stanley continued to maintain and inspect the door.

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257 So. 3d 223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bernard-v-ace-prop-cas-ins-co-lactapp-2018.