Breaux v. Texas & Pacific Railway Co.

147 So. 2d 693, 1962 La. App. LEXIS 2638
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 14, 1962
DocketNo. 5811
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 147 So. 2d 693 (Breaux v. Texas & Pacific Railway 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
Breaux v. Texas & Pacific Railway Co., 147 So. 2d 693, 1962 La. App. LEXIS 2638 (La. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

LANDRY, Judge.

This is a wrongful death action instituted by Elisie Breaux, the duly qualified tutor of the Minors, Daniel Paul Leonard and Jennifer Anne Leonard, on behalf of his said wards to recover damages for the alleged accidental deaths of Lloyd Leonard and Harriet Breaux Leonard, parents of said minors, who were killed in an automobile-train grade crossing accident which occurred September 23, 1961.

[694]*694The original petition filed on behalf of said minors prays for judgment in their behalf for the death of both said parents. Named as defendants are The Texas and Pacific Railway Company, Incorporated (hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as “Texas and Pacific”), and two of its employees, namely, D. J. Toney and Fred W. Wilson, Jr., Engineer and Fireman, respectively, who were operating the locomotive forming a unit of the train involved in the fatal accident. Alternatively, in the event decedent Lloyd Leonard be found guilty of contributory negligence proximately causing the accident, plaintiff’s petition asserts a cause of action on behalf of said minors directly against American Employers Insurance Company, liability insurer of the vehicle being driven by decedent Lloyd Leonard at the time of the accident and in which decedent Mrs. Harriet Breaux Leonard was riding as a guest passenger.

The aforesaid defendants answered plaintiff’s demand with a third party petition alleging Lloyd Leonard, father of the minors, Daniel Paul Leonard and Jennifer Anne Leonard, to be a joint tort feasor and, on said basis, made American Employers Insurance Company, insurer of the Leonard vehicle; Elisie Breaux, in his capacity as tutor of the minors, Daniel Paul Leonard and Jennifer Anne Leonard; and the Minors, Daniel Paul Leonard and Jennifer Anne Leonard, through their said tutor, third party defendants praying for contribution from said third party defendants to the extent of one-half of the amount of any judgment for which third party plaintiffs might be cast.

Defendants’ third party petition was countered by plaintiff’s filing an exception of no right and no cause of action with respect thereto predicated upon grounds hereinafter set forth and discussed in detail. The trial court sustained plaintiff’s exception to defendants’ third party complaint and entered judgment in favor of plaintiff, tutor, rejecting and dismissing the third party demand of the initial defendants herein. This matter is now before us upon defendants’ application for writs granted upon the complaint that the court below erroneously sustained plaintiff’s exception of no right and no cause of action and improperly dismissed defendants’ third party demand.

Prior to institution of the present wrongful death action, the estates of decedents Lloyd and Harriet Breaux Leonard were accepted, with benefit of inventory, by plaintiff, tutor, on behalf of his aforesaid minor wards and judgment rendered declaring said minors the sole heirs at law of said decedents and, as such, recognizing said minors as owners and sending and placing them in possession of said decedents’ estates.

The following issues are before us for resolution:

(1) Can a third party petitioner im-plead an alleged joint tort-feasor in a wrongful death action?
(2) Can a third party petitioner im-plead the initial plaintiff?
(3) Can the estate of an alleged joint tort-feasor be impleaded as third party defendant through the tutor of the minor heirs of the alleged joint tort-feasor when the estate of the reputed joint tort-feasor has been accepted by the tutor, with benefit of inventory, for and on behalf of the minor heirs thereof?

The procedural device of third party pleadings was introduced in this state with the adoption of Act 433 of 1954. The pertinent provisions of the initial statute read as follows:

“That in any civil action presently pending or hereafter filed the defendant in a principal action may by petition bring in any person (including a co-defendant) who is his warrantor, or who is or may be liable to him for [695]*695all or [any] part of the principal demand.”

In Bourree v. A. K. Roy, Inc., 232 La. 149, 94 So.2d 13, our Supreme Court held that the purpose of the statute, modeled on the federal third-party practice act, is to provide a method of settling all liability, in one action, where a third party is indebted to a defendant in the main demand for all or any part of the obligation sued upon by the initial plaintiff.

In Kahn v. Urania Lumber Company, 103 So.2d 476, our brothers of the Second Circuit had occasion to interpret the provisions of Act 433 of 1954 and in so doing reached the conclusion that the statute does confer upon one joint tort-feasor the right to implead another and demand contribution. The Court, however, found the statute to be procedural only and ruled that it intended no change in our substantive laws. The court held that the substantive right of a tort-feasor to demand contribution from an alleged co-tort feasor was, under the provisions of Article 2103 LSA-R.C.C., and the jurisprudence interpretative thereof, dependent upon both being cast in a single action, and further held that, since the third party defendant was not joined in the action by the initial plaintiff, the initial defendant (third party petitioner) had no substantive right to demand contribution and dismissed defendant’s third party complaint.

Obviously to offset the effect of the Kahn case, supra, the legislature of this state adopted Act 30 of 1960 which, amended, reenacted and revised Article 2103 LSA-R.C.C., effective January 1, 1961, which, incidentally, is the effective date of LSA-C.C.P. As revised, Article 2103, LSA-R.C.C. provides that, irrespective of whether he was sued by the initial plaintiff, a co-tort feasor may be impleaded as a third party defendant under the provisions of Article 1111 LSA-C.C.P. The revision of Article 2103 LSA-R.C.C. effected by Act 30 of 1960, removed all doubt as to the right of one co-tort feasor to implead and demand contribution from another notwithstanding said other was not made an original party defendant.

Subsequent to the adoption of Act 30 of 1960, the Supreme Court was called upon to determine the right of a defendant to implead and demand contribution from an alleged co-tort feasor by third party petition as conferred by Act 30 of 1960 as well as the provisions of LSA-C.C.P. Article 1111. We refer, of course, to Brown v. New Amsterdam Casualty Company, 243 La. 271, 142 So.2d 796. In the Brown case the Supreme Court clearly held that pursuant to Act 30 of 1960 and LSA-C.C.P. Article 1111, the initial defendant was entitled to implead his alleged tort feasor. The issue, in the Brown case, however, was whether Act 30 of 1960 and Article 1111 LSA-C.C.P. were applicable in view of the fact that the accident in question occurred September 1, 1960. In the Brown case the third party defendant maintained the act and statute involved were unconstitutional if given retroactive effect since they dealt with substantive rights.- The Supreme Court, however, held that as among joint tort feasors the right of contribution arises upon judicial demand being made against one of the two or more solidarity obligated joint tort feasors.

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Bluebook (online)
147 So. 2d 693, 1962 La. App. LEXIS 2638, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/breaux-v-texas-pacific-railway-co-lactapp-1962.