Brown v. Southern Ventures Corporation

331 So. 2d 207
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 2, 1976
Docket5406
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 331 So. 2d 207 (Brown v. Southern Ventures Corporation) 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
Brown v. Southern Ventures Corporation, 331 So. 2d 207 (La. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

331 So.2d 207 (1976)

Mabel Cecelia Michlels BROWN et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
SOUTHERN VENTURES CORPORATION et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 5406.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 14, 1976.
Rehearing Denied May 17, 1976.
Writ Refused July 2, 1976.

*208 Stafford, Randow, O'Neal & Scott by Grove Stafford, Jr., Alexandria, for defendants-appellants.

Gold, Hall, Hammill & Little by James D. Davis, James S. Gravel, Alexandria, for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before DOMENGEAUX, WATSON and CUTRER, JJ.

DOMENGEAUX, Judge.

This is a wrongful death action tried by jury. Plaintiffs are the surviving spouse and children of the decedent, James Brown. Defendants are Southern Motor Lodges of Alexandria, Inc., lessee and builder of the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in Alexandria, Louisiana, and Insurance Company of North America, its liability insurer. Southern Ventures Corporation, the landowner and lessor of the premises was originally made a party defendant but filed a motion for summary judgment which was sustained by the trial judge.[1] The jury awarded plaintiffs the sum of $161, 679.30. From this judgment the defendants have appealed. We affirm.

The pertinent facts of this case are as follows:

On the afternoon of January 14, 1973, a party was given by some Alexandria businessmen and their wives at the Bayou Room of the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in that city. The party was to coincide with the "Superbowl" football game and was given for the purpose of watching that contest amid friends. At approximately 2:30 P.M. the decedent, James Brown, arrived at the gathering and began to mill about and enjoy himself. Liquor flowed freely at the party and there is evidence that Mr. Brown indulged, but no one testified that he was noticeably intoxicated. During the party a number of the guests, including Mr. Brown, noticed and commented upon a phenomenon created by a combination of the pool lights and by steam rising from the motel swimming pool some ninety-three feet away and visible from the Bayou Room. At one point during the evening the decedent and another guest planned to walk over to the pool and observe it more closely but for some reason abandoned the idea. At about 7:00 P.M. Mr. Brown and another man who remained unidentified entered the motel restaurant and each had two cups of coffee. The *209 manager of the restaurant knew Mr. Brown and testified that he was talking rather loudly about the game with his companion but that neither man gave the impression that he was intoxicated. No one saw Mr. Brown after he left the restaurant sometime after 7:00 P.M. At approximately 1:30 A.M. a city policeman found the decedent's body floating in the shallow end (four feet) of the motel swimming pool which is located near the restaurant. The coroner ruled that the cause of death was drowning. There were no witnesses.

The defendants raise the following specifications of error:

1. The jury erred in finding the proximate cause of Mr. Brown's death to be the allegedly dangerous condition existing around the motel swimming pool.
2. The jury erred in failing to find that Mr. Brown's alleged intoxication contributed substantially to his death.
3. The trial judge erred in allowing the jury to see photographs of the scene which were allegedly posed and unrepresentative.

THE MOTEL'S NEGLIGENCE

In order to determine the duty owed to the decedent by the defendants while on the latters' premises, we must first ascertain the status which the decedent enjoyed while at the motel.

In the case of Savoy v. G. F. Poole Mortuary, 60 So.2d 108 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1952), the "invitee" was described in the following manner:

". . . an invitation to enter upon or use premises may be express or implied, and an invitation may be implied when the owner or occupant engages in some business which fairly indicates to the person entering the premises that his entry and use of the property is consistent with the intentions and purposes of the owner or occupant."

See also the cases of Mills v. Heidingsfield, 192 So. 786 (La.App. 2nd Cir. 1939), writ denied January 9, 1940; and Mercer v. Tremont, 19 So.2d 270 (La.App. 2nd Cir. 1944), writ denied October 3, 1944.

Mr. Brown entered onto the motel property at the express invitation of his hosts, occupants of the Bayou Room. The Bayou Room is a large room used almost exclusively for parties of this type. Under the test set forth in Savoy, supra, we find that the motel acted in such a fashion so as to clearly indicate its intentions that the room and motel premises be used as they were by the persons attending the "Superbowl" party. Furthermore, we find that after the termination of the party Mr. Brown became a paying customer in his own right when he purchased coffee in the restaurant. For these reasons, we are firmly of the opinion that Mr. Brown was a member of that class of persons deemed "invitees" as far as his relationship with the motel was concerned.

Under our jurisprudence the duty owed to an invitee is that of exercising reasonable and ordinary care including maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe and suitable condition and warning invitees of any hidden or concealed perils which are known or reasonably discoverable. Currington v. Great American Insurance Company, 281 So.2d 150 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1973), writ refused October 12, 1973; Foggin v. General Guaranty Insurance Company, 250 La. 347, 195 So.2d 636 (1967); Alexander v. General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Group, 98 So.2d 730 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1957), writ denied February 10, 1958.

On the afternoon of the decedent's funeral, approximately two days after his death, some members of his family visited the scene of the drowning. They discovered that much of the coping or slanted tile border (which extends approximately one inch over the edge of the pool wall) around the edge of the pool was loose and in a somewhat shaky or wobbly condition. In fact, *210 one member of this party testified that all of the coping on the shallow end of the pool was loose. Mr. C. E. Ewing, Jr., a former swimming pool contractor, and now a swimming pool maintenance man, testified that he had inspected the Howard Johnson's pool in 1972 or 1973, and found that approximately 25% of the cement coping around the pool had to be replaced and that some pieces were completely loose. There was also some conflicting testimony as to the effect of standing on a piece of loose coping. One individual testified that he did not think the coping would be shaky or wobbly if a person stood on it, while others testified to the contrary. An employee of the motel. Raymond Gaines, testified that he noted some loose coping and reported that condition to the motel manager some time prior to Mr. Brown's death, however, the motel manager denies that such information was communicated to her. We find that the opinion of the majority of those witnesses who testified was that uncemented or loose coping would be more hazardous to an individual standing on it than coping which would be firmly cemented.

Portions of the decedent's clothing were introduced at trial and revealed a pair of pants with a slight tear in the knee, a shoe with one of the heels partially knocked off, and a scratch on the crystal of his new wrist watch. The investigating officer found two small pools of water at the northwest corner of the swimming pool.

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