Byrnside v. Hutto

110 So. 3d 603, 2013 WL 692474, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 330
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 27, 2013
DocketNo. 47,685-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 110 So. 3d 603 (Byrnside v. Hutto) 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
Byrnside v. Hutto, 110 So. 3d 603, 2013 WL 692474, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 330 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

SEXTON, Judge Pro Tem.

|T This case arises from a bar fight involving the plaintiffs, Juan Na Byrnside and Debra Byrnside, and the defendant, Paul Hutto. The plaintiffs appeal from a trial court judgment which found the defendant liable only for the injuries they suffered in the bar fight and not for Mr. Byrnside’s subsequent ruptured aortic aneurysm. The defendant also appeals from the trial court judgment. He complains of the trial court’s ruling that he did not act in self-defense and its failure to assess comparative fault against the plaintiffs. Both the plaintiffs and the defendant appeal from the trial court’s finding that the defendant’s liability insurance policy did not provide coverage for the damages sustained by the plaintiffs. We affirm the trial court judgment.

FACTS

There was a longstanding history of rancor between Mrs. Byrnside and Mr. Hutto. On the night of August 24, 2007, this hostility culminated in a physical altercation at the D’Arbonne Lake Lodge Lounge in Farmerville, Louisiana. While many of the witnesses were apparently intoxicated, the record indicates that Mrs. Byrnside and Mr. Hutto engaged in a verbal dispute which escalated into a physical confrontation. During the course of this incident, Mrs. Byrnside and her husband were both struck by Mr. Hutto. Mr. Byrnside was taken by ambulance to Union General Hospital in Farmerville. His medical records indicate that triage was started at 12:45 a.m. on August 25, 2007. He refused to undergo a head CT scan and was subsequently discharged against medical advice at approximately 2:26 a.m. However, at about 8:80 a.m. on August 26, 2007, he was admitted to the |2emergency room of St. Francis North Hospital in Monroe, where [606]*606he was diagnosed with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He underwent emergency surgery which successfully repaired the aneurysm.

On December 5, 2007, the Byrnsides filed suit against Mr. Hutto. Amended petitions were subsequently filed; Mr. Hutto’s liability insurer, American National Property and Casualty Company of Louisiana (ANPAC), was added as a defendant.

A bench trial was held in March 2011. Written reasons for judgment were filed by the trial court on July 5, 2011. The court found no evidence that Mr. Hutto acted in self-defense as to either of the plaintiffs. As to the physical confrontation between the two men, it concluded that Mr. Hutto was at fault while Mr. Byrnside was totally free from fault. As to the incident between Mr. Hutto and Mrs. Byrnside, the court found that, while Mrs. Byrnside made inappropriate comments to Mr. Hutto, his physical reactions to her verbal statements were unreasonable and not justified. Therefore, the court found Mr. Hutto solely at fault.

As to Mr. Byrnside’s ruptured aortic aneurysm, the trial court found that the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of proving that it was caused by the altercation. In so ruling, the court relied upon the medical testimony given by Mr. Byrn-side’s treating physicians, Dr. Larry Barr and Dr. Frank Sartor. Both doctors indicated in their deposition testimony that had the rupture been caused by a traumatic injury, it would have been apparent immediately or shortly after the trauma. None of the evidence-including Mr. Byrn-side’s medical records from Union General Hospital and the photos | -¡taken by the police to document his injuries-indicated that he was suffering any acute distress within the appropriate time period after the attack. Consequently, the trial court awarded damages only arising out of the barroom brawl, not the subsequent ruptured aortic aneurysm. Mr. Byrnside was awarded $16,000 in general damages and $1,316.59 in special damages for the treatment he received at Union General Hospital, or a total of $17,316.59. Mrs. Byrnside was awarded general damages of $7,000.

On the issue of insurance coverage, the trial court noted that Mr. Hutto’s policy with ANPAC contained a general exclusion for intentional losses and an endorsement which excluded damages resulting from the insured’s intentional and malicious acts. The court found coverage excluded under the terms of both provisions.

Judgment in conformity with the written reasons was signed on August 25, 2011.

As previously indicated, both parties have appealed.

CAUSATION

The plaintiffs assert that the trial court was manifestly erroneous in failing to find that Mr. Byrnside’s ruptured aortic aneurysm was the result of Mr. Hutto’s physical attack. In particular, they argue that the trial court erred in not applying the presumption of causation set forth in Housley v. Cerise, 579 So.2d 973 (La.1991).

Law

In civil cases, a trial court’s findings of fact will not be disturbed on appeal unless the reviewing court finds that they are clearly wrong or |4manifestly erroneous. Stobart v. State through Dept. of Transp. and Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993); Dixon v. Tucker, 47,113 (La.App.2d Cir.5/16/12), 92 So.3d 1100, writ not considered, 2012-1838 (La.11/9/12), 100 So.3d 824. To reverse a factfinder’s determination, the appellate court must find from the record that a reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding of the trial court and [607]*607that the record establishes that the finding is clearly wrong. Stobart, supra.

Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder’s choice between them cannot be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989). Further, when findings are based on determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses, the manifest error-clearly wrong standard demands great deference to the trier of fact’s findings. Roseü, supra.

In Louisiana’s three-tiered court system, fact finding is allocated to the trial court, and its evaluations of credibility, even when based on depositions offered in lieu of live testimony, are accorded great deference. Virgil v. American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co., 507 So.2d 825 (La.1987). Reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed on appeal. Holley Homestead Trust v. Harrison, 44,149 (La.App.2d Cir.4/15/09), 11 So.3d 511.

In a personal injury suit, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving a causal relationship between the injury and the accident which caused the injury. Maranto v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 94-2603 (La.2/20/95), 650 So.2d 757. Proof must be by a preponderance of the evidence. Maranto, | ¿supra. The test for determining the causal relationship is whether the plaintiff proved through medical testimony that it is more probable than not that the subsequent injuries were caused by the accident. Maranto, supra. Causation is a question of fact and is subject to the manifest error standard of review. Green v. K-Mart Corp., 2003-2495 (La.5/25/04), 874 So.2d 838; Henderson v. Gregory, 47,086 (La.App.2d Cir.6/20/12), 93 So.3d 818, writ denied, 2012-1695 (La.11/2/12), 99 So.3d 671.

To obtain the benefit of the Housley presumption, the plaintiff must show: (1) that he or she was in good health prior to the accident at issue; (2) that subsequent to the accident, symptoms of the alleged injury appeared and continuously manifested themselves afterward; and (3) through evidence, either medical, circumstantial or common knowledge, a reasonable possibility of causation between the accident and the claimed injury. Housley v. Cerise, supra; Henderson v.

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Bluebook (online)
110 So. 3d 603, 2013 WL 692474, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrnside-v-hutto-lactapp-2013.