Davis v. Specialty Diving, Inc.

740 So. 2d 666, 1999 WL 216605
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 1, 1999
Docket98 CA 0458, 98 CA 0459
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 740 So. 2d 666 (Davis v. Specialty Diving, Inc.) 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
Davis v. Specialty Diving, Inc., 740 So. 2d 666, 1999 WL 216605 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

740 So.2d 666 (1999)

Terry Carson DAVIS
v.
SPECIALTY DIVING, INC., XYZ Insurance Company, Gene Lane, ABC Insurance Company, and Deborah Wallace.
Mary Jane Duncan, et al.
v.
Specialty Diving, Inc., XYZ Insurance Company, Gene Lane, ABC Insurance Company, and Deborah Wallace.

Nos. 98 CA 0458, 98 CA 0459.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

April 1, 1999.
Rehearing Denied May 25, 1999.
Writ Denied October 8, 1999.

*667 Dan D. Schaneville, Jr., Baton Rouge, Counsel for plaintiff/2nd appellant, Mary Jane Duncan.

Corbett Ourso, Hammond, Counsel for plaintiff, Terry Carson Davis.

Richard Vale, Metairie, Counsel for defendant/1st appellant, Specialty Diving, Inc.

R. Joshua Koch, Metairie, Counsel for defendant, Deborah Wallace.

Before: CARTER, C.J., SHORTESS and WHIPPLE, JJ.

WHIPPLE, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment, granting in part and denying in part the motion for summary judgment filed by defendant, Specialty Diving, Inc. ("Specialty Diving"). Both plaintiff, Mary Jane Duncan, and Specialty Diving appeal. For the following reasons, we reverse in part.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On September 6, 1995, Timothy Davis, an employee of Specialty Diving, drowned while on Specialty Diving's premises. Davis and a co-worker, Gene Lane, who were both dive tenders, were inside a dive tank filled with water, allegedly making repairs to the tank. While inside the tank, Lane threw a metal plate at Davis, who was standing on the ladder of the tank. The metal plate struck Davis in the head, and he fell back into the tank and did not resurface.

After the passage of some period of time, Lane, who was still in the tank, went underwater to check on Davis' condition. According to Lane, Davis appeared to be convulsing, and Lane then attempted to remove Davis from the tank. After some failed attempts, Lane removed Davis from the tank and attempted to resuscitate Davis until paramedics arrived. Despite efforts to resuscitate Davis, Davis died. An autopsy report listed the cause of death as "[h]ead injury with secondary drowning."

Davis' father, Terry Carson Davis, filed suit in tort against Specialty Diving; Lane; and Deborah Wallace, the owner of the premises. Davis' mother, Mary Jane Duncan, also filed a petition for damages against Specialty Diving, Lane and Wallace.[1]*668 Plaintiffs in these actions both asserted wrongful death and survival claims against defendants under negligence and strict liability theories. Thereafter, these two cases were consolidated.

Specialty Diving filed a motion for summary judgment against plaintiffs, contending that pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1032, workers' compensation provided the exclusive remedy herein, and plaintiffs were consequently barred from asserting their tort claims against it. Thereafter, plaintiff Mary Jane Duncan filed an amended petition asserting a claim against defendants for intentional tort based on Lane's actions on the day of Davis' death. Specialty Diving then filed a supplemental memorandum in support of summary judgment, averring that plaintiff's intentional tort claim against it should also be dismissed, because neither Davis nor Lane was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of Davis' death, and any intentional act by Lane was not in furtherance of Specialty Diving's business.[2]

Following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion for summary judgment in part and denied it in part.[3] The motion was granted as to plaintiffs' negligence claims against Specialty Diving, but it was denied as to the intentional tort claim asserted by plaintiff Duncan.[4] The trial court specifically designated this partial judgment as a final judgment for purposes of appeal, pursuant to LSA-C.C.P. art. 1915(B)(1).

Specialty Diving appeals, contending that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment as to plaintiffs intentional tort claim. Plaintiff Mary Jane Duncan also appeals, contending that the trial court erred in dismissing her negligence claims against Specialty Diving before determining whether the actions of the employees were within the course and scope of employment.[5]

*669 SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full-scale trial where there is no genuine factual dispute. Sanders v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 96-1751, p. 5 (La.App. 1st Cir.6/20/97); 696 So.2d 1031, 1034, writ denied, 97-1911 (La.10/31/97); 703 So.2d 29. It should only be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966.

Summary judgments are now favored, and the documents submitted by both parties are to be equally scrutinized. Berzas v. OXY USA, Inc., 29,835, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 2nd Cir.9/24/97); 699 So.2d 1149, 1152; Hayes v. Autin, 96-287, p. 6 (La. App. 3rd Cir.12/26/96); 685 So.2d 691, 694, writ denied, 97-0281 (La.3/14/97); 690 So.2d 41. The initial burden remains with the mover to show that no genuine issue of material fact exists. If the moving party points out that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party's claim, action or defense, then the nonmoving party must produce factual support sufficient to satisfy his evidentiary burden at trial. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(C)(2). If the non-moving party fails to do so, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and summary judgment should be granted. LSA-C.C.P. arts. 966 and 967; Berzas, 29,835 at p. 8; 699 So.2d at 1154.

Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo under the same criteria that govern the trial court's determination of whether a summary judgment is appropriate.[6]Sanders, 96-1751 at p. 7; 696 So.2d at 1035. Because it is the applicable substantive law that determines materiality, whether or not a particular fact in dispute is material can be seen only in light of the substantive law applicable to the case. Ledet v. Quality Shipyards, Inc., 615 So.2d 990, 992 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1993).

DISCUSSION

At the outset, we note that in its appeal, Specialty Diving has assigned error only to the trial court's denial in part of its motion for summary judgment as to plaintiffs intentional tort claim. However, the denial of a motion for summary judgment is an interlocutory judgment and is not appealable. LSA-C.C.P. arts. 968, 1841; Trahan v. Rally's Hamburgers, Inc., 96-1837, p. 9 (La.App. 1st Cir.6/20/97); 696 So.2d 637, 642. The trial court's attempt to certify a judgment denying a motion for summary judgment as a final judgment pursuant to LSA-C.C.P. art. 1915(B)(1) does not render the judgment appealable.

Thus, the portion of the trial court's judgment herein which denied in part Specialty Diving's motion for summary judgment as to plaintiffs intentional tort claim is an interlocutory ruling, and the issue raised in Specialty Diving's sole assignment of error, challenging that portion of the judgment, is not properly before us. See Trahan, 96-1837 at p. 9; 696 So.2d at 642. As such, we limit our review of the trial court's judgment to the issue raised by plaintiffs assignment of error, i.e.,

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740 So. 2d 666, 1999 WL 216605, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-specialty-diving-inc-lactapp-1999.