Dupree v. Lock Doc of Louisiana, Inc.

161 So. 3d 776, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2005, 2014 WL 3843990
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 6, 2014
DocketNo. 49,068-CW
StatusPublished

This text of 161 So. 3d 776 (Dupree v. Lock Doc of Louisiana, 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
Dupree v. Lock Doc of Louisiana, Inc., 161 So. 3d 776, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2005, 2014 WL 3843990 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

STEWART, J.

| ,This court granted a writ application by defendant, J & J Industrial Supply & Fasteners, L.L.C. (“J & J”), to review the trial court’s denial of its motion for summary judgment. Finding there to be no genuine issue of material fact and that J & J is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and render summary judgment in favor of J & J, dismissing the claims asserted against J & J by the plaintiff, Christy Dupree (“Dupree”).

FACTS

While an employee of a Super 1 Foods (“Super 1”), a division of Brookshire’s Gro-[778]*778eery Company, in Shreveport on August 11, 2011, Dupree was injured when the door of a large safe fell from its hinges and landed on her feet, pinning them to the floor. Pleadings indicate that the safe was a Diebold safe and that the door weighed in excess of 400 pounds. Dupree’s injuries required her to have multiple surgeries, and she continues to need medical treatment for the residual pain.

On January 24, 2012, Dupree filed suit against Lock Doc of Louisiana, Inc. (“Lock Doc”), whose employee, Benjamin Moore (“Moore”), had replaced the hinge pins in the door of the safe on July 12, 2011. Dupree amended her petition on May 10, 2012, to add J & J as a defendant. She alleged that J & J provided defective or improper pins to Moore, who claimed that he purchased the replacement pins from J & J.

After written discovery and 11 depositions, J & J filed a motion for summary judgment on May 3, 2013. J & J asserted that there was no evidence that the pins used by Moore to repair the safe were defective, as |2the pins had never been examined and were no longer in existence. J & J also argued that, other than Moore’s assertion that he purchased the pins from J & J, there was no evidence that it even sold the pins. Finally, J & J asserted, that even if Moore purchased the pins from it, as a non-manufacturing seller, J & J could not be held liable under the Louisiana Products Liability Act (“LPLA”), La. R.S. 9:2800.51 et seq. J & J asserted that there was no evidence that the pins were defective, that it knew or should have known of any defect prior to the sale, or that it failed to disclose the defect.

In support of its motion for summary judgment, J & J offered excerpts from the depositions of Moore and Lock Doc’s owner / manager, James Horton (“Horton”). Moore’s deposition indicates that prior to his replacement of the hinge pins, the door was dragging on the bottom of the safe making it difficult for the Super 1 employees to open and close it. Moore determined that the hinge pins on the door of the safe were worn. He stated that “Tim,” presumably another Lock Doc employee, knocked out the old pins. Moore then took the old, worn pins to J & J, where he claims he had previously bought pins earlier that year to repair a safe at another Brookshire’s store in Haughton. Moore stated that the first time he went to J & J for the Haughton job, he told the person working at the counter what he was working on and that the pins were worn out. The guy working at the store brought out two pins that exactly matched the old ones. Moore stated that both safes appeared to be the same, so he again returned to J & J for pins to repair the Super 1 safe in July. Moore testified that he told the ^person working the counter at J & J that he needed pins for a safe door hinge; however, he provided no other information regarding the safe, such as its model or any specifications for parts. Moore testified that the J & J employee stated that J & J carried pins and brought out pins that looked exactly like the ones removed from the safe, only new and unworn. Moore explained that he determined the pins were the same based on their size, dimension, and weight. He described the pins as being steel alloy pins with a black coating.

Moore stated that after he placed the new pins in the safe door, the door could be easily opened and closed using two fingers. He believed that the accident occurred because the employees, who had become accustomed to having to use force to open and close the heavy door, continued to use too much force and that this eventually weakened and fractured the new pins. He believed that if the pins had [779]*779not been strong enough, they would have “sheared instantly,” rather than a mpnth later. After Dupree’s accident, Lock Doc again repaired the safe. Moore’s deposition indicates that he again obtained pins from J & J to use to secure the door to the safe after the accident.

Horton stated that Lock Doc was called to repair the safe because the door was dragging and hard to close. Moore told him that he purchased the pins used to repair the safe from J & J, but Moore did not provide any receipt or invoice for the purchase. Horton recalled that he had been to J & J with Moore on one occasion. After Dupree’s accident, another employee of Lock Doc tapped out the broken pins. Horton described the pins as 14dowel pins that are flat on the top and bottom. He did not know the exact size of the pins removed from the safe. Horton stated that an employee would generally use measurements to describe what is needed when purchasing pins from a supplier, such as J & J.

Lock Doc opposed J & J’s motion. Lock Doc asserted that what caused the safe door to fall off its hinges had not yet been determined. Arguing that discovery was not yet complete, Lock Doc asserted that only J & J could supply information on the manufacturer and type of pins purchased by Moore and that it needed to examine the hinge pins for comparison against those sold by J & J. Lock Doc also asserted that the lack of any documentation of Moore’s purchase of the pins from J & J and Moore’s testimony regarding his purchase created a genuine issue of material fact and required a credibility determination by the trial court, making the matter inappropriate for disposition by summary judgment.

In support of its opposition, Lock Doc also relied on excerpts from the depositions of Moore, Horton, and Eddie Crawford, presumably a Brookshire’s employee. Moore stated in his deposition that he did not know J & J had pins until he went there the first time for the repair of the safe at the store in Haughton. At that time, J & J’s employee said they carried pins, but did not specify whether they carried pins for safe doors. The employee provided a pin that looked exactly the same as the one taken from the safe. With regard to the July repair and his purchase from J & J, Moore could not recall the name of the person he dealt with at J & J, and he did not recall getting a receipt. His deposition indicates that an invoice for the July repair |,dob was generated and referred to hinge pins costing a couple of bucks, but the repair invoice contained no information on where the pins were purchased. Moreover, the repair invoice was never remitted to Brook-shire’s for payment.

Horton stated in his deposition that the pins likely cost a couple of dollars and that because he does not use receipts for such purchases to invoice clients, he does not require receipts from his employees. Crawford’s deposition excerpt was offered to show that the safe, a Diebold model, was then in a warehouse in Tyler, Texas, where it could be inspected.

In response to Lock Doc’s opposition, J & J replied that it had already provided its vendor list for the pins it sold along with contact information for manufacturers of safes.

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Bluebook (online)
161 So. 3d 776, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2005, 2014 WL 3843990, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dupree-v-lock-doc-of-louisiana-inc-lactapp-2014.