Fletcher v. Berard

198 So. 2d 519, 1967 La. App. LEXIS 5408
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 26, 1967
DocketNo. 1982
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 198 So. 2d 519 (Fletcher v. Berard) 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
Fletcher v. Berard, 198 So. 2d 519, 1967 La. App. LEXIS 5408 (La. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinions

FRUGÉ, Judge.

The plaintiffs, the surviving brothers and sisters of Charles Herbert Fletcher, seek by this suit to recover damages for the alleged wrongful death of their brother. The decedent, 46 years of age, was killed when his parked automobile was struck from the rear by another vehicle driven by the defendant, Anthony A. Berard. Other defendants in this action are Berard Brothers, Inc. and United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, the insurer of defendant’s automobile. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, as subrogee, filed a reconventional demand for the property damages to the Berard automobile, and after trial on the merits, the lower court rejected the plaintiffs’ demands and rendered judgment in favor of United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company for $1,071.16. From'this adverse judgment the plaintiffs have appealed to this court.

The facts of the accident are essentially undisputed. The collision occurred just before daylight on a level and straight portion of Louisiana Highway 86 approximately two-tenths of a mile east of the city limits of New Iberia, Louisiana. The deceased’s automobile, an Oldsmobile, had become disabled in some fashion and was parked without lights in the righthand lane of travel. At the time of collision the deceased was standing at the side or in front of his auto-[520]*520mobile and was performing some mechanical operation under the hood of the car. Approaching from the rear, defendant’s automobile collided with the decedent’s stationary automobile, instantly killing Charles Fletcher.

The only independent eyewitness was Peter Jean Louis, an elderly man who, a few moments before the collision, had driven his automobile to the scene with a can of gasoline for the decedent’s disabled vehicle. Peter Louis testified that he approached the decedent’s automobile at about 35 miles per hour and saw the car parked in the road without any lights and pulled over and parked on the shoulder of the road behind the disabled Oldsmobile. He stated that he poured the gasoline into the tank of the Oldsmobile but that the car would not start. Mr. Louis related that after the efforts to start the car failed, he got back in his automobile, drove around the parked Oldsmobile and up the highway a short distance where he turned around in a driveway and started back toward his home. He further testified that the lights of his automobile were on in the djm position and that as he passed the parked Oldsmobile, he noticed the defendant’s vehicle coming toward him (Tr. 18 and 19). Mr. Louis described the ensuing events as follows :

“Q Mr. Jean Louis, at the time you met the oncoming car which was driven by Mr. Berard, approximately how many feet were you from the automobile which was stalled in the road?
A About 150-200 feet. * * *
Q Did you have your lights burning on your automobile?
A Yes, I had my dimmers on. I run with dimmers on.
Q When the automobile in the opposite lane driven by Mr. Berard passed you, could you by observation and recollection tell whether or not the car was going very fast or slow?
A Oh, I couldn’t tell that. Nobody can tell the speed he was going but the man looking at the speedometer. I couldn’t say that. I don’t know.
Q Will you tell the court how you observed the accident? How you saw the accident?
A Yes, I was looking direct at the car to see would he get out of that lane. And he did. As long as he stayed in that lane, when I see the two car tops and that wasn’t a second after that the noise went.
Q Did you stick your head out of the
A Oh, my head was out of the car all of the time. I wanted to see if the man would get out the lane because I know the other fellow was in there.
Q Did any other car pass by you while you were parked in this right-hand lane?
A There wasn’t no other car coming. There wasn’t but two cars on the road at that time. My car and his car.
Q Did you see any obstruction in the left lane? In other words, in the lane that you were traveling which was stationary or moving or otherwise which would have prevented this automobile from going around the stalled vehicle ?
A There was nothing coming.”

The defendant, Anthony A. Berard, testified that he left his home at roughly 5 :30 A.M. and upon reaching the outskirts of New Iberia was met by an approaching automobile with its bright lights on. He stated that he dimmed his own lights as a signal to the aproaching automobile but that the approaching vehicle’s lights remained in the bright or high beam position. Mr. Berard further testified that the bright lights of the oncoming automobile blinded [521]*521him momentarily and that as soon as he passed the oncoming vehicle he switched his lights to the bright position and was confronted with the decedent’s automobile parked in his lane of travel a short distance ahead. He applied his brakes but was unable to stop in time to avoid the collision.

On appeal, the plaintiffs admit that the decedent was negligent in parking his automobile without lights or warning signals so that it obstructed the traveled portion' of the highway. They contend, however, that contrary to the trial judge’s determination, they should recover under the doctrine of last clear chance.

At the outset we might observe that one of the plaintiffs, a brother of the deceased, is appealing in his capacity as the administrator of the deceased’s succession. We have grave doubts whether a succession administrator is a proper party to institute this type of suit under the provisions of Civil Code Article 2315, paragraph 3.1 See also Succession of Roux v. Guidry, 182 So.2d 109 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1966), certiorari denied; Young v. McCullium, 74 So.2d 339 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1954); C.C.P. Art. 428, Comment D. We find it unnecessary to discuss this issue, however, in view of the fact that the brothers and sisters of the deceased are before this court in their individual capacities in accordance with Civil Code Art. 2315, supra.

On appeal, the plaintiffs do not dispute the trial court’s findings as to the manner in which the accident occurred, but they urge as their sole specification of error that the trial court fell into error in failing to apply the doctrine of “last clear chance” to the facts of the case.

It is generally accepted that for the doctrine to apply, the following elements must be present: (1) the injured plaintiff was in a position of peril of which he was either unaware or from which he was unable to extricate himself; (2) defendant was in a position to discover the plaintiff’s peril or by the exercise of reasonable care should have observed plaintiff’s danger; and (3) defendant must have had an opportunity, through the exercise of reasonable care, to avoid injuring the plaintiff. Gregoire v. Ohio Cas. Insurance Co., 158 So.2d 379 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1963); Belshe v. Gant, 235 La. 17, 102 So.2d 477 (1958); Venero v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 196 So.2d 841 (La.App. 3d Cir. 1967); see also Restatement of Torts 2d, Sec. 479; Prosser on Torts, 3d ed., Sec. 65; Blashfield, Cyclopedia of Automobile Law and Practice, Sec.

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Related

Whittington v. Hopfensitz
321 So. 2d 836 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1975)
Evans v. Johnson
236 So. 2d 285 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1970)
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236 So. 2d 295 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1970)
Fletcher v. Berard
200 So. 2d 666 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1967)

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Bluebook (online)
198 So. 2d 519, 1967 La. App. LEXIS 5408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fletcher-v-berard-lactapp-1967.