Fresina v. Guy

193 So. 2d 857, 1966 La. App. LEXIS 4474
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 19, 1966
DocketNo. 6826
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 193 So. 2d 857 (Fresina v. Guy) 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
Fresina v. Guy, 193 So. 2d 857, 1966 La. App. LEXIS 4474 (La. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

LOTTINGER, Judge.

This appeal arises out of an automobile accident which occurred on February 11, 1965, some time between 6:30 and 7:00 P.M.. near the intersection of Weller Avenue- and Scenic Highway in the City of Baton Rouge. The accident occurred on Scenic-. Highway some distance north of its intersection with Weller Avenue at a time-when the road surface was wet from a rain or mist which was falling at the time-of and prior to the accident. In the area, of the place of the accident Scenic Highway is a four lane highway running in a north-south direction with two lanes of travel for northbound and two lanes of' travel for southbound vehicles.

The plaintiff, Anthony Fresina, was-operating a motorcycle in a northerly direction on Scenic Highway in the inside-lane of traffic. The defendant, Carey Sewell, was operating a Buick automobile-owned by his father in the inside lane-for southbound traffic, and was proceeding-in a southerly direction. The other defendant, James Guy, was operating a truck belonging to his employer, Royal Furniture-Company of Baton Rouge, Inc., and this-truck was also being driven in a southerly-direction on Scenic Highway, however, in-the outside lane. The Sewell vehicle was-insured by the defendant, Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, and the-truclc belonging to Royal Furniture Company was insured by the Travelers Insurance Company.

The record reflects that immediately-prior to the time of the accident that the-. Royal Furniture truck executed a left turn, into the inside lane, causing the Buick. driver to apply his brakes and swerve into-the inside lane for northbound traffic where-the collision occurred between the right front of the Buick automobile and the motorcycle being operated by Anthony Fresina.

Following a trial by jury, the jury awarded judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against both defendants, finding that both defendants were guilty of negligence which proximately caused the accident. Thereafter Carey Sewell and his insurer, the [859]*859.Hartford Accident and Indemnity Com■pany, perfected this appeal. No appeal or answer to this appeal was filed by either ‘the plaintiff or by Royal Furniture Com-pany of Baton Rouge, Inc. and the Travel■ers Insurance Company.

The failure of the co-defendants and "the plaintiff to appeal or answer this appeal ’leaves us with but one question to be deter-rmined, that is whether or not the defendant, Carey Sewell, was in fact guilty of negligence which proximately caused the accident. The specifications of error urged íby the appellants are: 1. That the Trial Judge erred in allowing the attorneys for •.the defendants, James Guy, Royal Furniture •Company of Baton Rouge, Inc., and The Travelers Insurance Company to cross-ex-amine a co-defendant, Carey Sewell; and 2. That the jury erred in finding that ■Carey Sewell was negligent in any respect; .and 3. That the jury erred in finding ■■that Carey Sewell’s negligence, if any, was .a proximate cause of the accident; and •4. That the jury erred in failing to apply •the sudden emergency doctrine to the •vehicle operated by Carey Sewell in this .accident; and S. The jury erred in failing ■to find that the sole and proximate cause ■of the accident and all the resulting dam•ages was the negligence of James Guy. In view of the fact that all the specifications of error except the first are simply -the proposition that the jury was in error ■in finding that Carey Sewell’s negligence, if any, was a proximate cause of the accident, we will not deal with the specifications individually, but will consider them -as one.

There were five persons who saw all or ;a portion of the accident involved herein. 'These were Carey Sewell, the driver of the Buick automobile, Fairy Lee Sewell, Ihis sister, and a passenger in the Buick automobile, James Guy, the driver of the Royal Furniture Company truck, Phillip Heaton, and the plaintiff, Anthony Fresina. In addition to the testimony of these parties, only two of the witnesses testified to any facts which have any connection with the occurrence of the accident per se. One of these persons was the investigating police officer and the other was an expert called on behalf of The Travelers Insurance Company.

Let us first consider the testimony of Mr. Phillip Heaton, an impartial witness who at the time of the accident was a resident of the City of Baton Rouge. At the time of the accident, he was standing in the lobby of the Bruin Hotel where he had gone to meet his father. The Bruin Hotel fronts on Scenic Highway near the point where the accident in question occurred. The witness testified that he was standing at a corner of a picture window in the hotel lobby and from this vantage point he saw the accident occur. He stated that he was looking out of the window, saw the Royal Furniture truck pass and then saw a green Buick come by traveling in the left hand or inside lane of traffic. He stated that the Buick was just barely past him when he saw its brake lights come on and saw the rear end of the Buick start skidding around in a counterclockwise direction. At that time the front end of the automobile crossed the median strip and the car slid down the highway. When the Buick had reached an angle, perpendicular to the highway, so that it was across the highway, the motorcycle coming in the inside lane hit the car at about the hood. Mr. Heaton testified that he had to lean all the way to the window to see what finally happened to the car, and that as he did so, he saw that the Royal Furniture truck had almost come to a standstill in the left hand or inside lane. His testimony was to the effect that he did not believe that the Buick automobile was exceeding the 40 mile per hour speed limit immediately prior to the accident. Pie testified that there was no doubt in his mind whatsoever that the Royal Furniture truck turned from the right or outside lane into the left or inside lane immediately prior to the accident and that he had observed no signal of any kind by the Royal Furniture truck of his intention to turn [860]*860into the left hand lane prior to the turn. The record indicates that the Buick was proceeding down Scenic Highway toward the traffic light at the intersection of Scenic Highway and Weller Avenue in the left hand or inside lane, and that the Royal Furniture truck was proceeding in the same direction in the right hand or outside lane. Mr. Heaton’s testimony also indicates that there was a number of vehicles in the right hand lane which were stopped waiting for the light to turn from red to green so that they could proceed down Scenic Highway. His testimony is that the truck, which was slightly ahead of the automobile, suddenly and with no warning or signal of any kind, and as he approached the last car in the line of waiting cars in the outside lane swerved over into the left or inside lane. His direct testimony is:

A. “Well, as I said, when he applied his brakes, I looked up to see what or why. As he started to slide, I leaned against the window to get a better view. Well, at that time, the Royal Furniture truck had just about completed turning into the left hand lane.
Q. Was there anything else that you observed other than the Royal Furniture truck which would have accounted for the Buick driver applying his brakes?
A. Not that I saw, nothing. The Royal Furniture truck was immediately in front of it, the only object in front of it.”

Mr.

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Related

Cloney v. Travelers Insurance Company
253 So. 2d 83 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1971)
Fresina v. Guy
195 So. 2d 647 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1967)

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Bluebook (online)
193 So. 2d 857, 1966 La. App. LEXIS 4474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fresina-v-guy-lactapp-1966.