Green v. DeFelice

466 So. 2d 1373
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 10, 1985
Docket84-271
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 466 So. 2d 1373 (Green v. DeFelice) 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
Green v. DeFelice, 466 So. 2d 1373 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

466 So.2d 1373 (1985)

Kenneth Troy GREEN, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
James DeFELICE, et al., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 84-271.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 10, 1985.

*1375 Allen, Gooch & Bourgeois, Sera H. Russell, IV, Lafayette, for defendant-appellant.

Armentor & Wattigny, Gerard B. Wattigny, New Iberia, for plaintiff-appellee.

Lynn DeRouen, New Iberia, Voorhies & Labbe, E. Gregory Voorhies, Nicholas Gachassin, Jr., Lafayette, for defendant-appellee.

Before DOMENGEAUX, DOUCET and KING, JJ.

KING, Judge.

Kenneth Troy Green, (hereinafter Green) the plaintiff in this tort suit, was injured on December 29, 1979 while helping his uncle, James DeFelice, (hereinafter DeFelice) operate an insulation machine installed in the back of a Ford Van Truck.

Green brought this action against the owner of the truck, DeFelice, and his automobile liability insurer, Argonaut Insurance Company (hereinafter Argonaut). Argonaut moved for a summary judgment based upon its various policy defenses and the motion was denied. The case was tried before a jury which rendered a verdict in favor of Green against DeFelice and Argonaut, in solido, for $100,000.00. After trial Argonaut moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and alternatively for a new trial. Both motions were denied. From this judgment, the defendant, Argonaut, timely perfected this appeal. We affirm.

Argonaut contends on appeal that (1) a summary judgment should have been granted based upon its various policy defenses; (2) there was no coverage by its policy for this accident; (3) the trial court committed error in failing to give jury instructions as requested and required by law; (4) the jury erred in failing to find that Green assumed the risk or was contributorily negligent, (5) the trial court erred in failing to grant a judgment notwithstanding the verdict; and (6) the trial court erred in denying defendants' motion for a new trial without a hearing.

FACTS

In his reasons for judgment the trial judge set forth the facts, which we adopt as our own, as follow:

"Defendant, Defelice, was in the insulating business. He had bought a truck containing insulating compartments on the rear thereof which enabled him to transport, mix, and blow into the attics of buildings, the powdery insulating material which was his stock in trade. He had a pump or blower in his truck which would blow the mixed insulating material through hoses into the attics of buildings. It was his custom, once all the insulating material had been blown into the building, to level the insulating material in the attic. This insulating material, in spots, was uneven. In order to even it up, he had a device in the blower which *1376 shut off the airconditioning [sic] material and caused it to blow only forced air. With this forced air, he could level the material in the attic.
Defelice had controls in the attic which would turn the blower in the truck off and on at his will. Defelice, however, had no way to shift the door in the blower from insulating material to forced air. He would thus have to climb down from the attic and get into the truck in order to shift the door in the blower. This being difficult and time consuming, Defelice would usually try to get some relative or friend to go with him and remain near the truck. Thus, whenever he got ready to shift the blower, he could cut off the air pump or blower, and yell down to his helper to make whatever adjustment he wanted. Since communication was difficult from the attic to the truck, he had developed a system with his various helpers to allow a certain length of time for the shift, apparently some forty-five seconds. After that, he would turn the blower on again in order to accomplish his purpose.
In order for the helper on the ground to shift the door from blowing airconditioning [sic] material to air alone, the helper would have to reach his arm inside the truck through an opening which was encircled by a chain and sprocket arrangement. The opening, through the chain and sprocket arrangement, was somewhat narrow and a person reaching through would be in danger of getting his clothing or arm caught in the chain and sprocket if the blower was in operation. This was the reason for the forty-five second delay so that the adjustment could be made and the arm pulled out.
On the date in question, December 29, 1979, defendant's nephew, a very young man barely out of his teens ... was helping Defelice at the truck. It apparently was a cold day and young Kenneth Green, the nephew, had on some type of coat or jacket. Defelice stopped the operation for the purpose of shifting the door, which was being done by young Kenneth Green, the plaintiff. For some reason Defelice did not wait as long as usual, apparently, from the evidence, but started the blower again. The plaintiff's clothing was caught in the chain and sprocket, pulling his right hand and arm into the chain and sprocket nearly severing the right hand and arm from one another in the vicinity of the right wrist. A slight bit of bone and some flesh held the hand onto the arm. Apparently some excellent medical attention was received by this young man, both from the local orthopedic surgeon, and from the hand surgeon in New Orleans, who assisted. The young man ended up with his hand greatly disabled. The hand is functional to some extent." (Trial Transcript Pages 226-228.)

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER 1

Argonaut contends that the trial judge erred in failing to grant their motion for summary judgment based upon the provisions of its policy. Our court has recently detailed the standard for considering a motion for summary judgment in Concrete Post-Tensioning v. Armco, Inc., 449 So.2d 712 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1984) by stating:

"In Industrial Sand and Abrasives, Inc. v. Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, 427 So.2d 1152 at 1153 (La.1983), the Supreme Court reiterated the following standards for reviewing a summary judgment:
`The sole purpose for the motion for summary judgment is to determine in advance of trial whether a genuine issue of material fact exists between the litigants. Miller v. East Ascension Tel. Co., 263 So.2d 360 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writs denied, 262 La. 1121, 266 So.2d 430 (1972); cf. Albatross Shipping Corp. v. Stewart, 326 F.2d 208 (5th Cir.1964); see also Kay v. Carter, 243 La. 1095, 150 So.2d 27 (1963); Comment Development of Jurisprudence in Louisiana Relative to Summary Judgment Since 1960, 12 Loyola L.Rev. 128 (1965-66). The summary judgment procedure in Louisiana is set out, in La.C.C.P. art. 966 et seq. These provisions are based upon the *1377 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and even though there has developed a substantial body of jurisprudence in the courts of this state regarding the motion for summary judgment, the prior jurisprudence of the federal courts pertaining to the proper use of this device remains helpful and persuasive. Roy & Roy v. Riddle, 187 So.2d 492 (La.App. 3rd Cir.), writs denied, 249 La. 724, 190 So.2d 236 (1966).
`La.C.C.P. art.

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Bluebook (online)
466 So. 2d 1373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-defelice-lactapp-1985.