GREENHEAD GUN CLUB v. City of Shreveport

914 So. 2d 62, 2005 WL 2514957
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 12, 2005
Docket40,045-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 914 So. 2d 62 (GREENHEAD GUN CLUB v. City of Shreveport) 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
GREENHEAD GUN CLUB v. City of Shreveport, 914 So. 2d 62, 2005 WL 2514957 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

914 So.2d 62 (2005)

GREENHEAD GUN CLUB, L.L.C., Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
CITY OF SHREVEPORT and Wicker Construction, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 40,045-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 12, 2005.

*64 Jeffrey Lee Little, Shreveport, for Appellant, Greenhead Gun Club, L.L.C.

Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway, by Sidney E. Cook, Jr., Shreveport, for Appellee, City of Shreveport.

Lugenguhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard, by Ralph S. Hubbard III, Seth Andrew Schmeeckle, New Orleans, for Appellee, *65 The Travelers Indemnity Company of Illinois.

Wilkinson, Carmody & Gilliam, by Mark Ellis Gilliam, Shreveport, for Appellee, Wicker Construction, Inc.

Before GASKINS, DREW and LOLLEY, JJ.

DREW, J.

Greenhead Gun Club ("Greenhead") appeals a judgment awarding it $7,500 for damages it sustained when the City of Shreveport pumped wastewater into a crawfish farm owned by the club.

We amend the award to add the costs incurred by Greenhead to test the water, and as amended, the judgment is affirmed.

FACTS

On March 1, 2001, storm water inundated Shreveport's North Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is built inside a levee system. More water entered the plant than it was able to treat. In order to slow the inflow of water, metal plates were placed over manhole covers. Nevertheless, water continued to rise in the plant, endangering its electrical motors and control panels. If the plant could not function, then sewage would back up into homes and spill over into waterways. Pumps were placed at the treatment plant to remove the water, but the water did not recede.

The next day, a decision was made to place pumps at various manholes near the plant. One of these manholes, which was under several feet of water, was in a right-of-way along Nash Street near Greenhead's property. Shreveport contracted with Wicker Construction to set up the pumps and to monitor and operate them. Two six-inch pumps moved water from around the manhole, across the road, and into Matt Lake on the other side of the road. This began on March 2. Unfortunately for Greenhead, the wastewater eventually made its way across a levee separating Matt Lake from a 200-acre wetland area used for crawfish farming.

John James is the manager of Greenhead. In early March, he was in Baton Rouge for business reasons with the intent to begin harvesting the crawfish upon his return to Shreveport. When James approached Greenhead's property on March 8, he noticed that his gate was open and the gate posts were spread out. Despite contact information being posted on a sign near the gate, nobody involved in the pumping had contacted James about what was being done. As James continued driving, he discovered the two pumps on axles, a fuel tank, and a backhoe. James, who is a fireman, thought the unattended pumps were ten-inch pumps.

When three individuals drove up in a Wicker truck and asked James what he was doing on the property, James explained to them that it was his property and he wanted to know what was happening. When informed of what the pumps were doing, James told them to shut the pumps down, which was done after a supervisor was contacted.

James testified that after the pumps were turned off, he took a water sample and brought it to a Shreveport treatment plant, but he was told that his sample could not be tested because it was not sterile. A city employee tested the water in Matt Lake the next day. James stated that when he asked the person taking the samples when he could get the results, she responded that it would be two to three days. James added that when he contacted the city three days later, he was told that the test results would not be made available to him. At that point James contacted his attorney.

*66 On March 15, 2001, a letter was written to the city by Greenhead's attorney seeking Shreveport's entire file concerning the pumping. James subsequently received a lab summary report from the city. James asserted that the lab summary report that he received was not satisfactory to him, as he wanted something more complete that he could show to his buyers. Accordingly, James contracted for testing to be done by a lab. Agricultural Agent Gil Barker assisted in taking the samples on March 19. The test cost $136, and showed there was nothing abnormal in the water. James began selling crawfish from the property again on April 2.

Greenhead filed suit against Shreveport, Wicker Construction and its insurer, Travelers Indemnity Company of Illinois, asserting that defendants' actions:

• caused damage to Greenhead's gate poles and levee;
• prevented Greenhead from receiving 30 loads of fill dirt valued at approximately $2,250;
• caused Greenhead to lose income by preventing Greenhead from harvesting or selling crawfish until it assessed the effect the pumping had on the crawfish; and
• caused future damage to Greenhead's crop as well as damage to Greenhead's business and product reputation.

Greenhead also sought damages for what it avers was a violation of the Freedom of Information Act by Shreveport.

A bench trial was held in this matter over two days in August of 2004. In extensive reasons for judgment, the trial court concluded:

• There was insufficient evidence that Greenhead owned the gate, and inadequate evidence of the cost of resetting the poles. Replacement of the poles was apparently unnecessary.
• In spite of the emergency situation, it was a violation of the defendants' due care not to contact James prior to commencing the pumping into Matt Lake. Under the circumstances, diverting the water into Matt Lake was a continuing trespass.
• There was inadequate evidence to conclude there was sewage pumped into Matt Lake. More probably it was storm water.
• Although the pumping caused James to miss several harvesting cycles, James did not take steps to promptly mitigate damages by obtaining his own testing of the water more expediently. Accordingly, it was probable that he would have been able to harvest the crawfish sooner.
• Greenhead was only entitled to reasonable net proceeds attributable to the planned first harvest cycle set from March 8 to March 10, 2001.
• There was insufficient evidence to conclude that the pumping of water into Matt Lake by six-inch pumps caused the levee to be eroded. It was just as likely caused by flooding to the area from the volume of rain and watershed of the lake.
• There was insufficient evidence that defendants' actions caused the loss of dirt as it is not sufficiently clear why the loads of dirt were not delivered.
• There was no loss of business reputation.
• The Freedom of Information Act claim lacks merit. The only information not provided were measurements and data not related to the claim.

After the parties briefed the issue of damages, the court concluded that Greenhead was entitled to damages of $7,500 associated with the first harvest cycle that it missed. Greenhead appeals.

*67 DISCUSSION

The court benefitted from the testimony of several witnesses who are very knowledgeable about the various aspects of crawfish farming. Dr.

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914 So. 2d 62, 2005 WL 2514957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greenhead-gun-club-v-city-of-shreveport-lactapp-2005.