Griffin v. International Ins. Co.

727 So. 2d 485, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 431, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2798, 1998 WL 690737
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 7, 1998
Docket98-431
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 727 So. 2d 485 (Griffin v. International Ins. Co.) 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
Griffin v. International Ins. Co., 727 So. 2d 485, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 431, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2798, 1998 WL 690737 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

727 So.2d 485 (1998)

Heath R. GRIFFIN, et al., Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 98-431.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

October 7, 1998.
Rehearing Denied February 22, 1999.

*487 Richard J. Putman, Jr., Abbeville, for Heath Griffin, et al.

Kevin Wade Trahan, for International Insurance Company, et al.

David Arthur Hurlburt, Lafayette, for Ernest Breaux Electrical, Inc.

Troy A. Broussard, for Houston General.

*488 Before DOUCET, C.J., GREMILLION and PICKETT, Judges.

GREMILLION, Judge.

This case arose from an accident at the Graceland Cemetery in Abbeville, Louisiana. On August 28 and 29, 1992, Heath Griffin, his mother, Peggy Griffin, and cousin, Ryan Hardy, were cleaning the cemetery of debris left behind by Hurricane Andrew. At that time, Heath was employed by the Masonic Lodge to maintain the cemetery. Some of the destruction of this storm included a `stub' pole which contained a security light located at the cemetery. On August 29, Heath attempted to move one of the guy wires from this pole and made contact with the primary lines running parallel to Graceland Avenue. As a result, Heath and Peggy sustained electrical burns and Ryan received electrical shock while pulling Heath from underneath the lines.

Seven plaintiffs sought recovery from the City of Abbeville, its insurer, International Insurance Company, and Ernest P. Breaux Electrical Contractors, Inc. for the damages suffered. Specifically, Heath sought damages for physical and mental injury, loss of consortium from his mother, damages caused by the injury to another, and loss of enjoyment of life. Peggy sought damages for physical and mental injury, loss of consortium from her son, and damages caused by the injury to another. Larry Griffin, Heath's father and Peggy's husband, sought damages for loss of consortium from his wife and son and damages caused by the injury to another. Kile Griffin, the Griffin's other son, sought damages for loss of consortium from his mother and brother. Ryan sought damages for his injuries. His mother and father, Peggy and Leo Hardy, sought damages for loss of consortium.

The defendants asserted several affirmative defenses including the protection afforded by La.R.S. 9:2800 and force majeure (Act of God). Defendants also asserted that Heath was either wholly or partially at fault in causing this accident.

The trial of this matter was bifurcated with the trial judge determining the culpability of Abbeville and a jury deciding the liability of Breaux Electric. The trial began on January 21, 1997, and on February 6, 1997, the jury found Abbeville one hundred percent at fault and awarded damages in the amount of $1,071,000.00 to Heath Griffin, $143,000.00 to Peggy Griffin, $67,500.00 to Larry Griffin, $15,000.00 to Ryan Hardy, and $5,000.00 to Leo Hardy. The jury did not award damages to Kile Griffin or Peggy Hardy.

The trial judge issued his decision on March 19, 1997 and found Abbeville eighty-five percent at fault, Heath Griffin ten percent at fault, and Peggy Griffin five percent fault. The trial judge awarded damages in the amount $619,200.00 to Heath Griffin, $64,600.00 to Peggy Griffin, $4,250.00 to Larry Griffin, and $8,000.00 to Ryan. The trial judge did not award damages to Kile Griffin, Leo Hardy, or Peggy Hardy.

From these judgments, both the plaintiffs and defendants appeal. The plaintiffs allege thirty-five assignments of error broken down into five subsets. Because many of these assignments are repetitive, we will not address them in the order in which the plaintiffs assigned them. Furthermore, the plaintiffs failed to adequately brief ten assignments. These are deemed to have been abandoned. Uniform Rules—Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-12.4. Abbeville and International Insurance allege three assignments of error.

ABBEVILLE'S APPEAL

On July 7, 1997, the plaintiffs' filed a motion for dismissal of the appeal by Abbeville and International Insurance, claiming that they had forfeited their right to appeal when they made an unconditional tender and deposited the funds with the court registry. Abbeville and International Insurance claim that they only made the tender in an attempt to stop the accrual of interest pending the appeal following the guidelines provided in LaGraize v. Bickham, 391 So.2d 1185 (La. App. 4 Cir.1980), and did not waive their right to appeal quantum. We agree with the plaintiffs and find that Abbeville and International Insurance forfeited their right to appeal.

*489 In LaGraize, 391 So.2d at 1191, the court devised a procedure whereby the judgment debtor could halt the accrual of interest in the event the judgment creditor appeals:

There first must be a tender to and refusal to accept by the judgment creditor. The tender and/or the deposit must be for the full amount of the judgment, including costs and interest. It must be unconditional and constitute a complete waiver of any future defense as to liability on the part of the judgment debtor. Acceptance of the tender and/or withdrawal of the funds by the judgment creditor(s) is without prejudice to any of its (their) rights to appeal as to quantum. In the event of an increase in quantum on appeal, the judgment debtor is liable for all additional costs together with legal interest on the amount of the increase from date of judicial demand until paid. Under the above, the advantages to both the judgment creditor and debtor are apparent. The former has the benefit of his money and the latter is relieved of certain additional costs and neither is harmed.

On April 23, 1997, a joint motion to deposit $914,195.83, the amount of the trial judge's award plus interest, into the registry of the court and for withdrawal of same was filed. It provides in paragraph three that:

The City of Abbeville and International Insurance Company now desire to deposit into the Registry of this Court, a sum of money equal to the award of damages reflected in said judgment, together with legal interest thereon which has accrued from date of judicial demand through the date of the deposit, and together with all accrued court costs, including expert fees, all so as to eliminate the continued accrual of legal interest pending plaintiffs delay for appeal and/or pending an appeal if taken.
Paragraph 4:
All movers herein ... recognize that the proper procedure which must be followed for the cessation of legal interest ... is defined in Green v. Industrial Helicopters, 560 So.2d 684 (La.App. 3 Cir.1990), and LaGraize v. Bickham, 391 So.2d 1185 (La. App. 4 Cir.1980), and agree that the said procedure requires and will be satisfied by:
. . . .
(2) That this deposit must be unconditional, and constitute a complete waiver of any future defense as to liability on the part of the judgment debtors.
. . . .
IT IS ORDERED
. . . .
(2) THAT said deposits are hereby recognized as unconditional tenders by the judgment debtors to the judgment creditors, which ... are free to withdraw, without any prejudice, whatsoever, against defendants or against any other person, on appeal or otherwise, who may be responsible to them and with such other effects as are described in Paragraph 4 above....

We find that this procedure is only permitted in situations where the judgment creditor appeals and the judgment debtor does not.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
727 So. 2d 485, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 431, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2798, 1998 WL 690737, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/griffin-v-international-ins-co-lactapp-1998.