Grossie v. MGM Props., Inc.

269 So. 3d 921
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 10, 2019
Docket18-224
StatusPublished

This text of 269 So. 3d 921 (Grossie v. MGM Props., Inc.) 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
Grossie v. MGM Props., Inc., 269 So. 3d 921 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

SAVOIE, Judge.

Plaintiff Crystal Grossie appeals the ruling of the trial court, granting Defendant State Farm Fire and Casualty Company's (State Farm) Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissing Grossie's claims. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

On the afternoon of February 21, 2012, Crystal Grossie was walking to a Mardi Gras parade in Lafayette, Louisiana. On the way, she passed through a property located at 1015 St. John Street and owned by Defendant MGM Properties, Inc. While on the property, Grossie tripped and fell on a piece of metal that was driven into the ground adjacent to the walkway. In her Petition for Damages filed January 15, 2013, she claimed to have sustained damages to her chin, jaw, hip, neck and back, as well as fracturing several teeth. Grossie named as Defendants MGM Properties, Inc., the owner of the property, and its property insurer State Farm. Grossie subsequently filed a Partial Judgment of Dismissal which dismissed MGM Properties, Inc., leaving State Farm as the only Defendant.

State Farm filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on December 29, 2015, alleging a lack of evidence regarding: (1) whether the condition presented an unreasonable risk of injury; and (2) whether MGM Properties, Inc. and/or State Farm had the requisite prior knowledge of the condition. After a hearing on the motion held October 16, 2017, the trial court granted State Farm's Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissed Grossie's claims with prejudice. Grossie now appeals.

*924ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

1. The trial court was manifestly erroneous in failing to submit on the record or in writing its [reasons for granting] Appellees/Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment.

2. The trial court committed manifest error in granting the Appellee/Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgement stating lawn timber and metal stripping are not hazardous.

3. The trial court erred as a matter of law as there are genuine issue of material facts in this case that should be decided by the trier of fact as this case was scheduled as a jury trial.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

"[A] motion for summary judgment shall be granted if the motion, memorandum, and supporting documents show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(A)(3).

The burden of proof rests with the mover. Nevertheless, if the mover will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the issue that is before the court on the motion for summary judgment, the mover's burden on the motion does not require him to negate all essential elements of the adverse party's claim, action, or defense, but rather to point out to the court the absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party's claim, action, or defense. The burden is on the adverse party to produce factual support sufficient to establish the existence of a genuine issue of material fact or that the mover is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

La.Civ.Code art. 966(D)(1).

"Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo under the same criteria that govern a district court's consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate." Larson v. XYZ Ins. Co. , 16-745, p. 6 (La. 5/3/17), 226 So.3d 412, 416.

II. Assignment of Error Number One

Grossie first argues that the trial judge failed to state on the record or in writing the reasons for ruling. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 966(C)(4) governs the procedural rules for motions for summary judgment and states, in pertinent part: "In all cases, the court shall state on the record or in writing the reasons for granting or denying the motion."

A review of the hearing transcript finds the following discussion:

MR. GREENHOUSE: But if the Court wants us to address anything, I would be happy to address it.
THE COURT: Not for me, with the facts. You know, we're talking about wood landscaping as well as metal spike, as to whether or not that was the hazard.
MR. HILL: Whether that is the defect.
THE COURT: So, all right. I'm going to grant MGM' motion for judgment, and State Farm. Okay.
MR. HILL: Thank you, your honor. I did not prepare a judgment because we didn't know we were going to submit the -
THE COURT: Prepare one and get him to approve it as to form.

The 2015 Comments to La.Code Civ.P. art. 966 state:

(i) Subparagraph (C)(4) is new. The court shall state either on the record or *925in writing the reasons for granting or denying the motion. Nevertheless, the court does not have to address every reason or argument, and the form and detail of the reasons are left to the discretion of the court.

While abbreviated, the reasons for the trial court's grant of the motion for summary judgment can be determined from the transcript. The trial judge clearly finds that the wood landscaping and the metal spike were not defects under the applicable law. As stated in the comments, the trial judge need not address every reason or argument put forth by counsel. As such, we find no merit in this assignment of error.

III. Assignments of Error Number Two and Three

Plaintiff next argues that the trial court erred in finding the wood landscaping and metal stripping were not hazardous defects and that there are genuine issues of material fact that exist in this case. The law applicable to this claim is found in La.Civ.Code art. 2317.1, which states:

The owner or custodian of a thing is answerable for damage occasioned by its ruin, vice, or defect, only upon a showing that he knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of the ruin, vice, or defect which caused the damage, that the damage could have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care, and that he failed to exercise such reasonable care. Nothing in this Article shall preclude the court from the application of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur in an appropriate case.

Under La.Civ.Code art. 2317.1, Plaintiff has the burden to prove the following:

(1) that the thing which caused the damage was in the defendant's custody or control, (2) that it had a vice or defect that presented an unreasonable risk of harm, (3) that the defendant knew or should have known of the vice or defect, (4) that the damage could have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care, and (5) that the defendant failed to exercise such reasonable care. If the plaintiff fails to provide proof any one of these elements, his/her claim fails.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
269 So. 3d 921, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grossie-v-mgm-props-inc-lactapp-2019.