Holder v. Louisiana Parks Service

552 So. 2d 20, 1989 WL 134816
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 8, 1989
Docket88-787
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 552 So. 2d 20 (Holder v. Louisiana Parks Service) 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
Holder v. Louisiana Parks Service, 552 So. 2d 20, 1989 WL 134816 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

552 So.2d 20 (1989)

Marie HOLDER, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
LOUISIANA PARKS SERVICE, LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, RECREATION & TOURISM, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 88-787.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

November 8, 1989.
Writ Denied January 12, 1990.

*21 Oliver J. Schrumpf, Sulphur, for plaintiff-appellee.

David C. Kimmel, Asst. Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant.

Before YELVERTON, KNOLL and KING, JJ.

KING, Judge.

The issue presented by this appeal is whether the tort immunity statutes relative to recreational lands apply to an accident which occurred on a shell covered campsite at Sam Houston Jones State Park.

On August 6, 1983, Mrs. Marie Holder (hereinafter plaintiff) and her friend, Mr. Walter Schrumpf, drove to Sam Houston Jones State Park in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (hereinafter the Park) for a weekend camping trip. The campsite was approximately eight feet wide by twenty feet deep and the ground was covered with white clam shells. Plaintiff saw ducks swimming in a marshy lake at the back of the campsite *22 and, as she walked to see them, she stepped in a hole and fell, injuring her right arm and shoulder. Plaintiff filed suit for damages against the Louisiana Parks Service, a subdivision of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, of the State of Louisiana, the owner and operator of the Park. Defendant answered plaintiff's petition for damages and asserted the defense of tort immunity arising from the recreational land immunity statutes, La.R.S. 9:2791 and La.R.S. 9:2795. Defendant then filed a Motion for Summary Judgment based on the recreational immunity statutes. The trial court granted defendant's motion and dismissed plaintiff's suit. Judgment was signed on June 27, 1985. Plaintiff appealed and this court, in Holder v. Louisiana Parks Service, Inc., 493 So.2d 275 (La.App. 3 Cir.1986), held that "[t]here remains a material issue as to whether the park, its location and surrounding developments qualifies it for the immunity provided for by the statutes." Id. at 278. Accordingly, this court reversed the judgment of the trial court and remanded the case for further proceedings.

On January 6, 1987, defendant filed a second Motion for Summary Judgment, to which were attached new affidavits, and reurged the immunity granted for land used for recreational purposes. The trial judge denied defendant's motion and judgment was signed on March 2, 1987. Defendant sought supervisory relief from this court for the denial of their second motion for summary judgment and this relief was denied. Holder v. Louisiana Parks Service, Inc., an unreported decision bearing Number 87-510 on the Docket of this Court dated May 22, 1987.

A trial on the merits was held on March 3, 1988. The trial court found defendant liable but also found plaintiff 50% contributorily negligent. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff for the sum of $19,750.00 dollars, with legal interest from date of judicial demand, until paid, expert witness fees and court costs. A formal written judgment was signed on April 11, 1988. Defendant then timely filed this suspensive appeal.

FACTS

Plaintiff and Mr. Schrumpf arrived at the Park at approximately 6:00 P.M. on August 6, 1983. When they arrived at the main gate to the Park, Terrence Delaine, the park ranger, told them that the camping area was very crowded and that there was only one campsite available. The ranger then told them to inspect the site before they paid for it to make sure it was suitable. Plaintiff and Mr. Schrumpf located the site in area # 1 and decided it was acceptable. Plaintiff got out of the camper and remained at the site while Mr. Schrumpf returned to the front gate to pay the site camping fee. Plaintiff was examining the layout of the campsite for electrical and water connections, picnic table, etc., when she noticed some ducks in a marshy lake near the back of the site. Plaintiff continued walking toward the ducks while looking around the campsite when she stumbled in a hole and fell to the ground injuring herself.

A Ward One Fire Department emergency vehicle and an ambulance were called to the scene. The ambulance took plaintiff to the West Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital emergency room where her arm was x-rayed, placed in a sling, and plaintiff was referred to Dr. William Akins, an orthopedist. Dr. Akins diagnosed plaintiff's injury as a three-part fracture of the right humerous and recommended physical therapy. Her injury healed approximately three months later.

Plaintiff testified that the hole she stepped into had clam shell in it, was about six to eight inches deep, and was round with gradual sides. Plaintiff further stated that because it was evening when they arrived at the campsite, the area was shaded by surrounding trees.

The park ranger testified that he went to the campsite after the accident to inspect the hole. The hole, in his opinion, had an oblong shape and was approximately six to seven inches deep. He also stated that the hole appeared to have been scratched out by a child or an animal.

*23 The district manager for the Office of State Parks examined the hole and stated that:

"[T]he `hole' was a gradual indentation in the shell which was approximately five to six inches at the deepest part and had a diameter of fourteen to sixteen inches. The indentation was covered throughout with clam shell and was not dissimilar from uneven spots in the circular drive which connected the various campsites at camping area 1."

The title to the property on which the Park is located is in the name of the State of Louisiana, through the Louisiana State Parks Commission (now the Office of State Parks, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism).

The affidavit of Randall Trahan, who is the chief of operations for the Office of State Parks, was admitted into evidence at the trial. He stated that the Park is located off of Louisiana Highway 378, eight miles north of Lake Charles, Louisiana and four miles west of Moss Bluff, Louisiana, adjacent to the West Fork of the Calcasieu River. The Park contains 1,087 acres of mixed hardwood and longleaf pine forests. The Park has seventy-three campsites, twelve overnight cabins and a day-use area. The main entrance road to the Park is blacktopped. All roads inside the Park's camping areas are dirt which are covered with clam shells. The Park maintains eleven full time employees. There is a fee for the use of the Park. Generally, the fee is $1.00 per day for all motor vehicles except buses which are charged $10.00 per day. Senior citizens are entitled to a $2.00 per night discount on the use of the camping facilities. The testimony of Nancy Reed, the Park's Project Coordinator whose duties include the coordination of funds, was also admitted by affidavit. She stated that revenues collected and the expenditures for the Park for the years 1981, 1982, and a portion of 1983 were as follows:

Fiscal Year        Revenue Collected          EXPENDITURES
1981-1982                $153,932.00           $304,771.00
1982-1983                $136,113.00           $289,431.00
7/1983-12/1983           $ 60,680.00           $164,856.00

Plaintiff's accident occurred inside an area known as a camping "spur". This camping space is adjacent to an inside roadway, is rectangular in shape and is about twenty feet deep by eight feet wide. The area is designed to accommodate a camper, trailer, or recreational vehicle.

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Bluebook (online)
552 So. 2d 20, 1989 WL 134816, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holder-v-louisiana-parks-service-lactapp-1989.