Jackson v. Wise

249 So. 3d 845
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 13, 2018
Docket2017 CA 1062
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 249 So. 3d 845 (Jackson v. Wise) 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
Jackson v. Wise, 249 So. 3d 845 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

PENZATO, J.

*847Appellant, Bridget Jackson, appeals the trial court's judgment granting summary judgment in favor of ACME Truck Line, Inc., (ACME) and dismissing her claims and the trial court's judgment denying her motion for new trial. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This matter arises out of an accident on February 17, 2015, wherein Troylond Wise was driving a 1999 Peterbilt 18-wheeler that he owned. Before the accident Takisha Welch had asked Mr. Wise to pull a trailer for use by Alpha of Charisma Carnival Club (Alpha) as a float in a 2015 Mardi Gras parade that took place in Franklin, Louisiana. Ms. Welch, on behalf of Alpha, paid Mr. Wise $100.00 for the use of his tractor-trailer. On the date of the parade, Ms. Jackson was a passenger in the float being pulled by Mr. Wise. While the tractor-trailer attempted to make a right turn, Ms. Jackson was thrown from the float, and Mr. Wise ran over her twice, resulting in severe injuries. As a result of the accident, Ms. Jackson filed suit against Mr. Wise, ACME, and First Guard Insurance Company (First Guard), the non-trucking liability insurer for the tractor-trailer.1 First Guard and Ms. Jackson have entered into a settlement agreement, and First Guard has been dismissed from this action.2

Prior to the 2015 accident, on September 1, 2011, Mr. Wise and ACME entered into a five-year lease agreement, wherein Mr. Wise leased his tractor-trailer to ACME in order to transport cargo for ACME. Section 5 of the lease agreement provided as follows:

EXCLUSIVE USE: It is understood and agreed that [ACME] shall have exclusive possession, control and use of the Leased Equipment for the duration of the Lease Agreement. [ACME] assumes complete responsibility for the operation of the Leased Equipment for the duration of the Lease Agreement. The Leased Equipment shall not be operated for any other purpose other than the transportation of [ACME] authorized shipments. Further, Owner is specifically prohibited from entering into any trip-lease, or other agreement or contract involving the Leased Equipment during the lease term, nor shall Owner permit the unauthorized use of the Leased Equipment at any time whatsoever. The Owner agrees that the Leased Equipment shall not be used for any parades, social events, or any private use whatsoever .... (emphasis added).

Based on the lease agreement, ACME filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming that the only allegation made against it was that the tractor-trailer was owned and/or being driven by ACME. ACME asserted that it was undisputed that it was not the owner of the tractor-trailer, but even if it was, it could not be liable based on ownership. Furthermore, ACME, citing Jones v. Western Preferred Casualty Company, et al., 633 So.2d 667, 669 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1993), writ denied, 94-0273 (La. 4/4/94), 635 So.2d 1123, asserted that it had no liability as a lender of the *848tractor-trailer because under Louisiana law one who lends his vehicle to another is not responsible for the negligence of that person "unless he had or should have had knowledge that the borrower was physically or mentally incompetent to drive." ACME further asserted that no employee/employer relationship was alleged between Mr. Wise and ACME, and even if there was, it could not be liable on this basis. ACME also claimed that Mr. Wise was in clear violation of his lease at the time of the accident and was not carrying cargo for ACME. Anticipating the response of Ms. Jackson, ACME pointed out that 49 C.F.R. § 376.12, which provides that the owner-lessor is deemed to be acting in the business of the carrier-lessee, is a rebuttable presumption. ACME attached to its motion for summary judgment relevant portions of deposition testimony of Mr. Wise, relevant portions of deposition testimony of Ms. Welch, photographs of the accident scene, and relevant portions of the lease agreement.

Ms. Jackson filed an opposition to ACME's motion for summary judgment, claiming that pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c), ACME was required to "assume complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment for the duration of the lease." Ms. Jackson asserted that whether the tractor-trailer was operating in the business of ACME was irrelevant and there were genuine issues of material fact which precluded summary judgment.

ACME filed a reply to Ms. Jackson's opposition claiming that Ms. Jackson's argument was that she need only show the existence of a lease between the owner-lessor (Mr. Wise) and the carrier-lessee (ACME) to hold ACME liable for the actions of Mr. Wise. Relying on Bays v. Summitt Trucking, LLC, 691 F.Supp.2d 725, 730 (W.D. Ky. 2010), citing Penn v. Virginia International Terminals, Inc., 819 F.Supp. 514, 523 (E.D. Va. 1993), ACME also pointed out that the majority of the cases cited by Ms. Jackson were before the 1992 amendments to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) regulations3 and were "based upon an interpretation of the ICC regulations that were unintended by the ICC." ACME asserted that after 1992, the cases agreed that 49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c) only created a rebuttable presumption of statutory employment. See Bays, 691 F.Supp.2d at 730-32. ACME also claimed that the issue of the MCS-90 endorsement4 applied to insurance carriers, not ACME, a motor carrier.

At the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, ACME argued that Mr. Wise was not in the course and scope of his employment. Ms. Jackson argued that FMCSA regulations, 49 C.F.R. § 350-399, *849specifically 49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c)(1), created strict liability on the part of ACME for the actions of Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
249 So. 3d 845, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-wise-lactapp-2018.