Jeansonne v. Willie

212 So. 2d 226, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 4740
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 10, 1968
DocketNo. 3024
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 212 So. 2d 226 (Jeansonne v. Willie) 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
Jeansonne v. Willie, 212 So. 2d 226, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 4740 (La. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Judge.

Plaintiff, Milbon J. Jeansonne, was injured on September 4, 1963, in an automobile accident and he filed this tort action on May 1, 1964, against Ray B. Willie (hereinafter called Willie), The California Company, Gene Germany (hereinafter called Germany), Prestressed Concrete Products Co., Inc. (hereinafter called Pre-stressed Company), and American General Insurance Company (hereinafter called American General), claiming $250,000.00 damages.

The United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company (hereinafter called U.S.F. & G. Co.), as the collision insurer of plaintiff, intervened to recover the amount it had paid for property damage to plaintiff’s automobile. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company as the workmen’s compensation insurer of plaintiff’s employer, also intervened to recover compensation paid to plaintiff.

On motion filed by The California Company for summary judgment plaintiff’s suit was dismissed only as to The California Company on January 20, 1965.

By stipulation of all other parties the case was first tried and submitted in the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court only on the question of liability of defendants. After trial of that issue, the trial court rendered judgment on October 22, 1965, in favor of plaintiff and against Willie, “In such amount as may be determined by further proceedings.” That judgment also decreed that the suit of plaintiff be dismissed as against Prestressed Company, Germany and American General. That judgment further decreed that “* * * there be like judgment rendered herein as to intervention” of U.S.F. & G. Co., and as to the intervention of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

From that judgment the plaintiff, Mil-bon J. Jeansonne, intervenors, U.S.F. & G. Co., and Liberty Mutual Company, have appealed. That appeal was heard by this court on the issue of liability alone. Without deciding the issue of liability, the opinion of this court, reported at 188 So.2d 170, annulled and “* * * set aside those portions of the judgment [of the trial court rendered October 22, 1965] complained of by appellants, and that the matter be remanded to the lower court to be [228]*228there fully tried, the interested parties to adduce all and whatever evidence they deem sufficient and proper bearing on the question of quantum or any other untried issue of the case, after which the trial judge is directed to render judgment anew. If an appeal is then taken from that judgment this court will be in a position to properly dispose of the case with one judgment.”

On the remand of the case to the trial court testimony of plaintiff and his doctors and other medical evidence was offered at the new trial in January and February, 1967. On June 28, 1967, the trial court rendered a new judgment awarding plaintiff the sum of $50,000.00 for personal injuries and $60,000.00 additional for loss of earning capacity. Therefore, that judgment was in favor of plaintiff and against defendant Willie in the sum of $110,000.00, with legal interest from judicial demand. The judgment was further in favor of defendants Prestressed Company, Germany and American General and against the plaintiff, dismissing plaintiff’s suit against them. There was further judgment in favor of intervenor, U.S.F. & G. Co., the collision carrier of plaintiff, and against Willie in the sum of $1,065.00, and in favor of Prestressed Company, Germany and American General and against intervenor U.S.F. & G. Co., dismissing the intervention against them. There was further judgment in favor of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, the workmen’s compensation insurer of plaintiff, and against Willie in the sum of $9,814.00, together with legal interest from date of judicial demand, and in favor of Prestressed Company, Germany and American General dismissing this intervention as against them. The fees of expert witnesses were fixed at $100.00 each and taxed as costs, all costs to be paid by Willie.

This case now comes before this court on the appeal of plaintiff and U.S.F. & G. Co., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, intervenors, who appeal from the portions of the judgment which are in favor of Prestressed Company, Germany and American General.

The accident occurred on the Lake Pontchartrain causeway at the south drawbridge. The bascule of the drawbridge is about 20 feet above the level of the causeway. The drawbridge is 75 feet long. The bridge and 40 feet at each end of it constitute about 155 feet of level roadway. The approaches leading from the causeway to that level stretch at the bascule from the north and from the south are about 280 feet each. There are electric signals, lights, signs and barricades placed at strategic intervals along the causeway as one approaches the bridge from both directions. These electric devices, signs and barricades can be seen unlighted by travelers but they are not activated by electric current unless there is some emergency or because the drawbridge is open. These warning devices were not in operation at the time of this accident. At the level stretch at the top of the bridge the floor of the causeway is widened to accommodate a small house near the southwest portion of the widened stretch and there are spaces for one or two cars to be parked at each of the four corners of that level stretch in the widened area. These parking spaces are so arranged that a car cannot head into them but a car must go past them and back into the space to park out of the traveled portion of the roadway.

Prestressed Company was doing some contract work under the causeway at the south drawbridge. Earlier on the morning of the day of this accident several workmen had gone there. Their work below the roadway did not interfere with traffic. Germany was an employee of the Prestressed Company and this work at the drawbridge was being done under his supervision. Germany did not accompany the workmen to the bridge that morning but arrived later, about 7:00 o’clock in a Prestressed Company truck-trailer, driven by another employee.

The plant of Prestressed Company is located north of the lake at Mandeville. [229]*229Germany rode to the south drawbridge in a truck-trailer driven by another employee who was going to New Orleans on other company business. As they approached the south drawbridge Germany instructed the driver not to stop but to slow down and he would jump out. As the truck slowed down, Germany opened the cab door and stood on the fender, which was approximately 14 inches wide. When the truck was moving about 10 miles per hour, or less, Germany jumped to the ground on the run. The truck-trailer without stopping then accelerated its speed to continue toward New Orleans. After Germany jumped out and started to walk south on the west side of the bridge toward the bridge tender’s house, a white Chevrolet driven by one C. W. Parker passed him. The Chevrolet had slowed down behind the Prestressed Company truck when Germany jumped out. Germany said he heard “rubber burning.” He turned in time to see a pickup truck (driven by Willie behind Parker’s Chevrolet) that appeared to be out of control skidding sideways into the north bound lane of traffic where it struck a Volkswagen headon. The Volkswagen was being driven by plaintiff. Plaintiff was badly injured at that time. Germany’s description of the sequence of events clearly indicates that there was no emergency which caused Willie, the driver of the pickup truck referred to, to skid into the north bound lane and strike plaintiff’s car.

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Related

Jeansonne v. Willie
214 So. 2d 546 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
212 So. 2d 226, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 4740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jeansonne-v-willie-lactapp-1968.