Jones v. American Fire-Indem. Ins. Co.

442 So. 2d 772
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 29, 1983
Docket15,808-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 442 So. 2d 772 (Jones v. American Fire-Indem. 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
Jones v. American Fire-Indem. Ins. Co., 442 So. 2d 772 (La. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

442 So.2d 772 (1983)

James E. JONES et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
AMERICAN FIRE-INDEMNITY INSURANCE COMPANY et al., Defendants-Appellant-Appellee.

No. 15,808-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

November 29, 1983.

*773 Lunn, Irion, Switzer, Johnson & Salley by Jack E. Carlisle, Jr., Shreveport, for defendants-appellant-appellee.

Nelson, Hammons & Johnson by John L. Hammons, Shreveport, for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before HALL, JASPER E. JONES and FRED W. JONES, JJ.

FRED W. JONES, Judge.

Plaintiffs, husband and wife, were injured when the automobile in which they were riding [owned by the husband's employer] was struck from the rear by another vehicle. Subsequent to the filing of this suit, settlement was effected with the tortfeasor [an "under-insured" motorist under our law] and his insurer. After a merit-trial, judgment was rendered pursuant to a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs against the employer's uninsured motorist ("UM") carrier. The latter appealed, contending:

(1) The trial judge erred in holding, as a matter of law, that the employer's comprehensive liability insurance policy, issued and delivered in Texas, provided UM coverage under Louisiana rather than Texas law.
(2) The jury committed error in finding that the plaintiff husband's injuries were causally related to the rear-end collision, and in making an excessive award.
(3) The trial judge erroneously awarded legal interest from date of judicial demand rather than from date of judgment.

Plaintiffs also appealed, asserting that the jury award of $267,000 in damages to the husband was inadequate.

For the reasons hereinafter detailed, we affirm.

Context Facts

On May 23, 1979, James Jones, accompanied by his wife, Mary, and their children, was driving a car owned by his employer, Cameron Iron Works, Inc. ("Cameron") in Caddo Parish, where the family resided. Jones, employed by Cameron since 1969, was a sales and service representative who was furnished the automobile as an employment fringe benefit. While stopped for a traffic light, the motor vehicle driven by Jones was struck forcefully from the rear by a car operated by Roger Donahue, also a resident of Caddo Parish.

This litigation ensued.

According to a stipulation entered into between the plaintiffs and Cameron's automobile liability insurer, Compass Insurance Company ("Compass"), the following pertinent facts were established:

(1) Cameron, with its primary place of business in Houston, is qualified to do business in Texas and Louisiana.
(2) Cameron owns motor vehicles principally garaged and primarily utilized both in Texas and Louisiana. The vehicle in question was registered in Louisiana and had Louisiana license plates.
(3) Compass is qualified to do business both in Texas and Louisiana.
(4) Compass issued and delivered to Cameron in Texas a comprehensive automobile liability insurance policy covering its motor vehicles, including the car driven by Jones. There was no written rejection of UM coverage in connection with issuance of this policy.
(5) The minimum Texas UM coverage requires benefits of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per occurrence for bodily injury or death.

The policy issued by Compass to Cameron provided for single limits liability coverage of $500,000. The parties agreed that the issue of UM coverage was a question of law which should be decided by the trial judge and not the jury. Pursuant thereto, the trial judge ruled:

*774 "It [the insurance policy] was executed and delivered in the State of Texas, but meant to, specifically, apply in Louisiana, to a Louisiana vehicle, titled in Louisiana, driven in Louisiana, stationed in Louisiana, the Louisiana law should have been complied with.
"[t]here is no mention of uninsured motorists insurance ... And so, it's my opinion that the Louisiana uninsured motorists provision applies. Which means there is $500,000.00 worth of uninsured motorists protection, for the accident."

After the merit-trial in March 1983, and pursuant to a jury verdict, judgment was rendered against Compass in favor of James Jones for $267,000 and in favor of Mrs. Mary Jones for $55,000, with interest on each award running from judicial demand, and with each award subject to a credit of $25,000 because of the prior settlement with the tortfeasor.

UM Coverage

Defendant Compass argues that, since the liability insurance policy was issued by a Texas insurance company to a Texas corporation and delivered in Texas, the Texas UM law [with its minimal mandatory coverage] should apply rather than the Louisiana UM statute.

In Jagers v. Royal Indemnity Company, 276 So.2d 309 (La.1973), our supreme court adopted an "interest analysis" as the proper vehicle for resolving conflicts of law problems in this state. As a result, Louisiana law was applied to a damage suit in this state between two Louisiana residents arising out of an accident in Mississippi.

We extended this rationale to contract law in Sutton v. Langley, 330 So.2d 321 (La.App. 2d Cir.1976). There, a Texas resident sued a Louisiana resident for injuries sustained in a Louisiana automobile accident. The plaintiff also sought to recover under the UM clause of a liability policy issued in Texas. At that time "stacking" of multiple UM coverages was permitted in Louisiana but not in Texas. Utilizing a "balance-of-interests" test to resolve the choice of law problem, we reasoned:

"We realize that Texas is not without interests in the uninsured motorist coverage question. That interest lies in the possible effect the application of Louisiana law might have on insurance rates for such coverage written in Texas for Texas residents. However, it must be said that this interest is minimal when one is dealing with a standard form insurance contract written by an insurer who does business in several, if not all, the states. Also, it must be recognized that in our mobile society the insurer could not reasonably contemplate the insured driving only in Texas and being subject to Texas interpretation of the policy provisions at all times. When Texas' interest is compared to Louisiana's interest in the regulation of awards to victims on its highways, and in protecting persons on its highways from damage by uninsured motorists, and in equally assessing the burden of that award to all culpable parties, it must be concluded that the interests of Louisiana prevail." p. 328

We find that Louisiana has an even greater interest in the application of its law under the facts of this case than it did in Sutton. Here the automobile in question was garaged, registered and licensed in Louisiana. Obviously, the likelihood of the application of the Louisiana UM statute to its insurance policy should have been readily envisioned by Compass. Under these circumstances, the mere fact that the policy was issued and delivered in Texas should not relieve the insurance company of the necessity of complying with the Louisiana UM requirements. Consequently, the trial judge ruled correctly that Louisiana law with reference to UM coverage applied rather than Texas law.

Since Cameron did not reject UM coverage, our law provides for this in an amount "not less than the limits of bodily injury liability provided by the policy." La.R.S. 22:1406(D). That coverage in this case was $500,000, as held by the trial judge.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cummings v. Wilder
W.D. Louisiana, 2020
Martin v. Champion Ins. Co.
656 So. 2d 991 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1995)
Williams v. United Services Automobile Ass'n
849 P.2d 265 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1993)
Haynes v. Shumake
582 So. 2d 959 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
Francis v. Travelers Ins. Co.
581 So. 2d 1036 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
Hubert v. Martin
572 So. 2d 659 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
Pugh v. Gondrella
522 So. 2d 1257 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
Mattingly v. State, Dept. of Health
509 So. 2d 82 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
Burton v. Foret
498 So. 2d 706 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1986)
Houston Oil & Minerals Corp. v. Seec, Inc.
616 F. Supp. 990 (W.D. Louisiana, 1985)
Armstrong v. Land & Marine Applicators, Inc.
463 So. 2d 1327 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Bloodworth v. Carroll
455 So. 2d 1197 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Wilson v. State Farm Ins. Co.
448 So. 2d 1379 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
442 So. 2d 772, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-american-fire-indem-ins-co-lactapp-1983.