Jones v. Williams

557 So. 2d 262, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 11, 1990 WL 2366
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 16, 1990
DocketNo. 89-CA-0115
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 557 So. 2d 262 (Jones v. Williams) 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. Williams, 557 So. 2d 262, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 11, 1990 WL 2366 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

BARRY, Judge.

The issue in this intersectional auto accident concerns the defendants’ liability. After a bench trial judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff and against the defen[263]*263dant-driver and the City of New Orleans “jointly and solidarity” for $139,712.00 plus costs.

On July 7, 1983, Carolyn Jones was driving on South Dupre St. and stopped at Gravier St. for a stop sign. Her niece, Lisa Robertson, was a guest passenger. Jones could not see whether it was safe to proceed across Gravier St. because cars were parked to the corner on Gravier. Jones attempted to cross and an accident occurred between her and a police vehicle driven on Gravier St. by Lathan Williams, an auto mechanic for the police department.

Jones sued Williams and the City for personal injuries. The City’s reeonvention against Jones was withdrawn.

Jones testified that when she stopped for the stop sign she looked left but could not see oncoming traffic because cars were parked on Gravier St. up to the intersection. She “inched” the ear forward until the front end was two to two and one-half feet beyond the parked cars, stopped, and was hit by another vehicle and spun around. Although she claimed she did not see the other vehicle prior to impact and was “dazed” afterward, she testified that the other vehicle was black. Jones examined a photocopy of a photograph of a car and said that the vehicle was not the one in the accident.1 She pointed out that the vehicle in the photocopy was too light and did not have damage to the front end.

On cross-examination Jones testified that she did see the other vehicle “maybe a half of a second” prior to impact, but it was too close to avoid the accident.

Guest passenger Robertson and Kristeen Beique, an eye-witness, generally corroborated Jones’ version of the facts. Beique, a Sheriff’s Office employee, had just driven past the same intersection. She parked and walked to South Dupre, looked both ways, and after she “checked” Jones’ car, began to cross. Beique heard and saw a “revving” vehicle on Gravier moving at more than 25 m.p.h. and faster than other vehicles on the street. The vehicle hit Jones’ car causing it to spin around, then hit a parked car and a brick wall. Beique said the vehicle on Gravier had room in the left lane to avoid hitting Jones’ car. She did not state that the vehicle had time to avoid the accident.

Beique testified that she did not see any damage to the side of the other vehicle. She noted that sheriff’s cars were usually parked on Gravier where Jones said her view was blocked.

Bobby Nathan, an “administrative analyst in the position of parking manager” for the City, testified for Jones. In July, 1983 Nathan had just transferred to the police department and started the boot immobilization program for the City. In October, 1983 his duties encompassed enforcement of parking regulations.

Nathan testified there was a parking problem on South Dupre and Gravier in July, 1983 and the area was part of a designated “enforcement beat.” There was also a “running battle” regarding who was allowed to park in that area. The controversy involved the N.O.P.D. (which was primarily responsible for writing parking tickets) and Criminal Court judges who wanted jurors to be permitted to park in “enforcement zone parking only.” Nonetheless, according to Nathan, 186 tickets were written in the area between June and December, 1983. It is unclear whether that was the total tickets written by all agencies or those by Nathan’s staff. He noted that twenty-two agencies, including N.O.P.D., had parking ticket responsibility.

On cross-examination Nathan testified that “parking within 20 feet of a corner” is a violation which the City enforced and the City towed vehicles for parking too close to a corner.

Defendant Williams testified that he had been sent to the N.O.P.D. body shop at Gravier and South White to pick up a car. He said he was driving in the middle of Gravier St. at 25 m.p.h. when his unmarked police car was struck on the right passenger side. The impact caused the police car to strike a parked car, but he denied that [264]*264his car struck a brick wall. He said the police car was light blue, contradicting Jones and Robertson’s testimony. He also testified he did not see Jones’ car prior to the accident.

Williams claimed the photocopy was a copy of a photograph of the car which he was driving on the day of the accident, and accurately depicts the damage to the car.

Paul Clement, a property damage appraiser and defense witness, identified the photocopy as a copy of a photograph he had taken as part of an appraisal of the police car. The appraisal showed damage to the sides of the car, which is consistent with Williams’ testimony. Clement could not say that the car in the photocopy was involved in the accident.

At the time of the accident Clement’s job was to appraise cars for N.O.P.D. as soon as a police report was complete. Clement said the only knowledge he would have of an accident was the police report. Defense counsel’s attempt to introduce the police report was disallowed because it lacked the proper evidentiary foundation.

A court of appeal may not set aside the trier of fact’s finding unless it is manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong. When testimony conflicts, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even though the appellate court may feel its own evaluations and inferences are as reasonable. Rosell v. Esco, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989).

La.R.S. 32:123 provides in pertinent part that

A. Preferential right of way at an intersection may be indicated by stop signs or yield signs.
B. Except when directed to proceed by a police officer or traffic-control signal, every driver and operator of a vehicle approaching a stop intersection indicated by a stop sign shall stop before entering the cross walk on the near side at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the intersection.
After having stopped, the driver shall yield the right of way to all vehicles which have entered the intersection from another highway or which are approaching so closely on said highway as to constitute an immediate hazard.

Motorists on favored streets may assume that a driver approaching an intersection on a less favored street will yield the right of way. A driver who stops at a stop sign has not discharged his entire duty until making certain it is safe to proceed, especially when entering a blind, intersection. Clements v. Allstate Ins. Co., 383 So.2d 1375 (La.App. 4th Cir.1980), writ refused, 385 So.2d 793 (La.1980). Nonetheless, preferences on favored streets created by statutes, signals or signs do not relieve the driver on the favored street from exercising ordinary care. Banks v. LeVasseur, 488 So.2d 1275 (La.App. 4th Cir.1986). When that driver reasonably realizes that the driver on the less favored street will continue across the intersection, then the favored driver has a duty to take reasonable precautions to avoid the accident.

The trial court’s reasons for judgment found Jones acted reasonably by attempting to cross Gravier St. If our review were de novo

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
557 So. 2d 262, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 11, 1990 WL 2366, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-williams-lactapp-1990.