Klooster v. Hartford Insurance Co. of Midwest

829 So. 2d 1131, 2002 WL 31474232
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 30, 2002
DocketNo. 02-0490
StatusPublished

This text of 829 So. 2d 1131 (Klooster v. Hartford Insurance Co. of Midwest) 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
Klooster v. Hartford Insurance Co. of Midwest, 829 So. 2d 1131, 2002 WL 31474232 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

| LAUNDERS, Judge.

The Plaintiff Betty Klooster was injured in an automobile accident. Mrs. Klooster and her husband instituted an action against the tortfeasor and his liability insurer, Hartford Automobile Insurance Company of the Midwest (hereinafter “Hartford”), and their uninsured/under insured motorist insurer, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (hereinafter “State Farm”). The Plaintiffs subsequently settled with Hartford, and judgment was rendered in the Plaintiffs’ favor against State Farm in the amount of $45,426.00 above the amount previously paid by Hartford. The Defendant, State Farm, now appeals that judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Betty Klooster was injured in an automobile collision that occurred on January 12, 1999. As a result of the collision, Mrs. Klooster had substantial injuries to her neck, shoulders, lower back, and left foot.

The Kloosters filed suit against the offending driver, John Wilson, and his liability insurer, Hartford. State Farm,, as an additional insurer, was also made a Defendant as the uninsured/under insured motorist (hereinafter “UM”) carrier for the Klooster vehicle. The Plaintiffs ultimately settled with Hartford prior to the trial and reserved their right to proceed against State Farm.

The trial was held in this matter on January 10, 2002, on the claims against State Farm. The liability was not contested. At the beginning of the trial, Plaintiffs’ counsel entered the release and the check issued by Hartford in the amount of forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000.00) into evidence with the court. Subsequently, both parties stipulated to the fact that, by law, State Farm as the UM insurer was entitled to a credit for the fifty-thousand dollar ($50,000.00) limit on the Hartford policy to be subtracted from the Plaintiffs’ total damage award. The only testimony offered at trial was that | ¡>pf Betty Klooster and her husband, Harold Klooster. The depositions of Dr. J. Murrell Nelson, a chiropractor, and Dr. Michael Lombardo, a podiatrist, were introduced into evidence.

In the written Reasons for Judgment dated January 23, 2002, the trial judge assessed damages in favor of Betty Klooster consisting of ten thousand, four hundred and twenty-six dollars ($10,426.00) in special damages based upon the stipulated medical expenses amounting to the same and thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,-000.00) in general damages, for a total of forty-five thousand, four hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars ($45,426.00). Thereafter, on January 29, 2002, the trial judge amended his written Reasons for Judgement by clarifying that the amount of damages assessed was in addition to any amounts previously received from the liability insurer, Hartford. Judgment was subsequently prepared by Plaintiffs’ counsel and was signed on January 30, 2002. State Farm has appealed from this judgment.

[1134]*1134 LAW AND ANALYSIS

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

On appeal, State Farm asserts the following assignments of error:

(1) The trial court erred in failing to assess the Plaintiffs’ total damages before casting Defendant in judgment;
(2) The trial court erred in assessing medical specials to be paid by the UM insurer because they were part of the underlying liability policy; and
(3) The trial court awarded excessive damages.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER 1

In its first assignment of error, State Farm asserts that the trial court erred in failing to assess the Plaintiffs’ total damages before casting Defendant in judgment. State Farm argues that because the trial judge in this case originally issued Reasons for Judgment stating that the Plaintiff was entitled to $10,426.59 in special damages | sand $35,000.00 in general damages, then later amended those Reasons for Judgment to include the statement “in addition to any funds previously received from the liability insurer”, this indicates that the trial judge failed to originally assess the Plaintiffs total damages when casting judgment.

For the foregoing reasons, we find this argument without merit. The trial court was fully aware that the Plaintiffs’ settled with Hartford for $45,000.00 prior to the trial. According to the record, Plaintiffs’ counsel informed the trial judge of the release and settlement with Hartford, then offered into evidence documentation of the release and the check issued by Hartford to the Plaintiffs. Additionally, as evidenced in the record, the judge was aware of the $50,000.00 limit on the policy issued by Hartford and that State Farm was entitled to a credit for the policy limits on the primary insurance policy.

The relevant colloquy during the hearing is as follows:

Defendant’S COUNSEL: Your Honor, the only comment I would make as to that introduction is that, regardless of what was received by the Plaintiff, the credit is for the full amount of the policy. That, that — .the law is such that State Farm gets—
Plaintiffs’ COUNSEL: I don’t — I don’t dispute that
Defendant’S COUNSEL: Okay.
THE COURT: I’m sorry. Please explain.
Defendant’S COUNSEL: Your Honor, the Kloosters received Forty-five Thousand of a Fifty-thousand dollar policy. I just wanted to ...
THE COURT: From Hartford?
Defendant’S COUNSEL: ... right ...
THE COURT: Okay.
Defendant’S COUNSEL: ... to make clear that State Farm’s Rcredit is for Fifty, not Forty-five. The' — credit for the underlying insurance.
Plaintiffs’ COUNSEL: I stipulated to that.
Defendant’S COUNSEL: Okay.
THE COURT: Okay.

Thus, it is clear that the trial judge was aware of the Plaintiffs’ settlement with Hartford, the amount of the settlement, and the limits of the policy issued by Hartford. This being so, it seems clear that the trial judge took all the evidence into account when rendering his Reasons for Judgment. It also follows that the trial judge’s amended Reasons for Judgment were an effort to clarify that he had, in fact, considered the Plaintiffs’ total damages and credited State Farm with the $50,000.00 maximum amount of the Plain[1135]*1135tiffs’ primary policy issued by Hartford, as stipulated by the parties, and that his judgment was in addition to the $50,000.00 limit on the Hartford policy.

Additionally, State Farm argues that it would have been “very easy” for the trial judge to state that general damages totaled $85,000.00 if the trial judge had intended there to be a judgment against State Farm, the UM insurer. The manner in which the trial judge chose to communicate his intent is immaterial, because it is more than clear that the trial judge knew Hartford had already paid damages to the Plaintiffs’ on the liability policy. Furthermore, it is clear from the amended Reasons for Judgment that the trial judge was communicating damages in excess of the credited $50,000.00 representing the limits on the Hartford policy, previously stipulated by the parties.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
829 So. 2d 1131, 2002 WL 31474232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/klooster-v-hartford-insurance-co-of-midwest-lactapp-2002.