Latour v. Allstate Ins. Co.

262 So. 3d 1088
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 28, 2018
Docket18-395
StatusPublished

This text of 262 So. 3d 1088 (Latour v. Allstate 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
Latour v. Allstate Ins. Co., 262 So. 3d 1088 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

GREMILLION, Judge.

Steven and Kerri Latour filed suit against Debbie Derouen and Allstate Insurance Company, her homeowners' insurer, seeking damages for bruises and bite marks suffered by their fifteen-month-old daughter, Averi Latour, on August 25, 2014, while she was in the care of Ms. Derouen. Ms. Derouen provided daycare services for children in her home in exchange for compensation. On the day Averi was bitten, Ms. Derouen was caring for two of her grandchildren in addition to six other children, including Averi. When the children were napping, Ms. Derouen heard a child crying and went to check on the child. Upon entering the room where the children were napping, she found Averi crying and two other children, one sitting on either side of her. Averi had been bitten on both of her legs and her sides. One of the children sitting by Averi was Ms. Derouen's grandchild; the other child was one she regularly cared for. Ms. Derouen's testimony indicates Averi may have been bitten by either or both of these two children.

Allstate filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to have the Latours'

*1090claims against it dismissed. Allstate based its motion on a provision of its policy which excludes liability coverage for injuries "arising out of ... business activities of any insured." It argues that because Ms. Derouen was providing daycare services for Averi when Averi was injured by another child in her care, Averi's injuries arose out of her business activities; therefore, the Latours' claims are excluded from the personal liability coverage provision of its policy.

The Latours asserted to the trial court that Averi was bitten by Ms. Derouen's grandchild and that because Allstate's policy definition of "business" excepts daycare services for an insured's relatives from the definition of business activities, the exclusion is inapplicable. Therefore, they urged that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Averi's injuries arose out of Ms. Derouen's daycare business and that this issue precludes summary judgment. They also argued that language contained in Allstate's premises liability exclusion confirms coverage for Averi's injuries or, in the alternative, creates an ambiguity which also precludes summary judgment.

The trial court denied Allstate's motion, finding that the difference between the pertinent language of the personal liability exclusion as compared to the premises liability exclusion of the policy "create[d] an issue." Allstate filed a writ application, seeking reversal of the trial court's judgment and the grant of summary judgment in its favor. We granted writs and ordered briefing. Latour v. Allstate Ins. Co. , 18-395 (La.App. 3 Cir. 8/9/18) (unpublished opinion). For the reasons that follow, we grant Allstate's requested relief.

ANALYSIS

"Since the denial of a motion for summary judgment is an interlocutory ruling from which no appeal may be taken, the only practical remedy available to avoid a possibly useless trial on the merits is to request that the appellate court exercise its supervisory jurisdiction to review the propriety of this ruling." Breaux v. Cozy Cottages, LLC , 14-597, p. 4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/12/14), 151 So.3d 183, 187. "Ordinarily, an application for supervisory writs is the appropriate vehicle for the review of an interlocutory judgment." McGinn v. Crescent City Connection Bridge Auth ., 15-165, p. 4 (La.App. 4 Cir. 7/22/15), 174 So.3d 145, 148.

On appeal, summary judgments are reviewed de novo. Magnon v. Collins, 98-2822 (La. 7/7/99), 739 So.2d 191. Thus, the appellate court asks the same questions the trial court asks to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. Id. This inquiry seeks to determine whether any genuine issues of material fact exist and whether the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(B) and (C). This means that judgment must be rendered in favor of the movant if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits show a lack of factual support for an essential element of the opposing party's claim. Id. If the opposing party cannot produce any evidence to suggest that he will be able to meet his evidentiary burden at trial, no genuine issues of material fact exist. Id.
Material facts are those that determine the outcome of the legal dispute. Soileau v. D & J Tire, Inc., 97-318 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/8/97), 702 So.2d 818, writ denied, 97-2737 (La. 1/16/98), 706 So.2d 979. In deciding whether facts are material to an action, we look to the applicable substantive law. Id. Finally, summary judgment procedure is favored and designed to secure the just, speedy, and *1091inexpensive determination of every action. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(A)(2).

Am. Zurich Ins. Co. v. Caterpillar, Inc. , 12-270, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/3/12), 99 So.3d 739, 742-43. When considering a motion for summary judgment, the judge should not weigh the evidence or determine the truth of the matter; instead, he must determine whether there is a genuine issue of triable fact. Larson v. XYZ Ins. Co. , 16-745 (La. 5/3/17), 226 So.3d 412. "All doubts should be resolved in the non-moving party's favor." Id. at 416.

An insurer seeking to avoid coverage through summary judgment bears the burden of proving that some provision or exclusion applies to preclude coverage. The issue of whether an insurance policy, as a matter of law, provides or precludes coverage is a dispute that can be resolved on summary judgment.

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Bluebook (online)
262 So. 3d 1088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/latour-v-allstate-ins-co-lactapp-2018.