LeBlanc v. Stevenson

770 So. 2d 766, 2000 WL 1538613
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided October 17, 2000·No. 00-C-0157·Published·Cited by 69 cases

Opinion

770 So.2d 766 (2000)

Rayford J. LeBLANC, II
v.
William STEVENSON, III and Audubon Indemnity Company.

No. 00-C-0157.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

October 17, 2000.

*768 Patrick A. Junleau, Jr., Lafayette, Counsel for Applicant.

Lamont Paul Domingue, Voorhies & Labbe, Lafayette, Counsel for Respondent.

JOHNSON, Justice.

The plaintiff, Rayford LeBlanc, II, brought this action to recover damages for injuries he sustained as a result of an accident at his home in Lafayette Parish. After a jury verdict for defendant, William Stevenson, the court of appeal reversed and found that Stevenson's negligence caused the accident. It apportioned 60% fault to Stevenson and 40% fault to Le-Blanc, and awarded LeBlanc total damages of $482,053.00. We granted certiorari to review the correctness of that decision.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Rayford LeBlanc, a thirty-seven year old carpenter at the time of the accident, had parked his pickup truck on the side of his driveway one rainy day in December of 1995. When he went to move the truck, it would not move because it was stuck in the mud. LeBlanc contacted Hoyt's Automotive, a professional towing company, which recommended that LeBlanc leave the truck alone until the ground dried. Le-Blanc's friend, William Stevenson, offered to use his 4-wheel drive Suburban[1] to pull the truck out the mud; however, LeBlanc declined. Once the ground was dry, LeBlanc *769 contacted Hoyt again to come out and assist him, but Hoyt was not available. Stevenson offered again to help LeBlanc extricate the truck; this time LeBlanc accepted his offer. LeBlanc purchased a "Tug-em" strap at a local hardware store to assist in moving the pickup truck. The men had agreed that LeBlanc would put his truck in gear and then signal Stevenson to begin moving.

On the first attempt, Stevenson backed his Suburban in front of the truck, and they hooked the Tug-em strap to both the vehicles, one end of the device to the frame of the truck and the other to the Suburban's trailer hitch. Both men entered their vehicles, and LeBlanc gave the signal. However, on the first attempt, the strap unhooked from the frame of the truck.

On the next attempt, Stevenson recommended that the Suburban's front wheels be moved to the road instead of the grass in order to get better traction. In doing this, the men discovered that the Tug-em strap was too short, so LeBlanc found a nylon binding strap in his truck which they connected to the Tug-em strap. LeBlanc hooked the binding strap around the bumper of his truck and then hooked the binding strap to the Tug-em strap. After the men reentered their vehicles, LeBlanc again gave the signal. This second attempt failed because the hook on the Tugem strap tore the binding strap into two pieces.

LeBlanc then decided to tie the Tug-em strap to the two pieces of binding strap. As LeBlanc crouched down tying the straps, Stevenson walked to the front of his Suburban to reposition it. When Stevenson moved the Suburban forward, the knots of the straps tightened around Le-Blanc's hand. LeBlanc yelled for Stevenson to stop, but LeBlanc was pulled backwards and a portion of his left index finger was severed. As a result of the accident, LeBlanc suffered a traumatic amputation of his left index finger.

LeBlanc filed a petition for damages in December of 1996, naming William Stevenson, III and Audubon Indemnity Company as defendants. LeBlanc alleged that his injuries were the result of Stevenson's negligence in failing to make certain Le-Blanc was clear of harm before operating the Suburban, failing to warn LeBlanc that he would be moving the Suburban, failing to operate the Suburban in a safe and prudent manner, failing to take measures to avoid causing harm to LeBlanc, and failing to be attentive to the risks and harm his actions presented to LeBlanc. In December of 1998, this matter was tried for two days by a jury. The jury found that Stevenson's actions were not the legal cause of the accident therefore finding no fault on Stevenson's part. From this verdict, LeBlanc appealed.

The court of appeal reversed the jury verdict finding Stevenson 60% at fault and LeBlanc 40% at fault and awarded $482,053.00 in damages. In applying the duty/risk analysis, the court of appeal concluded that: 1) when LeBlanc accepted Stevenson's second offer, Stevenson assumed the responsibility to accept any risks that may be involved in towing a vehicle; therefore Stevenson had a duty to act as a reasonable person; 2) this duty was breached when Stevenson failed to await LeBlanc's signal or to inform Le-Blanc of his intent to realign his Suburban; 3) Stevenson's failure to obey the protective instructions was the cause-in-fact of LeBlanc's injuries; and 4) Stevenson's failure to act in a reasonable manner by following the protective instructions was the legal cause of LeBlanc's injuries. The court of appeal also ruled that LeBlanc did not exercise a reasonable degree of care whereby LeBlanc: 1) knew that he and Stevenson lacked the skill and qualification to complete this task, 2) had the option to decline Stevenson's second offer of assistance and await professional help, and 3) was not pressured into moving this truck for work because he owned another truck. For these reasons, the court of appeal found LeBlanc 40% at fault. The court of *770 appeal further found that LeBlanc was entitled to $100,000 in general damages; $7,459 in past medical damages; $5,698 in future medical expenses; $54,861 in past lost income; and $314,035 in future lost income, subject to a reduction of 40% for his comparative fault. LeBlanc v. Stevenson, 99-885 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/22/99), 756 So.2d 356. Stevenson filed an application for certiorari with this court, and by order dated March 24, 2000, we granted the writ application. LeBlanc v. Stevenson, 00-0157 (La.3/24/00), 757 So.2d 646.

DISCUSSION

STANDARD OF REVIEW

An appellate court may reverse a lower court's factual findings when the record (1) reflects that a reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding and (2) establishes that the finding is clearly or manifestly wrong. Stobart v. State, [Through] Department of Transportation and Development, 617 So.2d 880, 882 (La. 1993). If a court of appeal finds that the trial court committed reversible error of law or manifest error of fact, the court of appeal must determine the facts de novo from the record and render a judgment on the merits. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840, 844 (La.1989). Although the appellate court must accord deference to the trial court, it is cognizant of our constitutional duty to review facts, not to decide if it, as a reviewing court, would have found the facts differently, but to determine whether the trial court's verdict was manifestly erroneous, clearly wrong based on the evidence, or clearly without evidentiary support. Ambrose v. New Orleans Police Department Ambulance Service, 93-3099, 93-3110, 93-3112 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 216, 221.

NEGLIGENCE/LIABILITY

DUTY/RISK ANALYSIS

In Stevenson's first assignment of error, he argues that LeBlanc's injury was not caused by Stevenson's negligence. Stevenson also asserts that he did not breach a duty owed to LeBlanc, for he was only assisting a friend without compensation. Stevenson testified that LeBlanc was totally in charge of the towing operation, and LeBlanc supplied all the equipment and tools, except the Suburban, to complete the task. Stevenson further testified that one end of the Tug-em strap was on

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