Ledet v. National Car Rental System, Inc.

694 So. 2d 1236, 1997 WL 292717
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 4, 1997
Docket96-1270
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 694 So. 2d 1236 (Ledet v. National Car Rental System, Inc.) 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
Ledet v. National Car Rental System, Inc., 694 So. 2d 1236, 1997 WL 292717 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

694 So.2d 1236 (1997)

Timothy James LEDET, Sr., Plaintiff—Appellant,
v.
NATIONAL CAR RENTAL SYSTEM INC., et al., Defendants— Appellees.

No. 96-1270.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

June 4, 1997.

*1238 Scott Miller Brame, Alexandria, David Charles Laborde, Lafayette, for Timothy James Ledet Sr.

Kathleen Kay, Lake Charles, for National Car Rental System, Inc. et al.

Before YELVERTON, THIBODEAUX and SAUNDERS, JJ.

YELVERTON, Judge.

Timothy Ledet filed suit for damages he sustained in an automobile accident on January 17, 1993. The accident occurred at the intersection of MacArthur Drive and South Circle in Alexandria, Louisiana. After yielding to the traffic at the Circle, Ledet started to move when he decided it was not safe to proceed and stopped again. Ledet was then struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Peter Gilmore. Gilmore had rented the car he was driving from National Car Rental System, Inc. Ledet was injured when his head struck the post of his truck. Ledet filed suit against National Car Rental and Gilmore.

After a trial on December 12, 1996, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of Ledet and against National Car Rental and Gilmore in solido. It found Ledet was entitled to $10,000 in general damages, $5,310.19 in special damages, and $434.70 in property damages. Ledet appeals this judgment claiming that the general damages award is insufficient and that the trial court erred in not awarding penalties and attorney's fees.

National Car Rental and Gilmore answered the appeal. They sought a reversal of the findings that National Car Rental provided insurance coverage and that National Car Rental was liable in solido with Gilmore. They also allege that the trial court erred in awarding special damages for items not allowed in evidence.

INSURANCE COVERAGE

National Car Rental contends that there was no proof that it provided insurance for the accident. It argues that there was no proof of coverage at the trial, because there was no policy of insurance introduced in evidence, and that the trial court erred in finding that coverage had been previously decided in a summary judgment.

A summary judgment may be rendered on the issue of insurance coverage alone. La. Code Civ.P. art. 966(F). According to the reasons given by the court for summary judgment, the issue was whether National Car Rental could be sued as an insurer under the Louisiana Direct Action Statute. The trial court found that it could. In reaching this decision, the trial court explained that National Car Rental had a contract to provide liability coverage to its customers and, based on that contract, it was acting as an insurance company and should be treated as one.

Additionally, after trial on the merits, the trial court found that "coverage was admitted in the pleadings (though with restrictions) and was acknowledged by defendant's agent in his deposition...." As to this finding National Car Rental claims that it was error for the trial court to consider pleadings which were not admitted into evidence. This was not error. Pleadings consist of petitions, exceptions, written motions, and answers. La.Code Civ.P. art. 852. Although documents attached to pleadings are not evidence, the pleadings themselves form part of the record. First Homestead Fed. Sav. & Loan v. Coleman, 446 So.2d 551 (La.App. 3 Cir. *1239 1984); Guedry v. Fromenthal, 633 So.2d 287 (La.App. 1 Cir.1993). In his petition, Ledet alleged:

Petitioner further alleges on information and belief that under the terms of said self insured policy, defendant, NATIONAL CAR RENTAL, obligated itself to pay any and all damages caused to others as a result of the negligent acts of defendant GILMORE, herein described, and the vehicle driven by defendant GILMORE described above were [sic] covered by said policy at the time of said collision.

In response National Car Rental's answer provided:

Any provision with respect to liability insurance is found in the rental agreement between the parties which agreement is a written contract, the provisions of which are best evidenced by the document itself and which agreement is affirmatively pled herein by reference as if copied herein in extenso.

La.Code Civ.P. art. 1004 provides that all allegations of the petition are admitted if not denied in the answer. National Car Rental did not deny that the vehicle driven by Gilmore, which it had also admitted it owned, was covered by a self-insured policy.

Additionally, Chad Bennett, an employee and the representative of National Car Rental, testified under oath by way of deposition that he determined that National Car Rental provided primary liability coverage for the accident. We find that the trial court had sufficient evidence before it, without having the insurance policy itself, to determine that there was a policy of insurance that provided primary coverage for this accident. See Travis v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 569 So.2d 115 (La.App. 1 Cir.1990); Zurich-American Ins. Group v. Ellison, 640 So.2d 262 (La.App. 4 Cir.1993).

National Car Rental claims that by failing to require Ledet to produce the contract of insurance, the trial court denied it protections to which it was entitled. It claims that it was entitled to prove a limitation for coverage in accordance with the minimum requirements allowed by law and that it should not be held liable in solido for the entire judgment with Gilmore. There is no merit to this claim.

An insurer has the burden of proving facts which limit coverage. Ralston v. Connecticut General Life Ins., 617 So.2d 1379 (La. App. 3 Cir.), writ granted and reversed on other grounds, 625 So.2d 156 (La.1993). It was National Car Rental's responsibility to introduce the policy if it wanted to prove limitations set forth by the policy.

DAMAGES

Both sides appeal the award of damages. Ledet claims that the award of $10,000 for general damages is too low. National Car Rental and Gilmore claim that the trial court erred in awarding special damages for items not allowed into evidence. We will discuss each of these awards separately.

General Damages

Ledet had migraine headaches before the accident. He had migraines afterward. There was some evidence that the accident caused an increase in intensity and frequency. Neither the degree of increase nor the longevity of the increase was established specifically. Ledet was successively treated after the accident by several doctors, including a chiropractor, an orthopedist, and a neurologist. Only the neurologist testified. He had treated Ledet before the accident. He identified a whiplash and consequent neck problems and stated that the accident aggravated the migraines. We cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion in awarding $10,000 in general damages. Andrus v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 95-801 (La.3/22/96), 670 So.2d 1206.

Special Damages

The trial court awarded $5,310.19 in special damages. National Car Rental and Gilmore argue that this should be no more than $885 because the trial court allowed only the itemized statement of Dr. Hajmurad (the neurologist) in the amount of $885 into evidence. National Car Rental and Gilmore claim that Ledet did not establish his entitlement to any other medical expenses. However, an examination of the colloquy between the trial court and the attorneys reveals *1240

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
694 So. 2d 1236, 1997 WL 292717, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ledet-v-national-car-rental-system-inc-lactapp-1997.