Lewis v. Jones

96 So. 3d 559, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1117, 2012 WL 1868233, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 697
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided May 22, 2012·No. No. 11-CA-1117·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, Judge.

12Sharon Lewis filed this negligence action against her father, Clifton Jones, and his homeowner’s insurer, Allstate Insurance Company, after she sustained a fall in Mr. Jones’ home. Following a jury trial, judgment was rendered partially in favor of defendants, and plaintiff now appeals on the basis of several assignments of error. We affirm.

In her petition, Sharon Lewis alleged that on March 7, 2006, she was a visitor to her father’s home in Marrero, Louisiana. While walking on the floor of the dining room, she stepped onto a worn or soft spot and the floor buckled and collapsed, causing her foot to go through the flooring. Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Jones lived in the home for over 50 years and was aware or should have been aware of soft spots in the flooring, yet failed to repair them or warn Mrs. Lewis of their existence. Plaintiff further alleges that Mr. Jones is liable for the defective condition and ruin of the flooring, and that the home was insured by Allstate, who was liable in solido with Mr. Jones.

Defendants answered the petition and requested a jury trial. Prior to trial, defendants filed a Motion in Limine seeking to have the recorded statement of | sClifton Jones read to the jury and placed into evidence, as Mr. Jones is now deceased. Plaintiff opposed this motion on the basis that defendants failed to produce Mr. Jones for a deposition on at least two occasions in 2007 upon the request of plaintiff. Further, plaintiff argued that the statement was unreliable as two investigators took two separate statements and asked leading questions to avoid answers which were against Allstate’s interest. The trial court granted the motion, allowing the parties to introduce the recorded statements of Clifton Jones.

On August 5, 2010, the morning of trial, plaintiff dismissed her claims against Clifton Jones and the Estate of Clifton Jones, reserving her rights against Allstate as the homeowner’s liability insurer of Mr. Jones on the date of this accident.

At trial, plaintiff testified that following an evacuation due to Hurricane Katrina, she was living in Houston in 2006. On March 7, 2006, plaintiff went to visit her father at his home in Marrero. The last time she had visited her father was Christmas 2005. As soon as she arrived at the house in 2006, she hugged her father and then proceeded across the floor to plug in her cell phone. At this point, the floor collapsed and she fell through the floor. She stated she was aware the house was undergoing repairs, but she was not aware of the condition of the floor. She was also not sure at the time whether her father knew of the floor’s condition. However, she testified she later learned that there was another hole in the floor which occurred when her sister and niece removed the carpeting from the floor, and that her father should have known the floor was rotten.

Plaintiff also testified that she sought treatment for her injuries when she re[562] turned to Houston. She stated that before the accident, she was very active, including visiting with her children and grandchildren, singing, cooking, sewing, beading, fixing hair and travelling for church. However, after the accident, she is |4no longer able to do these activities because of the pain and pressure from standing or sitting for long periods.

Plaintiff also presented the testimony of Latoya Joseph, Mr. Jones’ granddaughter and plaintiffs niece. Ms. Joseph testified that in 2006, she visited with Mr. Jones at his home several times and during this time she assisted in pulling up carpet from the dining room floor. She stated she noticed that the floor was “rotten” in several spots. Ms. Joseph testified that her grandfather was aware of the condition of the floor. Ms. Joseph also testified that prior to this accident, Mrs. Lewis loved to travel and cook, and kept her house in good condition. She noticed that following this accident, Mrs. Lewis was unable to complete daily activities, including cooking and cleaning, because of the pain from her injuries.

Plaintiff also presented the testimony of Lana Thompson, plaintiffs sister and Mr. Jones’ daughter. Ms. Thompson lived with Mr. Jones in his home prior to his death. Ms. Thompson stated that Mr. Jones made a claim with Allstate for the damage to his home following Hurricane Katrina, and that she was present when the adjuster came to the home. She also stated that she observed her sister and her niece remove the carpet from the dining room floor and that she saw that the floor was old and damaged. The removal of the carpet resulted in a hole in the floor and Ms. Thompson placed a box over the hole to prevent anything from coming into the house through the floor. Ms. Thompson stated that Mr. Jones was aware of this hole.

However, Ms. Thompson stated that Mrs. Lewis fell through a different part of the floor in a nearby area of the same room. Ms. Thompson also testified that before her injuries, Mrs. Lewis loved to cook, clean and travel, but that she is no longer able to do these things because of the pain from the injuries.

| ¡¿Plaintiff also presented medical evidence, including her hospital and physicians’ records, as well as the video deposition of Dr. Hong Nguyen and Dr. Matthew Grimm.

Following the presentation of plaintiffs case, defendant played for the jury the audiotaped statement of Clifton Jones, which was taken by an Allstate adjuster on March 22, 2006, approximately 2 weeks after the accident. In the recording, Mr. Jones stated the floor in his home had been damaged following Hurricane Katrina, and that when his daughter came to visit, he did not know the floor was rotten and did not know to warn her about the condition.

Following trial, the jury found Mr. Jones to be negligent, which they found to be a proximate cause of his daughter’s injuries. His fault was set at 50%. The jury also found that plaintiffs own negligence was a proximate cause of her injuries, and her fault was also set at 50%. Plaintiff was awarded $40,000.00 in general damages and $7,500.00 in medical expenses. Mrs. Lewis responded to this verdict with a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV), Motion for New Trial and Motion for Additur. These motions were denied by the trial court on February 17, 2011, and it is from this judgment that plaintiff now appeals.

Admissibility of the Statement

By her first assignment of error, plaintiff argues that the trial court abused its discretion by permitting defendant to [563] read the second statement of Clifton Jones to the jury. Plaintiff argues that the second statement is suspect as it was different from an earlier statement taken by another Allstate investigator, and it appears Mr. Jones was coached by the investigator. Plaintiff further argues that because defendants failed to present Mr. Jones for a deposition prior to trial, the statement cannot be used as evidence.

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Lewis v. Jones, 96 So. 3d 559, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1117, 2012 WL 1868233, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 697 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

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