Home/Louisiana Court of Appeal/Lopitz v. Louisiana Department of Highways

Lopitz v. Louisiana Department of Highways

268 So. 2d 269, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 6079
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 17, 1972
DocketNo. 5072
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 268 So. 2d 269 (Lopitz v. Louisiana Department of Highways) 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
Lopitz v. Louisiana Department of Highways, 268 So. 2d 269, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 6079 (La. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

LEMMON, Judge.

This is a suit by Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Lopitz to recover damages for personal injuries incurred by them and their minor son, Nicholas, Jr., and for the wrongful death of their minor son, Beau. The accident occurred when Lopitz’s car plunged into Bayou Willow in Jefferson Parish. After a trial on the merits, the district court found the Louisiana Department of Highways negligent in failing to adequately warn motorists of the dangerous condition created by the termination of Louisiana Highway No. 301 in close proximity to the bayou and rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.1 The Department appealed suspensively, and plaintiffs answered the appeal, seeking an increase in the awards.

In this court the Department admits its duty to warn motorists traveling the highway of the unquestionably dangerous condition. However, the Department contends it discharged this duty by erecting and maintaining proper and adequate warning signs and by periodically inspecting them. The Department further contends that if these signs were not in place at the time of the accident, it had received no notice of their absence. Alternatively, the Department contends plaintiffs were contributorily negligent.

The accident occurred at about 9:00 P. M. on March 19, 1967 at the point where Highway No. 301 terminates near Lafitte. Lopitz, his wife, two of his sons and a granddaughter were enjoying a Sunday afternoon drive and decided to visit their neighbors, who were spending the weekend at a camp in the Lafitte area. They arrived about 3:00 P.M. and enjoyed an afternoon of fishing and crabbing. After darkness set in, the Lopitz family began their return trip home. As Lopitz, who had never been in the area before, drove along the two lane, hard surfaced road, suddenly and without warning the road ended, and the car plunged into the bayou.

The following photographs, introduced by - the Department, show the termination of the road and the proximity of the bayou'.

[271]*271

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

McCoy v. Franklin Parish Police Jury
414 So. 2d 1369 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1982)
Ogaard v. Wiley
325 So. 2d 642 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1975)
McMullan v. Travelers Insurance Co.
311 So. 2d 902 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1975)
Bascle v. Champagne
303 So. 2d 848 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1974)
Addison v. Travelers Insurance Company
281 So. 2d 805 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1973)
Wright v. Romano
279 So. 2d 735 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
268 So. 2d 269, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 6079, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lopitz-v-louisiana-department-of-highways-lactapp-1972.