Martin v. Barnes

760 So. 2d 532, 2000 WL 485572
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 25, 2000
DocketNos. 99-CA-1358, 99-CA-1359
StatusPublished

This text of 760 So. 2d 532 (Martin v. Barnes) 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
Martin v. Barnes, 760 So. 2d 532, 2000 WL 485572 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

UCHEHAEDY, Judge.

In this Consolidated personal injury action, after a bench trial on the issue of liability only, the trial court found no liability on the part of defendants/appellees. For the following reasons, we affirm.

On January 3, 1993, at approximately 9:00 p.m., defendant/appellee, Deputy Vincent Baiamonte, while in the course and scope of his employment as a patrol officer with defendani/appellee, the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, was responding as a backup unit to a report of a “fight with a gun” in the Bunche Village area of Jefferson Parish. While Baianionte drove west on Airline Highway, above the posted speed limit with his overhead lights and siren activated, an officer on the scene reported the situation as being under control. Deputy Baiamonte decided to continue to the scene, turned off his overhead lights and siren and began to decelerate.

As Deputy Baiamonte approached the intersection of North Howard and Airline Highway, a vehicle being driven east on Airline Highway by defendant, Tony Barnes, and in which plaintiffs Kareem Martin, Daniel Martin and Harold Williams were passengers, 1¡¡attempted to execute a u-turn, turning left into Baiam-onte’s path. A collision ensued in 'which Kareem Martin was killed and Daniel Martin and Harold Williams sustained injuries.

Separate lawsuits were filed by Harold Williams and the Martins against, filter alia, Tony Barnes, Deputy Baiamonte and the Sheriffs Office. The two lawsuits were consolidated and proceeded to a bench trial on February 22-23, 1999, against Baiamonte and the Sheriffs Office only. Further, the trial was limited to the issue of liability only.

At the conclusion of trial, after hearing all of the testimony and reviewing all' of the evidence submitted, the trial court ruled that the sole, proximate cause of the accident was the negligence of Tony Barnes. On March 29, 1999, the trial court rendered a formal, written judgment, finding no negligence on the part of Deputy Baiamonte or the Sheriffs Office, and dismissing plaintiffs’ claims against them with prejudice. Both Williams and the Martins have appealed, asserting that the trial court was manifestly erroneous in its failure to find Deputy Baiamonte and the Sheriffs Office partially at fault. After a thorough review of the record before us, we.find that the trial court was not manifestly erroneous in failing to assign fault to Deputy Baiamonte and the Sheriffs Office.

At trial, Deputy Baiamonte testified that the report of the fight with a gun in Bunche Village was dispatched as a “Code 2,” a priority call which, pursuant to the Sheriffs Office policy, allows an officer to exceed posted speed limits and disregard traffic signals, if the conditions make it safe to do so. Deputy Baiamonte further testified that once the officer on the scene reported a “Code 4” (situation under control), Baiamonte decided to continue to the scene in case his assistance would become needed. As it was no longer a priority call, Baiamonte turned off his flashing lights and siren and began to decelerate. Deputy Baiamonte testified that he was trained that it was permissible to “downgrade” from a Code 2 to. a Code 4 by first turning off his overhead lights and siren and then decelerating to the posted speed limit.

RDeputy Baiamonte testified that as he was decelerating and continuing west on Airline Highway, the traffic. around him was light as he approached Airline Highway’s intersection with North Howard. Airline Highway and North Howard meet at a “T” intersection controlled by a traffic signal, which was showing a green fight for traffic westbound on Airline Highway.

Baiamonte testified that he was in the left lane of travel as he approached North Howard, but when he saw the plaintiffs’ vehicle turning in front of him, he braked hard and veered to the right in an attempt to avoid' the accident. While he could not' say how fast he was traveling when he saw the plaintiffs’ vehicle turn-in [534]*534front of him, Deputy Baiamonte admitted that he was traveling in excess of the forty-five mile per hour posted speed limit on Airline Highway.

At trial, two witnesses were qualified as experts in the field of accident reconstruction, one for the plaintiffs and one for the defendants. Their testimony was in direct conflict with regards to whether the speed of Deputy Baiamonte’s vehicle had anything to do with the accident. The plaintiffs’ expert, Michael Sunseri, testified that he calculated Deputy Baiamonte’s pre-braking speed to be approximately sixty-five miles per hour. Mr. Sunseri further testified that had Deputy Baiamonte been traveling at the posted speed limit, he would have had an adequate amount of time to stop prior to the collision. However, the defendants’ expert, Andrew Ram-isch, testified that he calculated Deputy Baiamonte’s pre-braking speed to be between forty-eight and fifty-six miles per hour. Mr. Ramisch further testified that Deputy Baiamonte could not have stopped in time, even if he were traveling forty-five miles per hour.

The defendants also called Richard Turner at trial, who was qualified as an expert in the field of police procedures and standard operating procedures of police departments. Mr. Turner testified that “downgrading” from an emergency call to a non-emergency call by first turning off overhead lights and siren and then decelerating to a posted speed limit when traffic conditions are light is a policy used by law enforcement agencies throughout |Bthe country. Mr. Turner further testified that after hearing the prior testimony of the parties at trial and reviewing all of the pertinent facts of the case, his opinion was that Deputy Baiamonte acted in accordance with not only the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office’s standard operating procedure, but also in accordance with the national standards.

As noted, at the conclusion of trial, the court ruled in favor of Deputy Baiamonte and the Sheriffs Office, and issued the following oral reasons for its determination:

The Court finds that the actions of Deputy Baiamonte were reasonable under the totality of the circumstances and he did not breach a duty which was owed to the plaintiffs.... In this particular instance, the Court finds that the actions of Deputy Baiamonte were in keeping with the accepted policies and procedures of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office and that these policies and procedures do not present, and did not present in 1993, an unreasonable risk of harm to the public.
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The cause in fact of this accident was the negligence of Tony Barnes in making a left turn when it was clearly not safe to do so.... The speed, the Court believes, did not play a part in this accident, but rather it was the actions of Tony Barnes in taking or making a left turn, again, when it was not safe to do so.
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In this instance Mr. Barnes testified that he did not see a vehicle coming and then as it was about to hit him, he saw it. There is no discernable reason why he should not have seen what was there and obvious and he is charged with the responsibility of having seen that which he should have seen.
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Under the overall circumstances of this matter, the Court finds that there is no liability on the part of Deputy Baiam-onte and/or the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office. That the responsibility for this accident, the sole cause in fact of the accident was the negligence of Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
760 So. 2d 532, 2000 WL 485572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-barnes-lactapp-2000.