Menard v. Stroy

210 So. 3d 302, 16 La.App. 3 Cir. 609, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2351
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 21, 2016
Docket16-609
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 210 So. 3d 302 (Menard v. Stroy) 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
Menard v. Stroy, 210 So. 3d 302, 16 La.App. 3 Cir. 609, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2351 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

SAUNDERS, J.

[ iThis personal injury suit arises out of an incident where Plaintiffs wrist was injured by Defendant when Defendant grabbed a sheet of paper from Plaintiffs hand. Plaintiff was subsequently diagnosed with De Quervain’s tendinitis, received treatment, and still suffers from pain. Plaintiff was awarded $3,000.00 in general damages and $3,048.00 in special damages. Plaintiff was denied reimbursement for a 2004 medical bill in the sum of $220.00. Plaintiff appeals the amount of general damages as well as the denial of the 2004 medical bill.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

Jude K. Menard, hereinafter “Plaintiff,” was employed by Lafayette Motors as a service advisor on the day of the incident on August 29, 2003. Dr. John Stroy, hereinafter “Defendant,” arrived at Lafayette Motors the morning of August 29, 2003, and asked Plaintiff for a copy of a repair estimate that had been previously prepared for Defendant’s wife’s vehicle. This estimate was previously rejected by Defendant’s wife.

Plaintiff went to make a copy of the estimate. While he was making a copy, Buddy Delahoussaye, the service and shop manager was speaking to Defendant. Mr. Delahoussaye instructed Plaintiff not to give the copy of the estimate to Defendant. Plaintiff crumpled the estimate to throw it in the trash. Defendant then grabbed the estimate out of Plaintiffs hand and twisted his right wrist in the process. Defendant left the premises with the copy of the estimate.

Plaintiff suffered injuries to his wrist and arm, and he was later diagnosed with De Quervain’s tendinitis by an orthopedic [304]*304surgeon. An expert witness obtained by Defendant also confirmed this diagnosis. On April 10, 2012, several years after the incident, Plaintiff testified that he still suffered pain in his wrist.

| ?,On February 10, 2004, Plaintiff filed an Original Petition for Damages against Defendant alleging that the actions of Defendant were the proximate cause of his injuries, as well as the medical bills incurred in light of the injury. Defendant filed an Answer and a Reconventional Demand on February 26, 2004, which contained allegations that Plaintiff had made defamatory and slanderous public statements against Defendant that caused Defendant to suffer embarrassment, humiliation, and mental anguish. On or about March 23, 2006, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Strike and/or Dismiss the Reconventional Demand, which was granted on February 21, 2008, by virtue of a judgment. Plaintiff then filed a First Supplemental and Amending Petition naming Shelter Mutual Insurance Company, Defendant’s homeowner’s insurer, as an additional defendant in the suit. Shelter Mutual Insurance Company filed an Answer to this petition pleading that, despite issuing a homeowner’s insurance to Defendant, this policy did not provide coverage for the incident that occurred between Plaintiff and Defendant. Shelter Mutual Insurance Company filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on October 1, 2012, which was denied.

A bench trial was held on November 24, 2014. The trial court found in favor of Plaintiff, on the issue of liability against the Defendants, and the court awarded Plaintiff general damages in the amount of $3,000.00. The trial court denied the application of the intentional acts exclusion raised by Shelter Mutual Insurance Company. The trial court also awarded Plaintiff special damages for the medical expenses from August 2003 to November 2003 in the amount of $3,048.00. The trial court denied reimbursement for the March 2004 medical bill in the sum of $220.00.

The Reasons for Ruling were signed on January 20,2015, and a final judgment was entered on April 12, 2016.

| «ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR:

1. The trial court abused its discretion by awarding $3,000.00 in general damages to Plaintiff, as this is an inadequate award given the evidence and facts.
2. The trial court’s determination that Plaintiffs medical treatment on March 9, 2004 did not relate back to the incident and the court’s denial of medical expenses associated with this treatment was an abuse of discretion and/or manifestly erroneous as it is contrary to the evidence and facts.

STANDARD OF REVIEW:

Vast discretion is accorded the trier of fact in fixing general damage awards. La.Civ.Code art. 2324.1; Hollenbeck v. Oceaneering Int., Inc., 96-0377, p. 13 (La.App. 1 Cir. 11/8/96), 685 So.2d 163, writ denied, 97-493 (La. 4/4/97), 692 So.2d 421. This vast discretion is such that an appellate court should rarely disturb an award of general damages. Youn v. Maritime Overseas Corp., 623 So.2d 1257 (La. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1114, 114 S.Ct. 1059, 127 L.Ed.2d 379 (1994). Thus, the role of the appellate court in reviewing general damage awards is not to decide what it considers to be an appropriate award, but rather to review the exercise of discretion by the trier of fact. Id.

“Factual findings of a trial court are reviewed under the manifest error-clearly wrong standard of review,” Thibodeaux v. Comeaux, 11-127, p. 5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/15/11), 69 So.3d 674, 679 (citing Fon-[305]*305tenot v. Patterson Ins., 09-669 (La. 10/20/09), 23 So.3d 259). An appellate court may not disturb a finding of fact unless the record establishes that a factual, reasonable basis does not exist and the finding is clearly wrong or manifestly erroneous. Id.

DISCUSSION OF THE MERITS:

In his first assignment of error, Plaintiff contends the trial court abused its discretion by awarding $3,000.00 in general damages to Plaintiff.

| /‘Vast discretion is accorded the trier of fact in fixing general damage awards.” Stelly v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 11-1144, p. 3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/1/12), 83 So.3d 1225, 1228 (citations omitted).

Reasonable persons frequently disagree about the measure of general damages in a particular case. It is only when the award is, in either direction, beyond that which a reasonable trier of fact could assess for the effects of the particular injury to the particular plaintiff under the particular circumstances that the appellate court should increase or decrease the award.
Id. at 1228 (quoting Youn, 623 So.2d at 1261).

“The initial inquiry, in reviewing an award of general damages, is whether the trier of fact abused its discretion in assessing the amount of damages. Cone v. National Emergency Serv. Inc., 99-0934 (La. 10/29/99), 747 So.2d 1085, 1089; Reck v. Stevens, 373 So.2d 498 (La. 1979).” Id. (quoting Duncan v. Kansas City S. Ry. Co., 00-66 (La. 10/30/00), 773 So.2d 670, 682-83).

Plaintiff testified that Defendant grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and grabbed his wrist and hand with both of his hands and twisted Plaintiffs wrist until he let go of the car repair estimate. Several witnesses were called, and their versions differed; one witness claimed Defendant grabbed Plaintiffs hand causing him to turn, and another testified that Defendant tried to grab the estimate from behind Plaintiff. Defendant himself testified that he was just standing close to Plaintiff and did not have any physical contact with him.

Plaintiff testified that he began to feel sharp pains in his wrist the day of the incident.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
210 So. 3d 302, 16 La.App. 3 Cir. 609, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/menard-v-stroy-lactapp-2016.