Moore v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc.

186 So. 3d 135, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 2650, 2015 WL 9435842
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 23, 2015
DocketNo. 2015 CA 0096
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 186 So. 3d 135 (Moore v. Murphy Oil USA, 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
Moore v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., 186 So. 3d 135, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 2650, 2015 WL 9435842 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

DRAKE, J.

lain this appeal, we examine whether a gas station convenience store breached any legal duty owed to a patron, who, upon exiting the store, tripped and stumbled over a protruding edge of a merchandise pallet displaying bottled water.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Factual Background

The facts of this case are not in dispute. On November 28, 2011, the plaintif^appel-[140]*140lee, Henry Moore, Jr., drove his vehicle to a gas station and convenience store in Hammond, Louisiana, owned by the defendant/appellant, Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (Murphy Oil). Moore parked his vehicle by the gas pumps and entered the store. After making his purchases, he walked to the door to exit. As he was reaching for the door to open it, Moore turned back and spoke to the manager of the store. The exit door was a single glass door that opened outward, from right to left. Upon exiting the store, Moore’s right foot made contact with a black pallet containing a large merchandise display of bottled water located outside of the door. Moore’s contact with the pallet caused him to trip and stumble, though he did not fall. The display consisted of a two-step bench made of hard plastic. The bottom tier held two-gallon water jugs with red labels. The top tier held twenty-count cases of half-liter water bottles with blue labels that were stacked two cases high. The display stand measured roughly three feet long;' each tier was approximately one foot high. When it was stacked with the water, the display was roughly even with- the door handle used to enter and exit the store. On the night of the incident, some of the gallon jugs on the bottom tier were missing, exposing the black, plastic corner of the display. The corner of the pallet protruded several inches over a yellow line which ran perpendicular to the doorframe outward toward the parking area.

IsMoore reported the incident to the manager then on duty at Murphy Oil. Following the incident, Moore suffered back pain, for which he received treatment. Murphy Oil paid for Moore’s medical treatment for a period of approximately four months. Moore filed the instant suit when the defendants discontinued payment for his medical treatment.

Action in the Trial Court

On October 18, 2012, Moore filed suit against Murphy Oil and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Liberty Mutual), Murphy Oil’s insurer, alleging that the water display pallet created an unreasonably dangerous condition.1 The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on August 9, 2013, seeking dismissal of all Moore’s claims against them. The trial court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on November 18, 2013.' The defendants applied for supervisory writs to the First Circuit Court of Appeal following the denial of their motion for summary judgment, seeking to reverse the trial court’s ruling. This court denied the defendants’ writ. Moore v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., 2013-2051 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2/27/14) (unpublished), writ denied, 2014-0598 (La.4/25/14), 138 So.3d 1232.

The matter proceeded to a bench trial on liability and damages on June 25, 2014. Prior to trial, Moore stipulated that his damages did not exceed $50,000.00, exclusive of legal interest and court costs. Moore also moved to the strike the jury in this matter, which the trial court granted on March 31, 2014. Following the presentation of Moore’s case at trial, the defendants moved for a directed verdict on liability, which the trial court denied.2

[4At the conclusion of trial, the trial court took the matter under advisement. On August 27, 2014, the trial court issued reasons for judgment, finding that the water display pallet encroached on the walk[141]*141way outside of the Murphy Oil store, creating an unreasonably dangerous condition, but that any recovery by Moore was to be reduced by his percentage of fault, which the trial court found - to be twenty-five (25%) ■ percent. The trial court' granted judgment in favor of Moore, in the amount of $37,500.00. A written judgment to this effect was signed on October 1,2014.

Action on Appeal

On September 25, 2014, Murphy Oil and Liberty Mutual filed a motion for suspensive appeal from the district court’s August 27, 2014 reasons for judgment. By order dated October. 1, 2014, the district court granted the appeal, setting a return date of “45 days after costs are paid.” Murphy Oil and Liberty' Mutual then lodged an appeal with this Court.3

By order dated February 12, 2015, this court éx proprio motu issued a show cause order on the basis that the October 1, 2014 written judgment at issue appears to lack sufficient decretal language in that it fails to identify against whom the judgment was issued. On July 17, 2015, this court entered an interim order and remanded the case to the trial court for the limited purpose of revising the October 1, 2014 judgment to include proper decretal language, specifying against which defendant or defendants said judgment was rendered. This court entered an order maintaining the appeal, but referred a final determination as to the whether the | ^appeal was to be maintained to the merits panel by order dated September 14,2015.

The -defendants also filed a motion to supplement the record on appeal on February 20, 2015. On July 17, 2015, this court referred that motion to the merits panel. ■ «'

PENDING MOTIONS

Decretal Language of Final Judgment

As discussed above, this court ex proprio motu issued a show cause order on the basis that the October 1, 2014 written judgment at issue appears ■ to lack sufficient decretal language in that it fails to identify against whom’- the judgment was issued. The parties were ordered to file briefs on or before February 27, 2015. The 'defendants timely filed their brief in support :of maintaining the appeal on February 27,-2015. Moore filed his brief in support1 ■ of ■ maintaining the' appeal on March 3,2015, fóur days late.

The October 1, 2014 judgment that is the subject of the instant'appeal states, in pertinent part:

IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that there be judgment in favor the plaintiff, Henry Moore, Jr., in the amount of $37,500.00, with interest from date of judicial demand.

There are two named defendants in this case — Murphy Oil and Liberty Mutual.. The issue before us.is whether the judgment, which fails to identify against whom said judgment was issued, contains sufficient decretal language

A final judgment must contain decretal language, Conley v. Plantation Mgmt. Co., L.L.C., 2012-1510 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/6/13), 117 So.3d 542, 546-47, writ denied, 2013-1300 (La.9/20/13), 123 So.3d [142]*142178. Generally, it must name the party in favor of whom the ruling is ordered, the party against whom the ruling is ordered, and the relief that is granted or denied. Conley, 117 So.3d at 547. The ^specific relief granted should be determinable from the judgment without reference to an extrinsic source such as pleadings or reasons for judgment. Conley, 117 So.3d at 547. The failure to name the defendant or defendants against whom the judgment is rendered in a ease with multiple defendants makes the judgment fatally defective because one cannot discern from its face against whom it may be enforced. Conley,

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

Related

Koonce v. Boyd Racing L L C
W.D. Louisiana, 2025
Gipson v. Kroger Co
W.D. Louisiana, 2023
Molero v. Ross Stores
Fifth Circuit, 2021
Primeaux v. Best W. Plus Houma Inn
274 So. 3d 20 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
Shannon v. Vannoy
251 So. 3d 442 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
Williams v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
217 So. 3d 421 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
Bice v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.
210 So. 3d 315 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Lavergne v. BJ's Restaurants, Inc.
208 So. 3d 918 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Willig v. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.
202 So. 3d 1169 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Massery v. Rouse's Enterprises, L.L.C.
196 So. 3d 757 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
186 So. 3d 135, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 2650, 2015 WL 9435842, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-murphy-oil-usa-inc-lactapp-2015.