Morella v. Board of Commissioners

988 So. 2d 266, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 0864, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 706, 2008 WL 2080749
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 14, 2008
DocketNo. 2007-CA-0864
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 988 So. 2d 266 (Morella v. Board of Commissioners) 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
Morella v. Board of Commissioners, 988 So. 2d 266, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 0864, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 706, 2008 WL 2080749 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

Chief Judge JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG.

LThe defendant-appellant, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (hereinafter “Dock Board”), appeals a personal injury judgment signed on February 28, 2007, in favor the plaintiffs-appellees, John Morelia and his wife, Jewel Morelia, condemning the Dock Board to pay $2,600,000.00 to John Morelia for damages arising out of his injuries, and $50,000 to his wife, Jewel, for loss of consortium. Third-party defendant-appellee, P & O Ports of Louisiana (hereinafter “P & O”), Mr. Morella’s employer1, was awarded $413,033.90 in satisfaction of its worker’s compensation claim. By amended judgment dated March 23, 2007, it was specified that the amount awarded to P & O is to be taken from the $2,600,000.00 awarded to John Morelia.2

John Morelia filed suit against the Dock Board for injuries sustained by him on July 6, 2001, while operating a large lift truck known as a “top-loader” in an open area of the France Road Terminal known as the “marshalling yard.” These | ^premises were leased by his employer, P & O, from the Dock Board. While backing the top-loader, which was owned or leased by P & O (this is not an issue), the plaintiff drove it into a pothole causing the top-loader to lurch, shake, and jolt, resulting in injury to Mr. Morelia.

The thrust of the plaintiffs suit against the Dock Board is that there would have been no pothole had the Dock Board not failed in its duty to maintain and pave the marshalling yard. The Dock Board filed a third-party demand against P & O contending that under the lease with P & O the duty to prevent the pothole was P & O’s responsibility. Therefore, for purposes of this appeal, P & O’s interests are basically aligned with those of the plaintiffs regarding the allocation of fault.

At the outset we note the following uncontested facts:

1. Mr. Morelia was injured.
[268]*2682. Mr. Morelia was not negligent in any way that contributed to the accident.
3. Mr. Morelia sustained special damages listed in the written reasons for judgment consisting of past lost wages — $385,039.00; past medical expenses — $113,947.35; future surgery costs of $235,000.00 totaling $733,986.35, listed in the written reasons for judgment are contested.
4. Mrs. Morelia has a valid claim for loss of consortium in the amount of $50,000.00.
5. Under La. R.S. 13:5106 B(l) there is a $500,000.00 cap on the amount of general damages that may be assessed against the Dock Board, which sum includes the amount awarded to Mrs. Morelia for loss of consortium.
|36. Any amounts awarded to Mr. Morel-la for future medical expenses are required by La. R.S. 13:5106 to be placed in a reversionary trust.
7. The trial court judgment should be amended to allow post-judgment interest at the prevailing rate pursuant to La. R.S. 13:5112 C. This is the only relief asked for by the plaintiffs in their answer to the appeal.

The following matters are contested in this appeal:

1. Did P & O as Mr. Morelia’s employer have a duty to provide him a safe place in which to work, and if so, how does that duty relate to the pothole?
2. Who was responsible for the pothole, under the lease between P & O and the Dock Board?
3. Can the Dock Board contractually shift responsibility for the pothole to P & O pursuant to La. R.S. 9:3221 even where the Dock Board was aware of the condition of the yard?
4. If we find that the Dock Board is responsible for the pothole, and that P & O breached its duty to provide Mr. Morelia a safe place in which to work, was the trial court manifestly erroneous in assigning all fault to the Dock Board.
5. Where the judgment and reasons for judgment are silent, should the entire $1,866,013.65 balance of the $2,600,000.00 awarded to the plaintiff, after deducting the $733,986.35 designated in the reasons for judgment as special damages, be considered to be general damages.
|46. Can this Court award the plaintiffs more than was awarded by the trial court when the only issue raised in their answer to the appeal concerned legal interest?

However, the crux of the case consists of these two questions:

1. Did the trial court err in assigning all fault to the Dock Board and none to P & O?
2. Where the judgment and reasons for judgment are silent, should the entire $1,866,013.65 balance of the $2,600,000.00 awarded to the plaintiff, after deducting the $733,986.35 designated in the reasons for judgment as special damages, be considered to be general damages?

The main thrust of the Dock Board’s appeal is that, at most, it should have been found only partially at fault, if at all, because P & O violated its duty to provide its employee, John Morelia, a safe place in which to work as required by La. R.S. 23:13 and OSHA, 29 U.S.C. § 654. The thrust of P & O’s counter argument is not that the Dock Board is liable for breach of a duty to provide Mr. Morelia a safe place in which to work. Rather, it is that the [269]*269Dock Board breached its legal duty as owner of the property for its failure to remedy known defects and that the Dock Board breached its duty under the lease to maintain the premises, specifically regarding the Dock Board’s obligation to remedy defects arising from subsidence and the Dock Board’s obligation to pave the area where the accident occurred within three years of the inception of the lease.

Paragraph 12(B) of the lease requires the Dock Board to “design and have constructed improvements” including the “paving or resurfacing” of the area in | fiwhich the accident occurred. The lease allowed the Dock Board thirty-six months in which to “complete these improvements” (i.e., until November 10, 2001) and the terms of the lease specifically relieved P & O of any obligation to contribute anything towards the cost of such improvements.

Paragraph 19(B) requires of the Dock Board to perform and pay all costs of maintenance and repair of “structural» defect of the improvements on the Leased Premises, including any subsurface settlements not caused by acts, omissions or negligence of Lessee.”

Paragraph 19(A)(ii) authorizes the Dock Board to “perform or have independent contractors perform ... all at Lessee’s cost risk and expense,” any maintenance or repairs that P & O is required but fails to perform under the lease.

The lease commenced on November 10, 19983. Therefore, the lease required the Dock Board to complete its repaving no later than November 10, 2001, thirty-six months later. The Dock Board contends that in the interim potholes were the responsibility of P & O. We find that the trial court was reasonable in looking at the lease in conjunction with the actions of the parties following the confection of the lease* and finding that the lease placed the responsibility for subsidence caused potholes on the Dock Board.

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Bluebook (online)
988 So. 2d 266, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 0864, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 706, 2008 WL 2080749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morella-v-board-of-commissioners-lactapp-2008.