Perry v. Reliance Insurance Co. of Philadelphia

157 So. 2d 903
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 12, 1963
Docket5944
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 157 So. 2d 903 (Perry v. Reliance Insurance Co. of Philadelphia) 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
Perry v. Reliance Insurance Co. of Philadelphia, 157 So. 2d 903 (La. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

157 So.2d 903 (1963)

G. C. PERRY and Charlotte Ann Dennis Perry
v.
RELIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA.

No. 5944.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 12, 1963.

*904 Marcel & Wiemann, by Daniel C. Wiemann, Houma, for appellant.

Montgomery, Barnett, Brown & Read, by Peter H. Beer, New Orleans, for appellee.

Before ELLIS, LOTTINGER, HERGET, LANDRY and REID, JJ.

LANDRY, Judge.

Plaintiffs herein, G. C. and Charlotte Ann Dennis Perry, parents of an infant daughter, Lona Rhea Perry, instituted this tort action seeking damages for the reputed wrongful death of their said child allegedly resulting from the negligence of Mrs. Ethel Lockwood Begley, insured of defendant, Reliance Insurance Company of Philadelphia (sometimes hereinafter referred to simply as "Reliance" or "Insurer"). Sole defendant herein is Reliance who was proceeded against directly as authorized by statute. In the court below defendant moved for summary judgment which motion was granted by the trial court and judgment rendered dismissing plaintiff's demands. Plaintiffs have taken this appeal.

The sole issue presented by this appeal is the propriety of the trial court's judgment dismissing plaintiffs' complaint upon defendant's motion for summary judgment or, stated otherwise, is the present matter an instance in which summary judgment procedure may properly be invoked?

For reasons which will hereinafter become manifest, we set forth in full the pertinent portions of plaintiffs' petition which reads as follows:

"3.
"That on May 18th, 1962, plaintiff, Charlotte Ann Dennis Perry together with her minor child, Lona Rhea Perry, visited with Mrs. Ethel Lockwood Begley, at the residence of Kenneth E. Begley and Mrs. Ethel Lockwood Begley, 302 Edith St., Houma, Louisiana.
"4.
"That at Mrs. Ethel Lockwood Begley (sic), Mrs. Charlotte Ann Dennis Perry placed her infant daughter on a bed in the bedroom of the Begley home and both proceeded into another room of the house after first Mrs. Perry ascertaining that the child was safe and secure.
*905 "5.
"That very shortly after the infant had been placed on the bed in the bedroom of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Begley, Mrs. Perry went back into the bedroom to see her infant daughter and found a piece of plastic over the face of the child, blood flowing from the mouth and nose of the child and the child was dead.
"6.
"That the sole and proximate cause of the injuries and death of your petitioners' minor daughter Lona Rhea Perry were (sic) the following negligent acts of commission or omission by Kenneth E. Begley and Ethel Lockwood Begley at their residence at 302 Edith St., Houma, Louisiana, in the following respects, to-wit:
"1. Failure to provide a reasonable (sic) safe place on their premises for invited guests, particularly Lona Rhea Perry.
"2. In knowingly having inheritingly (sic) dangerous materials in places or positions where it or they can cause injury, damage or death to an invited guest.
"3. Generally, negligent conduct, such a (sic) reasonable or prudent person or persons would be aware of because of the publicity accorded the dangerous nature of the plastic (polythene) (sic) material."

The entire record compiled in the trial court consists of plaintiffs' petition, defendant's motion for summary judgment, a rule to show cause fixing the date and time for a hearing on appellee's motion for summary judgment and the judgment of the trial court sustaining defendant's said motion and dismissing appellants' petition. No supporting, or opposing, affidavits and no depositions or admissions were filed on behalf of either appellants or appellee. Under such circumstances the allegations of plaintiffs' petition must be accepted as true. Wilkinson v. Husser, La.App., 154 So.2d 490; Lee v. City of Baton Rouge, 243 La. 850, 147 So.2d 868.

In essence appellants contend the trial court erroneously considered appellee's motion for summary judgment as an exception of no cause of action and an exception of vagueness. Our careful consideration of the record and applicable statutory provisions, convinces us appellants' position is well taken.

In his written reasons for judgment appearing in the record, our esteemed brother below considered the allegations of appellants' petition and, after observing that certain allegations which he deemed essential were lacking therein, stated as follows:

"The Court is of the opinion that the pleadings fail to state any negligence against the Begleys, and fail to state a cause of action. The Court is of the opinion that all of the pleadings in this case indicate and state quite clearly that Mrs. Perry personally placed her child on the bed, and moments thereafter found her child dead. There is not the slightest reason to believe that the physical condition of the bed changed from the time Mrs. Perry placed the child on it until a few moments later when she found the child dead.
"The conclusion necessarily is that if a dangerous condition did exist, that it existed there when Mrs. Perry placed the child on the bed, and as unfortunate as this tragedy is, that does not create a case against the defendant."

From the foregoing it appears abundantly clear our learned brother below treated appellee's motion for summary judgment as an exception of no cause of action and in doing so committed error.

The reasons for distinguishing between the motion for summary judgment and the exception of no cause of action were well *906 stated by our brothers of the Fourth Circuit in the recent case of B-W Acceptance Corporation v. Clarkson, La.App., 154 So. 2d 67, from which we approvingly quote the following:

"Thus it is quite clear that the motion for summary judgment is based on an alleged absence of material and necessary allegations in the third party petition. Under these circumstances we are of the opinion that the motion should have been denied. A motion for summary judgment based on an insufficiency of allegations cannot be used as a substitute for an exception of vagueness or of no cause of action.
"Summary judgment is a more serious matter than a judgment sustaining either of the two exceptions. In connection with those exceptions an amendment to the petition or other action by the plaintiff must be permitted when the grounds of the objection may be removed by amendment (LSA-C.C.P. Arts. 933 and 934). The exception of vagueness merely retards the progress of, and does not tend to defeat, the action (LSA-C.C.P. Art. 923) and a judgment maintaining an exception of no cause of action based on an insufficiency of allegations cannot form the basis of a plea of res judicata (LSA-C.C.P. Art. 934; Federal Ins. Co., v. T. L. James & Co., La.App., 69 So.2d 636; Pannagl v. Stouder, La. App., 34 So.2d 344). On the other hand, * * * under LSA-C.C.P. Art. 968 a summary judgment is a final judgment, the effect of which is the same `* * * as if a trial had been had upon evidence regularly adduced.'"

It is now established jurisprudence that the primary purpose of the summary judgment procedure is to minimize and discourage the judicial urging of well pleaded but frivolous claims. Kay v. Carter, 243 La. 1095, 150 So.2d 27.

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Bluebook (online)
157 So. 2d 903, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perry-v-reliance-insurance-co-of-philadelphia-lactapp-1963.