Pfefferle v. Haynes Best Western of Alexandria

38 So. 3d 1189, 9 La.App. 3 Cir. 999, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 865, 2010 WL 2178507
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 2, 2010
Docket09-999
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 38 So. 3d 1189 (Pfefferle v. Haynes Best Western of Alexandria) 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
Pfefferle v. Haynes Best Western of Alexandria, 38 So. 3d 1189, 9 La.App. 3 Cir. 999, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 865, 2010 WL 2178507 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

PAINTER, Judge.

| plaintiffs, Kathleen C. Pfefferle and Troy Pfefferle, appeal a judgment, based on a jury verdict, awarding special damages to Mrs. Pfefferle but no general damages. Plaintiffs further assert that the jury erred in its allocation of fault and in its failure to award any damages for loss of consortium to Mr. Pfefferle and their minor children. We agree that the jury-abused its discretion in awarding no general damages and that it committed manifest error in its allocation of fault. We, therefore, amend the judgment to re-allocate fault and to award general damages to Mrs. Pfefferle.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs checked into the Haynes Best Western in Alexandria, Louisiana, around 2:00 a.m. on January 16, 2006. Mr. Pfef-ferle was traveling to Alexandria for business and was accompanied by his wife, Kathleen, and three of their five minor children, because they intended to make a vacation of the return trip to their home in Wisconsin. Mrs. Pfefferle contends that she injured herself when she fell through the sleeper sofa after kneeling on the corner of it. Mr. Pfefferle had pulled out the sleeper sofa for his two daughters and had then gone to the car to retrieve their luggage. When he returned to the room, in order to allow him access to cross the room, Mrs. Pfefferle knelt on the corner of the sleeper sofa and, as she did, the mattress collapsed, causing her to fall to the floor and injure herself. The Pfefferles did not notify hotel personnel of the problem until they were checking out of the hotel. They continued on their intended [1192]*1192trip. However, Mrs. Pfefferle contends that her condition deteriorated on the trip. She alleges that she sustained a disc herniation, neck pain, and headaches. Once she arrived home in Wisconsin, she visited her family doctor, who referred her to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Theresa Chang. Mrs. Pfef-ferle ultimately underwent a lumbar hemi-laminectomy, total facetectomy, and partial foraminectomy.

Plaintiffs filed suit against Haynes Best Western and alleged that the hotel was “negligent for knowingly leaving faulty equipment in the room and for failing to inform plaintiffs that the sleeper-sofa was not equipped with the proper springs and supports[,] and it was therefore unsafe and should not have been used.” The matter 12proceeded to trial by jury, and the jury rendered a verdict in favor of Plaintiffs, allocating forty-five percent of the fault to Haynes Best Western, ten percent to Mrs. Pfefferle, and forty-five percent to “[a]ny other person of [sic] entity.” The jury awarded past medical expenses in the amount of $15,000.00 to Mrs. Pfefferle but declined to award any amount for future medical expenses, pain and suffering, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, or any loss of consortium on the part of Mr. Pfef-ferle or any of the children. Plaintiffs filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and/or a motion for new trial, both of which were denied by the trial court. This appeal by Plaintiffs followed. Haynes Best Western answered the appeal, seeking to be absolved of any liability and seeking a reversal of the award of medical expenses.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs assert that the jury erred in three respects: (1) in apportioning fault to Mrs. Pfefferle and/or a third party; (2) in awarding special damages, yet no general damages; and (8) in failing to award any damages for injuries sustained by Chassen Pfefferle, the minor child of the Pfefferles, whom Mrs. Pfefferle was holding at the time of the fall, or to her husband and other children. In its answer to appeal, Defendant asserts that the jury erred in allocating any fault to it and in awarding medical expenses to Mrs. Pfefferle.

Allocation of Fault

We first address the arguments of Plaintiffs and Defendant concerning the jury’s allocating forty-five percent of the fault to Haynes Best Western, ten percent to Mrs. Pfefferle, and forty-five percent to “[a]ny other person of [sic] entity.” Plaintiffs argue that the jury erred in finding third party fault because Defendant failed to plead third-party fault, because there is no duty owed by Mr. Pfefferle to warn Mrs. Pfefferle of any purported or threatened danger, and because Defendant presented “no evidence whatsoever with regard to whom the manufacturer of the sofa bed was and/or the absence of any warnings by that manufacturer.” Plaintiffs further argue that there was no evidence that Mrs. Pfefferle contributed to her own injuries. |sOn the other hand, Defendant argues that there was ample evidence in the record to show that the entire accident could not have occurred as alleged by Plaintiffs such that it should be absolved of any liability or that, in the alternative, the allocation of fault by the jury should be affirmed.

Since the jury’s allocation of fault is a factual finding, the manifest error standard of review applies. Sims v. State Farm Auto Ins. Co., 98-1618 (La.3/2/99), 731 So.2d 197. The question is whether a reasonable juror could have found that the fault in this case should have been apportioned at forty-five percent to Haynes Best Western, ten percent to Mrs. Pfefferle, and forty-five percent to “[a]ny other person of [sic] entity.” To determine whether the jury’s verdict was unreasonable, we must examine the liability of the parties [1193]*1193using the same standards applied to juries as set forth by the supreme court in Watson v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Ins. Co., 469 So.2d 967, 974 (La.1985):

In assessing the nature of the conduct of the parties, various factors may influence the degree of fault assigned, including: (1) whether the conduct resulted from inadvertence or involved an awareness of the danger, (2) how great a risk was created by the conduct, (8) the significance of what was sought by the conduct, (4) the capacities of the actor, whether superior or inferior, and (5) any extenuating circumstances which might require the actor to proceed in haste, without proper thought.

We are mindful that “the allocation of fault is not an exact science, nor is it the search for a precise ratio.” Layssard v. State, Dep’t of Public Safety and Corrections, 07-78, p. 4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 8/08/07), 963 So.2d 1053, 1058, writ denied, 07-1821 (La.11/09/07), 967 So.2d 511.

The jury found that Mrs. Pfefferle was ten percent at fault. She testified that she was holding the baby and trying to get out of the way while her husband came into the room to get the luggage. She did not assist him in pulling out the sofa bed and was inattentive to its condition. The record reflects that she was not as prudent as she should have been. Considering the Watson factors, her own negligence was a substantial factor in the accident. Furthermore, Mrs. Pfefferle’s credibility was at issue. As such, great deference must be given to the trier of fact, “for only the |4factfinder can be aware of the variations in demeanor and tone of voice that bear so heavily on understanding and believing what is said.” Eisenhardt v. Snook, 43,128, p. 4 (La.App. 2 Cir. 5/14/08), 986 So.2d 700, 705. After our review of the record, we find no manifest error in the jury’s allocation of fault to Mrs. Pfefferle.

However, we conclude that the jury’s finding that “[a]ny other person of [sic] entity” was forty-five percent at fault is manifestly erroneous. The record is devoid of any evidence of any manufacturer’s defect or any evidence that the manufacturer had any duty to warn.

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Pfefferle v. Haynes Best Western of Alexandria
38 So. 3d 1189 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)

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38 So. 3d 1189, 9 La.App. 3 Cir. 999, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 865, 2010 WL 2178507, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pfefferle-v-haynes-best-western-of-alexandria-lactapp-2010.