Porter v. MONROE HOUSING AUTHORITY

986 So. 2d 852, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 861, 2008 WL 2266140
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 4, 2008
Docket43,202-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 986 So. 2d 852 (Porter v. MONROE HOUSING AUTHORITY) 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
Porter v. MONROE HOUSING AUTHORITY, 986 So. 2d 852, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 861, 2008 WL 2266140 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

986 So.2d 852 (2008)

Mary PORTER, Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
MONROE HOUSING AUTHORITY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 43,202-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 4, 2008.
Rehearing Denied August 7, 2008.

*854 Johnson & Placke, L.L.P., by Allan L. Placke, West Monroe, for Appellant.

Voorhies & Labbé, by Cyd Sheree Page, Lafayette, for Appellee, Monroe Housing Authority.

Breithaupt, Dunn, Dubos, Shafto & Wolleson, LLC, by Walter C. Dunn, Monroe, for Appellee, Commercial Pest Mgmt. & American Safety Risk Retention Group, Inc.

Before CARAWAY, PEATROSS and MOORE, JJ.

*855 MOORE, J.

Mary Porter appeals a jury verdict and JNOV which found her 60% at fault for the aggravation of her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD") and awarded special and general damages for exposure to termite poison at her housing complex. For the reasons expressed, we affirm.

Factual Background

The 69-year old Ms. Porter lived in Passman Plaza Retirement Community, a set of 4-plex apartments for senior citizens, owned by the City of Monroe and managed by Monroe Housing Authority ("MHA"). Passman is not a nursing home or assisted living center, but accepts only seniors of limited means. Ms. Porter had been a heavy smoker for much of her life, and now suffers from a heart condition and COPD with periodic flare-ups. She testified that about two months before this incident, she had been hospitalized for pneumonia; she was still on antibiotics via nebulizer four times a day and receiving daily visits from home health. Her doctors advised her to stay out of smoky places. She admitted that monthly pest treatment at Passman had never bothered her.

MHA used Commercial Pest Management for monthly pest service at Passman, and in June 2003 granted it a contract for post-construction termite treatment in each unit. In addition to outdoor work, this involved entering each unit's bathroom, drilling a hole in the floor near the bathtub, filling it with one gallon of Permethrin TC, a termite poison, and placing a grate over the hole. Commercial Pest's owners testified that Permethrin TC is the safest pyrethroid in general use and the same substance they use monthly, only in higher quantity for termites.

Synopsis of Trial Testimony

On June 19, 2003, Commercial Pest came to treat Ms. Porter's apartment. According to Ms. Porter, nobody from MHA or Commercial Pest gave her any advance notice; she was in the apartment with her granddaughter and a friend, Sophia Boudreaux, when a young man knocked on the door and said he was there to "spray for termites." Ms. Porter asked him not to spray because of the breathing machine in plain view at the end of the couch, but he replied he had to do so because of the contract. He went into the bathroom, drilled, poured in the poison, and told Ms. Porter the smell would be gone in 15 minutes. Ms. Porter went to the washateria and grocery store; when she returned, her granddaughter Casey Parker was pulling up. Entering the apartment, they noticed a strong chemical scent; Casey went into the bathroom, finding the heater turned on and a puddle of chemical around the hole in the floor. Ms. Porter opened the windows and doors, turned on the air conditioner, and thought nothing more of it, but that night she woke up gasping for breath. She called her family doctor, Dr. Matthew George, who phoned in a prescription for an antibiotic, but this did not help. The following Monday, June 23, her O2 saturation level was down to 10%; Dr. George put her in Glenwood Regional Medical Center for two weeks. Shortly after this, she moved out of Passman. She testified that since this incident, her breathing has been very poor, she has used oxygen and antibiotics daily, and her activities are seriously curtailed. She admitted, however, still making periodic trips to the casinos in Vicksburg.

Sheila Poole, Ms. Porter's daughter, was not present when the termite treatment occurred, but arrived about 2 pm, thought the apartment had a strong chemical smell, and saw liquid on the bathroom *856 floor. She testified that since this incident, her mother cannot vacuum or mop her own floor, and has to use canned oxygen all the time. Casey Parker, Ms. Porter's granddaughter, confirmed that she arrived at the apartment right after the treatment; she saw a spill on the bathroom floor and found the heater turned on. She turned on the air and opened windows to alleviate the smell.

Marshall Douglas, co-owner of Commercial Pest, testified that he did the inside treatment on Ms. Porter's building. He recalled neither Ms. Porter nor her telling him not to proceed because of her breathing problems; he would have remembered this because a different Passman tenant had presented a doctor's excuse and MHA placed her in a motel for 24 hours after the treatment. He denied spilling any Permethrin TC on the floor; if this had happened, he would have followed state regulations and wiped it up. He denied turning on anybody's bathroom heater in June, and testified that if asked, he would have advised tenants not to turn on heat or air for 24 hours after the treatment. He did not know if MHA advised tenants about the termite treatment, but he felt this was likely as virtually everybody had cleared out their hall closets as requested.

Douglas's partner, James Volentine, confirmed that he notified MHA of what dates they would be treating Passman units, but was unsure if or how MHA notified the tenants.

David Smith, an expert in pest control, testified that Commercial Pest's protocol for post-construction termite treatment met all state and federal regulations, that Permethrin TC was the safest termite poison in use, that he had never heard of anybody getting sick from exposure to it, and that Ms. Porter's name was not on the Louisiana State Registry for Pesticide-Sensitive Individuals.

Dan DeJarnette was MHA's administrative assistant in charge of pest control; he testified that nobody from Commercial Pest advised him that tenants with breathing problems should leave their apartments after these treatments. He had no personal contact with tenants, but notified the apartment manager of the upcoming treatments. Frank Wilcox, MHA's executive director, confirmed that he had no knowledge of either Ms. Porter's health problems or warnings about the termite treatment.

Joanne Crone, the apartment manager, testified that Passman was not a nursing home or assisted living facility. She confirmed that one other tenant had submitted a doctor's excuse not to spray her unit for pests; they put her in a motel for the day. Ms. Crone usually advised tenants of the dates of pest service in the monthly newsletter slipped under each door, but she did not recall mentioning this particular termite treatment. Nobody told her that tenants should vacate their apartments for 24 hours after the treatment, and Ms. Porter never told her of any breathing problems until after this incident. Ms. Crone was certain, however, that several months later (on February 15, 2004, her nephew's birthday) she was at Horizon Casino in Vicksburg and saw Ms. Porter in the dollar slots area, which is "always smoky." According to Ms. Crone, Ms. Porter was looking good and not carrying an oxygen tank, but said she was not really doing well.[1]

Sophia Boudreaux, an old friend of Ms. Porter's, denied that she was at the apartment *857 when the pest man came. She admitted telling Ms. Porter that she "ought to sue" somebody about this, but denied offering to testify on her behalf.

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986 So. 2d 852, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 861, 2008 WL 2266140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/porter-v-monroe-housing-authority-lactapp-2008.