Roberts v. Orpheum Corp.

610 So. 2d 1097, 1992 WL 367600
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 15, 1992
Docket91-CA-2076, 91-C-2204
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 610 So. 2d 1097 (Roberts v. Orpheum Corp.) 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
Roberts v. Orpheum Corp., 610 So. 2d 1097, 1992 WL 367600 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

610 So.2d 1097 (1992)

Kennith W. ROBERTS
v.
The ORPHEUM CORPORATION, Southern Elevator Co., Inc., the Mathes Group, a Professional Architectural Corporation, and the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Society, and
Kennith W. Roberts
v.
The ORPHEUM CORPORATION, et al.

Nos. 91-CA-2076, 91-C-2204.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

December 15, 1992.
Rehearing Denied January 13, 1993.

*1098 Frank B. Hayne, and William T. Abbott, New Orleans, for appellant/respondent Kennith W. Roberts.

Ernest L. O'Bannon, Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon, New Orleans, for appellee Concrete Busters of Louisiana, Inc.

Regel L. Bisso, Hulse, Nelson & Wanek, New Orleans, for appellees The Orpheum Corp. and The New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Soc.

William E. Wright, Jr., Gary J. Giepert, Baldwin & Haspel, New Orleans, for appellee/relator The Mathes Group, Etc.

Before BYRNES, CIACCIO and LANDRIEU, JJ.

LANDRIEU, Judge.

In this opinion, we have consolidated the appeal of the plaintiff, Kennith W. Roberts, and the writ of certiorari granted in favor of the defendant, the Mathes Group, to consider the judgment of the trial court rendered on June 24, 1991. The matter was before the trial court on motions for summary judgment filed by the defendants, the Orpheum Corporation, the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Society, the Mathes Group, a Professional Architectural Corporation, and Concrete Busters of Louisiana, Inc. Finding some merit in appellant's and relator's arguments, we reverse that judgment in part and remand for further consideration.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE:

On or about August 23, 1989, Kennith W. Roberts was employed as a member of the stage crew at the old Orpheum Theater, under the direct supervision of Richard Fitzgerald, the technical director of the New Orleans Symphony. Having been directed to set up display tables in the lobby of the building, Roberts intended to take the elevator to the basement to obtain the equipment. However, he did not notice that the car was not at the landing when he opened the elevator doors. He therefore stepped into the empty elevator shaft and fell to the bottom, where he sustained serious injury.

At the time of the accident, the building was owned by the Orpheum Corporation. The Corporation had acquired title on May 8, 1989, by Act of Conveyance of Immovable Property and Assumption of Indebtedness by and between the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Society and the Orpheum Corporation. These parties entered into an agreement prior to the transfer, whereby the Orpheum Corporation leased the premises to the Symphony, effective April 1, 1989. According to Section 13.01 of the Lease Agreement, the Symphony

accept[ed] the Leased Premises in their present condition, and assume[d] full responsibility for the Leased Premises, including, without limitation, all liability *1099 assumable by a tenant under Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3221.

In late 1988, a renovation project for the building had been initiated in anticipation of the reopening of the Symphony in March of 1989. Although work on the initial phase of the project was substantially complete at the time of the accident, some work did coincide with the staging of various scheduled productions.

The plans to renovate the existing building's exterior and to double the size of the lobby area were formulated by the Mathes Group, A Professional Architectural Corporation. This exterior modification included the addition of a building canopy, lighting, masonry and plaster work, new entry doors, and brick paving. For both the exterior and interior renovations, the Mathes Group provided, without compensation, architectural and engineering services. However, Francis J. "Tiger" Roussell, secretary/treasurer of Concrete Busters of Louisiana, Inc., was generally acknowledged to be the supervisor of the project. According to notes from a March 13, 1989 meeting regarding the status of the project, the participants agreed that a construction professional would have to be hired when Mr. Roussell was no longer able to supervise the job.

At that same meeting, there was discussion concerning future projects. It was noted that the elevator in the building required "attention," and Ed Mathes agreed to contact an elevator consultant. Al Hopper, a local elevator consultant, was contacted, and, in a May 26, 1989 letter to the president of the Symphony, it was reported that the existing elevator equipment required manual operation, but had been found to be "in serviceable condition." The installation of a new automatic elevator was estimated by the consultant to cost Two Hundred Thousand and No/100 ($200,000.00) Dollars, and the estimated construction cost for a hoist-way modification[1] was reported to be Four Thousand and No/100 ($4,000.00) Dollars. No action was taken with regard to either the replacement or the modification of the existing equipment.

However, the Symphony's engineer, Jeff B. Montalbano, testified that, after he was hired in June of 1989, he arranged to resume the Symphony's lapsed contract with American Crescent Elevator Corporation for the maintenance of the elevator. He indicated that, according to the statement from the elevator corporation, its employees thereafter checked and oiled the car, greased the rails, and installed buzzers on each of the three (3) floors of the theater building. A city inspector then granted a permit for the operation of the elevator for a one (1) year period. These inspections by both the elevator company and the city had been completed prior to the accident at issue.

Although Roberts sought and received workers' compensation benefits on the basis of his employment with the Symphony, he filed a petition for damages on November 20, 1989, against the New Orleans Philharmonic Society [sic] as well as against the Orpheum Corporation, Southern Elevator Co., Inc., and the Mathes Group. By his Third Supplemental and Amended Petition, filed on May 31, 1990, Roberts added Concrete Busters of Louisiana, Inc. as an additional defendant. The Symphony, the Orpheum Corporation, the Mathes Group, and Concrete Busters each filed a motion for summary judgment, which motions were finally heard in the trial court on June 21, 1991. By judgment rendered on June 24, 1991, the motions filed by the Symphony, the Orpheum Corporation, and Concrete Busters were granted. The court concluded that there were no genuine issues of material fact to be resolved in the suit against these defendants and that they were entitled to a judgment of dismissal as a matter of law. The motion filed by the Mathes Group was denied. The plaintiff, Roberts, has appealed that portion of the judgment which dismissed the Symphony, the Orpheum Corporation, and Concrete Busters. On the application of the Mathes *1100 Group, this court granted certiorari in order to consider the validity of the trial court's denial of its motion.

DISCUSSION:

The Orpheum Corporation:

Under Louisiana law, La.Civ.Code Ann. arts. 2317, 2322 (West 1979) and 2695 (West 1952), the owner/lessor generally is liable for the condition of the leased premises. The Legislature has provided, however, an exception to that owner/lessor liability should the lessee of the premises assume the responsibility by the contract of lease. Furthermore, this court and the Louisiana Supreme Court have concluded that the provisions of the lease can affect third parties as well as govern the rights between the parties. Mendoza v. Seidenbach, et al., 598 So.2d 404, 405 (La.App. 4th Cir.1992) (citing

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610 So. 2d 1097, 1992 WL 367600, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberts-v-orpheum-corp-lactapp-1992.