Roche v. Big Moose Oilfield Truck Services, Inc.

371 So. 2d 1374, 1979 La. App. LEXIS 3514
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 23, 1979
Docket6988
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 371 So. 2d 1374 (Roche v. Big Moose Oilfield Truck Services, Inc.) 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
Roche v. Big Moose Oilfield Truck Services, Inc., 371 So. 2d 1374, 1979 La. App. LEXIS 3514 (La. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

371 So.2d 1374 (1979)

Alice C. ROCHE et al., Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
BIG MOOSE OILFIELD TRUCK SERVICES, INC., et al., Defendant and Appellee.

No. 6988.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 23, 1979.
Rehearing Denied July 11, 1979.

*1375 Shelton & Legendre, Thomas F. Porter, Lafayette, for plaintiff and appellant.

Raggio, Farrar, Cappel & Chozen, Frederick L. Cappel, Plauche, Smith, Hebert & Nieset, James R. Nieset, Lake Charles, for defendant and appellee.

Before CULPEPPER, DOMENGEAUX and GUIDRY, JJ.

CULPEPPER, Judge.

This is a wrongful death action. The plaintiff, Mrs. Alice C. Roche, sues individually and as "natural tutrix" of the minors, William Donald Roche and Dawn Rachelle Roche, alleged adopted children of plaintiff and her husband, Joseph Daniel Roche. Mr. Roche was killed on December 3, 1975 while working as a roustabout for Fred Wilson Drilling Company, Inc. He was crushed when a load of heavy steel drill pipes fell from a truck owned by Big Moose Oilfield Truck Services, Inc. Named as defendants are Big Moose Oilfield Truck Services, Inc., *1376 Gardner LaCombe, driver of the truck, and their insurer, Reliance Insurance Company, all of whom are hereinafter referred to as the "Big Moose defendants". Also named as defendants are certain executive officers and employees of Fred Wilson Drilling Company and their insurer, Liberty Mutual, hereinafter referred to as the "Fred Wilson defendants".

The Fred Wilson defendants filed two exceptions. The first alleges the minor children have no right or cause of action for the death of Mr. Roche because the final decree of adoption of the children was not until January 5, 1976, approximately one month after the death of Mr. Roche. The second exception by the Fred Wilson defendants is that plaintiff has no cause of action because Act 147 of 1976, which abolishes the so-called "executive officer" actions, applies retroactively to this 1975 accident.

The Big Moose defendants also filed two exceptions. The first is the same as that filed by the Fred Wilson defendants, i.e., that the minor children were not finally adopted by Mr. Roche before his death. The second exception by the Big Moose defendants alleges that Mrs. Roche has no cause or right of action to file the present suit, since her sole remedy is to intervene in the prior suit filed by Fred Wilson's workmen's compensation insurer against Big Moose to recover workmen's compensation benefits paid. In support of this second exception, the Big Moose defendants cite LSA-R.S. 23:1102 as authority for the contention that once an action is filed by the employer or the employer's insurer under LSA-R.S. 23:1101, then the employee or his heirs must intervene in that suit or else be barred from recovery.

All of these exceptions by both sets of defendants were heard on the same date, May 1, 1978, and were taken under advisement. On July 31, 1978, the district judge rendered written reasons holding: (1) The children have no right of action since the adoption was not final; (2) Act 147 of 1976 barring executive officer suits is not retroactive; (3) Mrs. Roche has no cause of action in the present suit since under R.S. 23:1102 she must intervene in the prior suit filed by the workmen's compensation insurer against the tort feasors.

Pursuant to the written reasons rendered on July 31, 1978, a judgment was rendered and signed on August 10, 1978 in favor of only the Fred Wilson defendants sustaining their exception of no right of action as to the minor children but overruling their exception as to the retroactive effect of Act 147 of 1976. On October 9, 1978, a separate judgment was rendered sustaining both exceptions urged by the Big Moose defendants.

On November 3, 1978, plaintiffs obtained an order for an appeal from the judgment "rendered herein on July 31, 1978 and read and signed in Chambers on October 9, 1978." The motion and order for appeal does not expressly mention the judgment rendered on August 10, 1978, but the motion does pray that ultimately judgment be rendered in plaintiff's favor against all defendants.

The issues on appeal are: (1) Are both the judgment of August 10, 1978 in favor of the Fred Wilson defendants and the judgment of October 9, 1979 in favor of the Big Moose defendants before us on appeal? (2) Do the minor children have a right of action for the wrongful death of Mr. Roche where the final decree of adoption had not been signed before his death? (3) Under LSA-R.S. 23:1102, is Mrs. Roche required to intervene in the prior suit by the workmen's compensation insurer against the tort feasors rather than proceed in her present separate suit?

VALIDITY OF APPEAL AS TO FRED WILSON DEFENDANTS

The Fred Wilson defendants have not filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as to them, but they did file a brief contending that plaintiff did not appeal from the judgment of August 10, 1978 dismissing the claims of the two children against them, and that since the delays for appeal from that judgment have now elapsed the judgment is final.

*1377 At the outset, we notice that the motion and order filed by the plaintiff on November 3, 1978 is only for a suspensive appeal, and a bond was fixed in the sum of $100, but no such bond was ever furnished. Jurisprudence has established the rule that although the motion and order is for a suspensive appeal only, if the bond fixed is not filed within the delay for a suspensive appeal but is filed within the delay for a devolutive appeal, the appeal will be sustained and treated as a devolutive appeal. Succession of Garrett, 288 So.2d 659 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 1974). Under LSA-C.C.P. Article 2087, the delay for taking a devolutive appeal in the present case is within sixty days of the expiration of the delay for applying for a new trial, and thus is timely. Furthermore, under LSA-C.C.P. Article 2124, as amended by Act 176 of 1977, no security is required for a devolutive appeal, and thus none was required for a devolutive appeal in this case.

The question is whether the motion and order for appeal filed on November 3, 1978 constitutes an appeal from both the judgment of August 10, and the judgment of October 9, 1978. If it does not, the judgment of August 10, 1978 is now res judicata and is not before us.

The problem is difficult. There are early cases which support the argument of the Fred Wilson defendants that since the November 3 motion and order for appeal does not expressly state that it is an appeal from the August 10, 1978 judgment, no appeal has been taken from that judgment. For instance, in In re Guardian Homestead Association, 199 La. 216, 5 So.2d 750 (1942), which was a liquidation proceeding against an association, one judgment was rendered for the liquidator's special agent for his services, and another judgment was rendered for the liquidator's attorneys for their services, but there was only one motion and order for appeal which stated it was from the judgment in favor of the agent and the attorneys, without otherwise identifying the judgment appealed by date. Our Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on the basis that the motion and order did not sufficiently identify the judgment appealed. The court cited In re Liberty Homestead Association, 198 La. 1068, 5 So.2d 353 (1941) and Pichon v. Pichon Land Company, 174 La. 77, 139 So. 764, which also support the view that the motion and order for appeal must clearly identify the judgment appealed, as, for example, by date and by names of the appellees.

On the other hand, there are several cases which support the appellant. In

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
371 So. 2d 1374, 1979 La. App. LEXIS 3514, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roche-v-big-moose-oilfield-truck-services-inc-lactapp-1979.