Roger v. Estate of Moulton

494 So. 2d 1226
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 12, 1986
Docket85-812
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 494 So. 2d 1226 (Roger v. Estate of Moulton) 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
Roger v. Estate of Moulton, 494 So. 2d 1226 (La. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

494 So.2d 1226 (1986)

Donald ROGER, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
The ESTATE OF Tad MOULTON, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 85-812.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

June 25, 1986.
On Rehearing October 15, 1986.
Writ Granted December 12, 1986.

*1227 Gregory Moroux, of Voorhies and Labbe, Raymond C. Jackson, of Allen, Gooch and Bourgeois, Lafayette, for defendants-appellants.

Robert Keaty, of Keaty & Keaty, Lafayette, Kerry Shields, of Keaty & Keaty, New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee.

Mack E. Barham, of Barham and Churchill and Gail N. Wise, New Orleans, for defendant-appellee.

Before GUIDRY, DOUCET and MANSOUR,[*] JJ.

GUIDRY, Judge.

This case arises out of a vehicle collision involving three vehicles. The accident occurred on July 3, 1981, near the intersection of Louisiana Highway 82 and Louisiana Highway 333 in Vermilion Parish.

*1228 Tad Moulton (hereafter Moulton), the driver of a Pontiac Trans Am, was proceeding north on Louisiana Highway 333 after returning from a two week offshore tour of duty on an oil rig. Moulton had three passengers in his car, all of who were anxious to get home. After having come ashore, the Moulton party bought three six-packs of beer. Moulton consumed at least two beers and was drinking a third at the time of the accident. A blood-alcohol test determined that Moulton's blood contained.09% alcohol by weight at the time of the accident. Moulton died at the accident scene from injuries sustained in the collision.

It had been raining most of the morning of the accident. At the time of the accident it was raining hard. The sky was overcast but not dark.

Donald Roger (hereafter Roger), one of the plaintiffs in the several suits filed, was proceeding south on Louisiana Highway 333 while driving a United Parcel Service (hereafter UPS) truck when Moulton crossed the double yellow line on the highway and struck the left front side of the UPS truck with the left front side of his Trans Am. Roger suffered numerous personal injuries as a result of the accident. The investigating officer placed the point of impact in the southbound lane some 4 feet 2 inches from the centerline of the highway. The UPS truck came to rest in a ditch on the west side of the road. Roger was thrown to the back of the truck and woke up two days later in the hospital. He remembered nothing about the accident.

The third vehicle allegedly involved in this accident was a white and blue pickup truck owned by Pierce Enterprises, Inc. (hereafter Pierce) and driven by its employee, Owen Schexnyder. Schexnyder had been proceeding south, the same direction as the UPS truck, toward Intercoastal City. Some 10 minutes before the collision the pickup truck experienced transmission difficulties. Because the manual transmission became stuck in second gear, Schexnyder decided to pull off the road to perform a quick repair. Schexnyder pulled completely off of the road onto the eastern shoulder still facing south. He then exited from the pickup and crawled underneath to repair the transmission. The Pierce vehicle was not struck and did not strike either of the other two vehicles. However, there were allegations that the position of the pickup forced Moulton to cross the double yellow line where the collision occurred.

Several suits were filed as a result of this accident. Initially, on June 19, 1982, Donald Roger filed suit against the Estate of Tad Moulton, Frank Moulton, Jr., administrator, and Maryland Casualty Company (hereafter Maryland), the liability insurer of the Trans Am owned by Frank Moulton, Jr. and driven by Tad Moulton, our docket number 85-812. Later amendments added Global Marine, Inc. (hereafter Global), Tad Moulton's employer, Pierce and its insurer, Maryland. Roger eventually settled with and dismissed all of the above defendants.

In a separate suit, our docket number 85-813, 494 So.2d 1238, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (hereafter Liberty), the worker's compensation carrier for UPS, filed suit against the Succession of Thaddeus R. Moulton and Maryland for sums paid and to be paid to Roger for worker's compensation and medical expenses. Liberty, as worker's compensation carrier, then moved to consolidate the suits which bear our docket numbers 85-812 and 85-813, and to intervene in 85-812. Through two supplemental and amended petitions, Liberty added Pierce, Pierce's insurer, Maryland, and Global as defendants. Liberty did not settle with nor did they dismiss any of these defendants.

While the suit by Liberty, in its capacity as worker's compensation carrier, was still pending against the various named defendants, Roger, on January 17, 1984, filed a separate suit, our docket number 85-814, 494 So.2d 1239, against Liberty seeking recovery of damages against Liberty as the uninsured motorist carrier for UPS. Roger *1229 also, by amended petition, joined Liberty, in its capacity as the uninsured motorist carrier for UPS, in the first suit, our docket number 85-812. By motion of all counsel, 85-814 was also consolidated with 85-812 and 85-813. UPS and Liberty, in its capacity as worker's compensation carrier for UPS, then intervened in Roger's suit against Liberty as UM carrier, alleging that they should be subrogated to Roger's rights to the extent of the worker's compensation benefits paid to Roger.

After all this procedural maneuvering, the consolidated cases went to trial. At time of trial, the only viable claims remaining were Roger's suit against Liberty in its capacity as the UM insurer for UPS, and Liberty's suit, as the worker's compensation carrier for UPS, against (1) the Succession of Thaddeus Moulton, (2) Maryland, Moulton's insurer, (3) Pierce, (4) Maryland, Pierce's insurer, (5) Global, and, (6) Liberty, as the UM carrier for UPS.

The trial court found, in written reasons, that the accident was caused solely by the negligence of Moulton, and that Roger and Pierce were without negligence; Roger suffered $406,479.06 in damages; Liberty was liable for uninsured motorist coverage in Louisiana in the amount of $200,000 because a rejection letter by UPS was not attached to the automobile insurance policy; Liberty, as worker's compensation carrier, could not collect additional sums from Maryland as Moulton's liability insurer, since Roger had settled with Maryland for its policy limits; and, Liberty, as worker's compensation carrier, could not recover from Roger a reimbursement for the worker's compensation paid to him out of the award he received from Liberty as UM carrier for UPS. A formal judgment, in accord with these reasons, was signed on January 24, 1985.[1]

Liberty, as the uninsured motorist insurer, perfected a suspensive appeal urging three assignments of error, while Liberty, as worker's compensation insurer for UPS, perfected a devolutive appeal urging an additional three assignments of error. Roger and the other parties did not appeal, nor do they answer the appeals of Liberty.

The cases remain consolidated on appeal. We will consider all issues in this opinion but we render separate decrees in the consolidated cases.

ISSUES
1. Did the trial court err in not finding Pierce partially at fault in causing the accident.
2. If Pierce is found partially at fault, may Liberty, as worker's compensation carrier, recover the full amount of its claim from Pierce under principles of solidary liability.
3. Did Liberty provide uninsured motorist coverage under the policy issued to UPS.
4.

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494 So. 2d 1226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roger-v-estate-of-moulton-lactapp-1986.