Spann v. Gerry Lane Enters., Inc.

256 So. 3d 1016
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 24, 2018
Docket2016 CA 0793
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 256 So. 3d 1016 (Spann v. Gerry Lane Enters., 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
Spann v. Gerry Lane Enters., Inc., 256 So. 3d 1016 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

WHIPPLE, C.J.

Defendants, Gerry Lane Enterprises, Inc. and Tower Insurance Company, appeal a judgment of the trial court, which among other relief, granted plaintiff, Patricia Spann's, motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and increased the general damages awarded to Ms. Spann. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment in part, amend the portion of the judgment increasing the general damage award, and affirm the judgment as amended.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On June 21, 2011, plaintiff, Patricia Spann, was driving her 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt northbound on South Acadian Thruway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when she lost control of her vehicle, crossed the median, and entered the opposite lanes of traffic, making contact with several vehicles driving in the opposite lanes. Ms. Spann was transported from the accident scene via ambulance to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, where she was treated for thoracic spine fractures, multiple facial *1021fractures, and a left wrist fracture. Ms. Spann was discharged from the hospital after sixteen days, with a tracheal tube still in place due to continued facial swelling.

On June 8, 2012, Ms. Spann initiated the instant lawsuit, naming as defendants: (1) Gerry Lane Enterprises, Inc. ("Gerry Lane"); (2) Tower Insurance Company, as Gerry Lane's insurer; and (3) Gerry Lane's unidentified employees. Ms. Spann alleged that she lost control of her vehicle due to a faulty power steering system that was replaced by Gerry Lane Chevrolet on July 14, 2010, pursuant to a recall notice that she received from General Motors. Ms. Spann alleged that the power steering system in her Cobalt, as replaced by Gerry Lane, had a redhibitory defect and that Gerry Lane was liable under the Louisiana Products Liability Act. Among other allegations, Ms. Spann further alleged that Gerry Lane: (1) breached its duty of care owed pursuant to LSA-C.C. arts. 2315through 2317.1 ; (2) negligently inspected and replaced unfit and unsafe automotive components; and (3) negligently hired and trained its maintenance personnel.

After answering the lawsuit, Gerry Lane filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that there was no evidence that Gerry Lane improperly performed the power steering system recall work in Ms. Spann's vehicle. Following a hearing, the trial court granted Gerry Lane's motion for summary judgment and dismissed Ms. Spann's claims.1

Thereafter, Ms. Spann filed a motion for new trial, seeking review of the trial court's grant of Gerry Lane's motion for summary judgment and the dismissal of her claims. Ms. Spann argued that a new trial was warranted pursuant to LSA-C.C.P. art. 1972(1) and (2), because the judgment granting summary judgment was contrary to the law and, she had obtained new evidence in support of her claims that could not have been obtained, with due diligence, prior to the hearing on the motion for summary judgment. The "new" evidence consisted of an updated affidavit and report from Ms. Spann's expert. The trial court granted the motion for new trial on February 23, 20152 and denied Gerry Lane's reurged motion for summary judgment. The matter then proceeded to a jury trial.

At the conclusion of a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict finding Ms. Spann seventy (70%) percent at fault and Gerry Lane and/or its employees thirty (30%) percent at fault in causing the accident and Ms. Spann's resulting damages. Without regard to the percentages of fault, the jury awarded Ms. Spann $122,338.80 for past medical expenses, $25,000.00 for past lost wages, and $25,000.00 for loss of physical abilities, disfigurement, and impairment. However, the jury did not award Ms. Spann any damages for past and future physical pain and suffering, past and future mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment of life.

Thereafter, Ms. Spann filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), additur, and/or in the alternative, a motion for new trial for damages only. The trial court signed a judgment on March 1, 2016, in pertinent part, granting the JNOV and leaving the amounts *1022awarded by the jury in place, but awarding Ms. Spann an additional $400,000.00 for past and future physical pain and suffering, $150,000.00 for past and future mental anguish, and $150,000.00 for loss of enjoyment of life, setting forth that after deductions were taken for Ms. Spann's comparative fault, the additional judgment awarded against Gerry Lane pursuant to the JNOV was $210,000.00.3

Gerry Lane and Tower Insurance Company then filed the instant appeal of the March 1, 2016 judgment of the trial court, raising the following assignments of error:

(1) The trial court erred in granting a new trial from the motion for summary judgment where Ms. Spann submitted "new" evidence after the court granted summary judgment that was available to Ms. Spann before the motion for summary judgment was filed.
(2) The trial court erred in denying the reurged motion for summary judgment and directed verdict as plaintiff has no evidence to prove that the power steering motor failed or that Gerry Lane negligently replaced it.
(3) The trial court erred in ruling that Ms. Spann's expert's opinions were admissible under Daubert where the expert's opinions are not supported by evidence.
(4) The trial court erred in allowing Ms. Spann to present evidence derived from her expert's inspections and destructive testing that were conducted in violation of a court order.
(5) The trial court erred in granting JNOV and increasing Ms. Spann's general damages from $25,000.00 to $700,000.00 as the evidence shows a reasonable basis for the jury's verdict.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff's Expert's Opinion and Inspections

(Assignments of Error Numbers Three and Four)

Defendants Gerry Lane and Tower Insurance Company contend in their third assignment of error that the trial court should have excluded plaintiff's expert's opinion under LSA-C.E. art. 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). Additionally, defendants contend in their fourth assignment of error that the trial court should have excluded evidence derived from this expert's inspections of the subject motor vehicle because the inspections were conducted in violation of a court order. If a trial court commits an evidentiary error that interdicts its factfinding process, this court must conduct a de novo review. Thus, any alleged evidentiary errors must be addressed first on appeal, inasmuch as a finding of error may affect the applicable standard of review. Penton v. City of Hammond Police Department, 2007-2352 (La. App. 1st Cir. 5/2/08),

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Bluebook (online)
256 So. 3d 1016, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spann-v-gerry-lane-enters-inc-lactapp-2018.