Thibodeaux v. Arvie

226 So. 3d 1229, 2017 La.App. 3 Cir. 625, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 1552
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 31, 2017
Docket17-625
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 226 So. 3d 1229 (Thibodeaux v. Arvie) 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
Thibodeaux v. Arvie, 226 So. 3d 1229, 2017 La.App. 3 Cir. 625, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 1552 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinions

SAUNDERS, Judge.

| tThis matter arises out of a motorcycle accident that occurred on July 19, 2015, while plaintiff, Trae Thibodeaux, was riding his 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound on La. Hwy. 29 in Eunice. When the 2014 Ford Mustang, driven by Steven Arvie, Jr. (Arvie), proceeded to make a left-hand turn across plaintiffs lane of travel, plaintiff, to avoid a collision, made a conscious decision to apply both his front and rear brakes and lay down his motorcycle on its left side, wiping out. The parties dispute whether any contact was made between the vehicles, but if so, the contact was minimal due to plaintiffs evasive action from which he sustained extensive road burns to his hands, arms, and legs, as well as neck and back injuries. The state police investigation concluded that the accident was caused by (1) plaintiffs excessive speed, for which he was cited as he admitted that he was traveling at least 65 miles per hour in a 45 miles per hour zone, and (2) plaintiffs inattentiveness. Ar-vie was not cited for any violation or fault.

On October 27, 2015, plaintiff filed suit against Arvie and his insurer, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (State Farm). He also named as a defendant, Progres[1231]*1231sive, his underinsured motorist (UM) insurance carrier.' After settling with State Farm for the full- policy limits of $25,000, plaintiff made a demand on Progressive, claiming his “damages exceed $50,000.00 exclusive of costs and interest.” When Progressive denied the claim and refused to tender any money, plaintiff amended his original petition, adding bad faith claims against Progressive for its arbitrary and capricious denial and seeking penalties pursuant to La.R.S. 22:1892 and 22:1973.

Thereafter, Progressive filed its motion for partial summary judgment, asserting that plaintiffs bad faith claim should be dismissed because he failed to |2meet his evidentiary burden for establishing bad faith in that (1) plaintiff had not shown, and could not show, that Progressive’s coverage decision was “arbitrary and capricious”, given the overwhelming evidence that he was responsible for his wipeout, and (2) plaintiff would not be entitled to any UM benefits unless it could be shown that Arvie was more than 55% at fault, but there was no evidence in the record that could reasonably put Arvie’s degree of fault anywhere near that threshold.1 Therefore, Progressive claimed its decision was reasonable and not in bad faith.

In opposition, plaintiff argued that (1) the issue is not whether there are genuine questions as to who was at fault, but rather whether Progressive acted in bad faith, which is a factual issue for the jury, and (2) a coverage issue under an UM policy only arises if the insured is 100% at fault, but- there was ample evidence that plaintiff—the motorist with the right of way— was not 100% at fault for-the wipeout caused by his . evasive maneuver taken to avoid a collision with a motorist negotiating, at too slow a rate of speed, a left turn across the lane of travel. After hearing arguments, the trial court denied the motion, reasoning:

Let me start by saying this ... there is no question in my mind that there’s going to be -a question of who’s at fault and what percentage of- fault; That’s a given, based on the evidence that’s presented ....
... I have a real "problem with it, because I think to grant this summary judgment I have to review and make some credibility determinations, which I’m not allowed to do. I have a real .problem with being able to do that. I mean in every case insurers have to look at is this a hundred percent fault case, is this á comparative fault case? If so, how do I evaluate it, do I evaluate damages? I think it requires some factual determinations to be made, some credibility determinations to be made, that I’m not prepared to make in a summary judgment proceeding, and as a result, I’m going to deny the motion for summary judgment for the oral reasons given today.

|SA court of appeal has plenary power to exercise supervisory jurisdiction over trial courts and may do so at any time, according to the discretion of the court. When the trial’court’s ruling is arguably incorrect, a reversal will terminate the litigation, and there is no dispute of fact to be resolved, judicial efficiency and fundamental fairness to the litigants dictate that the merits of the application for supervisory writs should be decided in an attempt to -avoid the waste of time and expense of a possibly useless future trial on the merits. Herlitz Const. Co., Inc. v. Hotel Investors of New Iberia, Inc., 396 [1232]*1232So.2d 878 (La.1981) (per curiam). This supervisory jui’isdiction may also be exercised to reverse a trial court’s denial of a motion for summary judgment and to enter summary judgment in favor of the mover. Csaszar v. Nat’l Cas. Co., 14-1273 (La.App. 3 Cir, 11/4/15), 177 So.3d 807, writ denied, 15-2221 (La. 1/25/16), 185 So.3d 752. Nevertheless, appellate courts generally will not exercise their supervisory jurisdiction when an adequate remedy exists by appeal. Douglass v. Alton Ochsner Med. Found., 96-2825 (La. 6/13/97), 695 So.2d 953.

Appellate courts review motions for summary judgment de novo, using the identical criteria that govern the trial court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Samaha v. Rau, 07-1726 (La. 2/26/08), 977 So.2d 880. The reviewing court, therefore, is tasked with determining whether "the motion, memorandum, and supporting documents show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” La.Code Civ.P. art, 966(A)(3).

In order to succeed on a claim for statutory penalties under La.R.S. 22:18922 and 22:1973,3 an insured must show that (1) the insurer received satisfactory proof [1233]*1233|4of loss, (2) the insurer failed to tender payment within thirty or sixty days of receipt thereof, and (3) the insurer’s failure to pay was arbitrary, capricious or without probable cause. La. Bag Co., Inc. v. Audubon Indemn. Co., 08-453 (La. 12/2/08), 999 So.2d 1104. In Guillory v. Lee, 09-75, pp. 31-32 (La. 6/26/09), 16 So.3d 1104, 1127 (citations omitted), the supreme court addressed the arbitrary and capricious factor, expounding:

With regard to what constitutes “arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause,” this court has held that the phrase is synonymous with “vexatious.” Furthermore, a “vexatious refusal to pay” means “unjustified, without reasonable or probable cause or excuse.” Both phrases describe an insurer whose willful refusal of a claim is not based on a good-faith defense.

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226 So. 3d 1229, 2017 La.App. 3 Cir. 625, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 1552, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thibodeaux-v-arvie-lactapp-2017.