Toups v. Dantin

181 So. 3d 33, 2014 La.App. 1 Cir. 1754, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1483, 2015 WL 4608185
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 3, 2015
DocketNos. 2014 CA 1754, 2014 CA 1755
StatusPublished

This text of 181 So. 3d 33 (Toups v. Dantin) 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
Toups v. Dantin, 181 So. 3d 33, 2014 La.App. 1 Cir. 1754, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1483, 2015 WL 4608185 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

McClendon, j.

| gThis case arises out of a tragic automobile accident that resulted in the death of the plaintiffs’ son, Dr. Kristofor Toups.1 The plaintiffs, Randy J. Toups and Deborah H. Toups, appeal a grant of summary judgment in favor of Adele B. Dantin, the wife of James G. Dantin,2 the driver of the [35]*35automobile that collided with the pickup truck driven by Dr. Toups. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. ..

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On the morning of January 20, 2011, while driving southbound on Louisiana Highway 1, in Lafourche Parish, James Dantin was operating a 2009 Nissan Maxi-ma owned by his wife, Adele Dantin. After passing a vehicle in a non-passing zone, at a high rate of speed, Mr. Dantin rear-ended the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck being operated by Dr. Toups. As a result of the impact, Dr. Toups’ truck was forced into the opposite lane of the two-lane highway, where it collided head-on with a Peterbilt garbage truck, fatally injuring Dr. Toups. Toxicology tests revealed that Mr. Dantin had alcohol, al-prazolam (a generic form of Xanax), and benzoylecgonine (a metabolite of cocaine) in his bloodstream.3

On January 17, 2012, the Toupses filed a petition for damages for the wrongful death of their son against Mr. Dantin, Ms. Dantin, and their insurers. They alleged that Mr. Dantin had a history of drug and alcohol related charges for more than thirty years, including in excess of fifteen arrests for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The Toupses further asserted that since his release from jail, in August 2009, in connection with a previous driving while intoxicated conviction, Mr. Dantin was prohibited from operating a vehicle that was not equipped with an ignition interlock device and that the Maxima that Mr. Dantin was operating at the time of the accident did not have an ignition interlock device. 1 °In addition to asserting a cause of action against Mr. Dantin, the Toupses asserted a cause of action against Ms. Dantin. The Toupses alleged that Ms. Dantin knew that Mr. Dantin was prohibited from driving a vehicle- without an ignition interlock device and that Ms. Dantin knew or should have known that Mr. Dan-tin on occasion operated one or more of their vehicles that was not equipped with an ignition interlock device. They contended that Ms. Dantin authorized Mr. Dantin to use the vehicles in which she had an ownership interest and which were not equipped with an ignition interlock device. The Toupses. further asserted that Ms. Dantin was negligent for her breach of a legally imposed duty of reasonable care; negligent entrustment; failure to secure property within her custody; failure to install property safety equipment in vehicles available for the use and operation by Mr. Dantin; reckless disregard for the safety of the public; and other negligent acts and omissions.

On June 80, 2014, Ms. Dantin filed a motion for summary judgment,, in which she asserted that, as a matter of law, she was not legally responsible for the January 20, 2011 accident. Specifically, she contended that there was no evidence indicating that she gave Mr. Dantin permission to drive the Maxima at the time of the accident. Following a hearing on August 15, 2014, the trial court granted Ms. Dantiris motion for summary judgment, dismissing the Toupses’ claims against her with prejudice. A judgment was signed on August 28,2014, and the Toupses appealed.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full-scale trial when there is no genuine factual dispute. Sanders v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 96-[36]*361751 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/20/97), 696 So.2d 1031, 1034, writ denied, 97-1911 (La.10/31/97), 703 So.2d 29. Summary judgment is properly granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions, together- with affidavits, if any, admitted for purposes of the motion for summary judgment, show that there is-no genuine issue , of material fact, and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(B)(2).

|4The burden of proof to show that no material factual Issue exists is on’the mover. However, if the party moving for summary judgment will not bear the burden of proof at trial, the mover is not required to negate all essential elements of the adverse party’s claim. Rather, the mover must point out to the trial court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party’s claim. Thereafter, if the adverse party fails to produce factual support sufficient to establish that he will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial, there is no genuine issue of material fact and the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(C)(2).

An appellate court’s review of a summary judgment is a de novo review based on the evidence presented to the trial court, using the same criteria used by'the trial court in deciding whether a summary judgment should be 'granted. Buck’s Run Enterprises, Inc. v. Mapp Const., Inc., 99-3054 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2/16/01), 808 So.2d 428, 431. Because it is the applicable substantive law that determines materiality, whether a particular fact in dispute is material for summary judgment purposes can be seen only in light of the substantive law applicable to the case. Guardia v. Lakeview Regional Medical Center, 08-1369 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/8/09), 13 So.3d 625, 628.

DISCUSSION

Louisiana courts have adopted a duty-risk analysis in determining whether to impose liability under the general negligence principles of LSA-C.C. art. 2315. For liability to attach under a duty-risk analysis, a plaintiff must prove five separate elements: (1) the defendant had a duty to conform his or her conduct to a specific standard' of care; (2) the defendant’s conduct failed to'conform to the appropriate standard of care; (3) the defendant’s substandard conduct was a cause-in-fact .of the plaintiffs injuries; (4) the defendant’s substandard conduct was a legal cause of the plaintiffs injuries; and (5) the plaintiff was damaged. Brewer v. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., 09-1408 (La.3/16/10), 35 So.3d 230, 240. Whether a duty is owed is a question of law; whether a defendant has breached a duty owed is a question of fact. Id.

| (¡The threshold question in a duty-risk analysis is whether the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff. Ponceti v. First Lake Properties, Inc., 11-2711 (La.7/2/12), 93 So.3d 1251, 1252. In deciding whether to impose a duty in a particular ease, the court must make a policy decision in light of the unique facts and circumstances presented. The inquiry is whether the plaintiff has any law (statutory/jurisprudential, or ¿rising from general principles of fault) to support the claim that the defendant owed him a duty. Lemann v. Essen Lane Daiquiris, Inc., 05-1095 (La.3/10/06), 923 So.2d 627, 633. Thus, the duty-risk analysis requires the court to take into account the conduct of each party as well as the particular circumstances of the case. Meany v. Meany, 94-0251 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 229, 233. In determining whether to impose a duty in a particular situation, the court may consider various moral, social, and economic fac[37]

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Bluebook (online)
181 So. 3d 33, 2014 La.App. 1 Cir. 1754, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1483, 2015 WL 4608185, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/toups-v-dantin-lactapp-2015.