Verdun v. State ex rel. Department of Health & Human Resources

598 So. 2d 1091, 1992 La. App. LEXIS 724
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 20, 1992
DocketNo. 91-CA-0579
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 598 So. 2d 1091 (Verdun v. State ex rel. Department of Health & Human Resources) 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
Verdun v. State ex rel. Department of Health & Human Resources, 598 So. 2d 1091, 1992 La. App. LEXIS 724 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

BARRY, Judge.

In this personal injury action involving a serious wound infection from a bacteria in Lake Pontchartrain, Terry and Lina Verdun, plaintiffs-appellants, appeal a directed verdict and/or involuntary dismissal in favor of the State through the Department of Health and Human Resources (State and DHHR),1 the City of New Orleans (City), and the Board of Levee Commissioners for the Orleans Levee District (Levee Board), and a directed verdict in favor of National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (National Union), the Levee Board’s insurer.

FACTS

On July 18, 1985 Mr. and Mrs. Verdun went trawling in Lake Pontchartrain. While putting their boat on the trailer at the Seabrook Bridge boat launch, the boat drifted off the rollers of the trailer. Mr. Verdun retrieved the boat, as he had “done a thousand times since a little boy” by walking knee deep into the water. Mr. Verdun was in the water for approximately 30 seconds. At that time Mr. Verdun had a varicose ulcer on his right shin which was caused by phlebitis, a pre-existing circulatory condition.

On July 19, 1985 Mr. Verdun and his family went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He stepped on a rock on the beach and sustained a cut on his left foot which may have come in contact with the Gulf water.

On July 20, 1985 Mr. Verdun was awakened by a burning and pulled muscle sensation in the back of his right leg. His temperature was elevated and his leg was edematous (severely swollen). He was hospitalized that evening in near septic shock and was placed in intensive care. He was diagnosed as having severe cellulitis and fascitis (infection of the skin, the fatty tissue beneath the skin, and the muscle covering or fascia) and infectious septicemia (infection involving the blood stream). The source of the infection was pathogenic vi-brio cholera non-01 type (a marine bacteria), which may have entered Mr. Verdun’s body when the ulcer on his right shin got wet at the Lake Pontchartrain boat launch.

The Verduns filed suit based on negligence against the City and Levee Board and on negligence and strict liability against the State. They claimed that ap-pellees breached their duty to monitor Lake Pontchartrain and warn the public of the health hazards in the polluted water.

In a bifurcated trial the Verduns presented their case against the City, Levee Board and State to the judge and their claim against National Union to the jury. At the close of their case the trial court granted a directed verdict and/or involuntary dismissal in favor of the three political entities and a directed verdict in favor of National Union.

LAW

Motion for Directed Verdict

La.C.C.P. art. 1810 provides:

A party who moves for a directed verdict at the close of the evidence offered by an opponent may offer evidence in the event that the motion is not granted, without having reserved the right so to do and to the same extent as if the motion had not been made. A motion for a directed verdict that is not granted is not a waiver of trial by jury even though all parties to the action have moved for directed verdicts. A motion for a directed verdict shall state the specific grounds therefor. The order of the court granting a motion [1094]*1094for a directed verdict is effective without any assent of the jury.

A motion for a directed verdict is properly granted in a jury trial when it is clear that the facts and inferences point so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of the mover that reasonable minds could not reach a different verdict. In determining whether to grant a motion for directed verdict, the trial judge must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the mover’s opponent. Armstrong v. Lorino, 580 So.2d 528, 533 (La.App. 4th Cir.1991), writ denied 584 So.2d 1166 (La.1991).

Motion for Involuntary Dismissal

La.C.C.P. art. 1672(B) provides:

In an action tried by the court without a jury, after the plaintiff has completed the presentation of his evidence, any party, without waiving his right to offer evidence in the event the motion is not granted, may move for a dismissal of the action as to him on the ground that upon the facts and law, the plaintiff has shown no right to relief. The court may then determine the facts and render judgment against the plaintiff and in favor of the moving party or may decline to render any judgment until the close of all the evidence.

Unlike a motion for a directed verdict, a motion for involuntary dismissal requires a trial judge to weigh and evaluate the evidence and render a decision based on a preponderance of the evidence without any special inferences in favor of the mover’s opponent. Barnes v. Thames, 578 So.2d 1155 (La.App. 1st Cir.1991), writ denied 577 So.2d 1009 (La.1991); Sevin v. Shape Spa Four Health & Beauty, 384 So.2d 1011 (La.App. 4th Cir.1980). To prove a case by a preponderance of the evidence, the evidence taken as a whole must show “the fact or cause sought to be proved is more probable than not.” Barnes v. Thames, 578 So.2d at 1164 citing Fuller v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 519 So.2d 366, 369 (La.App. 2d Cir.1988).

It is difficult to discern from the oral reasons which standard was applied to each motion. However, under either standard the trial court properly granted the motions and dismissed appellants’ case.

NEGLIGENCE

The duty-risk analysis for determining liability in negligence actions involves the consideration of four factors:

(1) Was the conduct in question a cause in fact of the resulting harm?
(2) What, if any, duties were owed by the respective parties?
(3) Were the requisite duties breached?
(4) Was the risk, and harm caused, within the scope of protection afforded by the duties breached?

Mart v. Hill, 505 So.2d 1120 (La.1987).

ANALYSIS

The first element requires a determination as to whether the defendants’ conduct played a significant or substantial role in causing harm to Mr. Verdun. The Verduns claim that Mr. Verdun would have avoided contact with Lake Pontchartrain and, consequently, would not have been injured had the defendants properly monitored the water and adequately warned the public of the dangers lurking in the water.

The trial judge made no specific cause-in-fact determination, but stated:

Only in the broadest and generalist (sic) terms was [Mr. Verdun] aware of the pollution in Lake Pontchartrain. Although I don’t believe he knew of the nature of the contamination or the full extent of it, I note that from the evidence ... that ... the public entities through newspapers and/or television prior to July 18, 1985 did publish some articles ... or that there was some knowledge made known to the general public that there was a problem with Lake Pontchartrain. Insofar as how far that goes is another question.

The trial judge’s decision was based on a finding that no appellee owed or assumed a duty to monitor Lake Pontchartrain for pathogenic vibrio cholera non-01 or to warn boaters and fishermen of the hazards this marine bacteria presented. The City [1095]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Fuanya v. United States
D. Colorado, 2022
Batton v. Georgia Gulf
261 F. Supp. 2d 575 (M.D. Louisiana, 2003)
Sharpe v. Bestop, Inc.
730 A.2d 285 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1999)
Daigrepont v. State
688 So. 2d 1290 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
DeStevens v. Harsco Corp.
652 So. 2d 1054 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
Ambrose v. New Orleans Police Dept.
627 So. 2d 233 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
Verdun v. STATE THROUGH DHHR
598 So. 2d 1091 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
598 So. 2d 1091, 1992 La. App. LEXIS 724, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/verdun-v-state-ex-rel-department-of-health-human-resources-lactapp-1992.