Wilson v. US Fire and Cas. Co.

593 So. 2d 695, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 3506, 1991 WL 276977
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 30, 1991
Docket90-CA-2232
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 593 So. 2d 695 (Wilson v. US Fire and Cas. Co.) 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
Wilson v. US Fire and Cas. Co., 593 So. 2d 695, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 3506, 1991 WL 276977 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

593 So.2d 695 (1991)

Daryl WILSON
v.
U.S. FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY.

No. 90-CA-2232.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

December 30, 1991.
Rehearing Denied March 18, 1992.
Writ Denied May 1, 1992.

*696 Salvador E. Gutierrez, Jr., Mary Ann Hand, Gutierrez and Hand, New Orleans, for plaintiff.

Sidney J. Angelle, Wayne R. Maldonado, Lobman, Carhahan & Batt, Metairie, for defendant.

James S. Rees, III, Albert D. Giraud, Simon and Rees, New Orleans, for defendants.

*697 Before WARD and ARMSTRONG, JJ., and GULOTTA, J. Pro Tem.

ARMSTRONG, Judge.

Plaintiff, Daryl Wilson appeals the trial court's judgment adopting the jury's findings in this personal injury cause of action. Defendants appeal that part of the trial court's judgment assessing costs against them. We affirm the trial court's judgment.

This matter arises out of an automobile accident which occurred on or about May 15, 1988. Plaintiff, Daryl Wilson, was operating a vehicle in the course and scope of his employment as deputy with the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. He heard a call on the police radio and decided to proceed to the scene to lend his assistance. As he proceeded towards the scene of the call, his vehicle collided with a vehicle being operated by Charol Bachemin.

Mr. Wilson was injured in said automobile accident. On May 9, 1989, he filed suit against U.S. Fire and Casualty Company, in its capacity as the uninsured/underinsured motorist insurer for the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. Plaintiff accepted $28,110.00 in settlement from Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, the liability insurer for Ms. Bachemin, prior to filing his lawsuit.

On March 6, 1990, plaintiff supplemented and amended his petition to add United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company as a defendant. He added U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Company in its capacity as his own alleged uninsured/underinsured motorist insurer.

A trial on the merits was held on this matter on August 7, 8, 9, 10, 1990. An overall amount of $17,825.00 was awarded to Daryl Wilson. However, he was found to be fifty-one (51%) at fault for the accident in question. Therefore, the overall amount to which he would have been entitled would have been $8,734.25. Recognizing defendants' right to a credit for the amounts already offered to plaintiff by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and accepted by him, the trial court stated in its judgment:

Accordingly, plaintiff takes naught by these proceedings.

In the same judgment, the court stated as follows:

It is further ordered, adjudged and decreed that defendants, U.S. Fire and Casualty Company and U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Company pay all costs of these proceedings.

Both parties appeal the trial court's judgment.

COMPARATIVE FAULT

Plaintiff argues that the evidence proves that Charol Bachemin was 100% at fault in causing the accident. Plaintiff claims that Charol Bachemin violated three different traffic ordinances: La.R.S. 32:122, 32:125 and 32:416.1. He argues that violation of a traffic ordinance is negligence per se. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. v. Hoerner, 426 So.2d 205 (La.App. 4th Cir.1982) writ denied 433 So.2d 154 (La.1983).

Plaintiff argues that he was in no way at fault in causing this accident. When Charol Bachemin failed to stop, plaintiff veered into the right lane to avoid the accident.

Defendants contend that the jury did find that Charol Bachemin was partially at fault in causing the accident. Defendants argue that plaintiff is incorrect in his claim that Charol Bachemin violated three traffic ordinances and such violations constituted negligence per se. La.R.S. 32:122 and 32:125 assume that Charol Bachemin could see an approaching vehicle. La.R.S. 32:416.1 concerns the so-called "minor's curfew" for driving between the hours of midnight and 5:00 a.m. However, this statute is in no way relevant to the cause of the accident in question. Plaintiff did not offer any evidence to suggest that an alleged violation of this statute was a proximate cause of the accident in question. The accident could have happened just as easily a few minutes prior to midnight as opposed to a few minutes after.

Defendants maintain that while it is true that the violation of a traffic ordinance is negligence per se, the presumption is rebuttable. *698 Additionally, for such negligence to bar recovery, it must have been a proximate cause of the resulting collision. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. v. Hoerner, supra. The time at which the accident occurred was not shown to be in any way related to the accident. Finally, it should be noted that Charol Bachemin received no traffic citations in connection with this automobile accident.

There was evidence and testimony introduced at trial which showed that at the time of the accident plaintiff was speeding down Judge Perez Highway in the darkness of the early morning on May 15, 1988, without utilizing the flashing lights or siren available on his police car. The jury's assessment of comparative fault was a finding of fact based upon sufficient evidence and made after credibility determinations. We find no manifest error.

PRESUMPTION OF LIABILITY

In special requested jury charges which were submitted to the court prior to trial, the plaintiff requested that Plaintiff's Requested Charge No. 5, which reads as follows, be given to the jury:

A left turning motorist, when involved in a collision is burdened with a presumption of liability for the accident. She must show she was free from negligence to avoid the imposition of liability. Gibson v. Fisher, 401 So.2d 565 (La.App.3d Cir.1981).

Plaintiff argues that the court refused to give his instruction as requested and in fact erroneously charged the jury that there was no presumption of negligence for a left-turning motorist. Plaintiff claims that he timely objected to the erroneous charge being given to the jury as well as to Plaintiff's Requested Charge No. 5 not being given to the jury.

Plaintiff contends that the court committed reversible error by not instructing the jury that Charol Bachemin was burdened with a presumption of liability for the accident. Plaintiff cites Dunn v. Snyder, 388 So.2d 450 (La.App.2d Cir.1980) to argue that a presumption exists that the driver making a left turn is liable for any resulting accident. See also: Gibson v. Fisher, 401 So.2d 565 (La.App. 3d Cir.1981), Casimere v. Ryder Truck Rentals, Inc., 324 So.2d 855 (La.App. 4th Cir.1975) writ denied 329 So.2d 453 (La.1976), Bennett v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 373 So.2d 1362 (La.App. 1st Cir.1979), Washington Fire and Marine Insurance Co. v. Fireman's Insurance Company, 232 La. 379, 94 So.2d 295 (1957).

Defendants argue that the only controlling case cited by plaintiff is Washington Fire and Marine Insurance Company v. Fireman's Insurance Company, supra, which provides that when a left-hand turn is being made and an accident occurs, the burden rests heavily on the driver who is making the left-hand turn to explain how the accident occurred and to show that he was free from negligence. See also: Adams v. Campbell, 420 So.2d 1141 (La. App. 4th Cir.1982). The trial judge adequately instructed the jury that the left-turning motorist involved in a collision "must show he was free from negligence to avoid the imposition of liability."

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Bluebook (online)
593 So. 2d 695, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 3506, 1991 WL 276977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-us-fire-and-cas-co-lactapp-1991.