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Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Chrysler Corp.7/31/2002
e the trial court may, on its own motion, grant a new trial on any or all issues under La.Code Civ.P. art. 1971, it must do so under the seven day time restraints imposed under La.Code Civ.P. art. 1974. Since more than seven days had passed since the March 30, 2001 JNOV, the trial court could not grant a new trial. See Langston v. Willis, 177 So.2d 620 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1965); Robinson v. T. Smith and Son, Inc., 148 So.2d 477 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1963). Therefore, the December 8, 2000 judgment, as it pertains to the award of general damages, is reinstated and is a final and non-appealable judgment as all time delays have passed for appeal.
SALES TAX
Finally, DaimlerChrysler and Southern Chrysler urge that the trial court erred as a matter of law in permitting Safeco to recover sales tax as a component of the Miotons's loss paid by them. We agree. A subrogated insurer may not recover reimbursement from an alleged tortfeasor for sales tax it paid to its insured. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Berthelot, 98-1011 (La. 4/13/99), 732 So.2d 1230. Therefore, we remand this case to the trial court for a determination of the sales tax that was paid by the Miotons and order that Safeco's judgment be reduced by that amount.
WORK DONE ON APPEAL
The Miotons, in their answer, request attorney's fees for work done on appeal. Although most of the work done on appeal was related to issues other than economic losses, some work was expended on that issue. Accordingly, we award $2,000 for attorneys' fees on appeal.
CONCLUSION
We find that the granting of the JNOV by the trial court was erroneous and reverse the award for special damages and general damages made in the JNOVs and restore those made by the jury. We further find that the Miotons had causes of action under the LPLA and in redhibition and, accordingly, we award them damages for the return of the purchase price of the van less the sales taxes and attorneys' fees in the amount of $25,000, together with an additional $2,000 for work done on appeal. This matter is remanded to the trial court to determine the sales tax attributed to the Miotons' special damages. Cost of this appeal shall be divided equally between DaimlerChrysler, Southern Chrysler, and the Miotons.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
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