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Bel v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.9/22/2000
In this wrongful death and survival action, plaintiffs, Mary Bel, Linda Mire and Carolyn Heard, appeal the trial court's judgment, granting the motion for summary judgment filed by defendant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm") and declaring that plaintiffs' total potential recovery against State Farm for the wrongful death and survival claims arising out of the death of Douglas Bel is limited to the "per person" limit of State Farm's policy. For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This matter arises out of an automobile accident which occurred on May 3, 1997 on Louisiana Highway 190 in St. Tammany Parish. Douglas Bel was a pedestrian crossing Hwy. 190 when he was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Melinda LeBlanc. Mr. Bel's wife, Mary Bel, and his adult daughters, Linda Mire and Carolyn Heard, instituted this action, asserting a survival action and wrongful death claims. One of the named defendants was State Farm, the uninsured/underinsured motorist carrier of Douglas and Mary Bel.
State Farm filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that there was no genuine issue of material fact and that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, dismissing plaintiffs' demands against it. State Farm asserted that one "per person" policy limit of $100,000.00 applied to all claims asserted by plaintiffs arising out of Mr. Bel's death, i.e., the survival action and the individual wrongful death claims. State Farm further contended that the $100,000.00 per person limit had been tendered to plaintiffs as a result of their claims for the death of Mr. Bel. Thus, State Farm argued, the maximum benefits payable under the policy had already been paid, and State Farm was entitled to judgment, dismissing plaintiffs' claims against it.
In support of its motion for summary judgment, State Farm introduced its policy and asserted that, under the terms of the policy, recovery by plaintiffs was limited to the per person limit of $100,000.00. State Farm further contended that wrongful death and survival claims made by surviving family members of a decedent "are derivative in Louisiana and do not permit access by the multiple claimants into the 'per accident' or $300,000 limits."
Plaintiffs, on the other hand, contended that the survival action and wrongful death claims were separate and distinct, with three separate individuals suffering separate and distinct injuries. Thus, plaintiffs contended, the separate injuries to the three statutory beneficiaries triggered the "per accident" limit of $300,000.00.
Finding that the claims asserted by plaintiffs were derivative actions, the trial court concluded that the "per person" limit applied to all claims. Accordingly, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of State Farm, finding that recovery against State Farm for the survival action together with all wrongful death actions asserted by plaintiffs was limited to the "per person" limit of State Farm's policy, rather than the "per accident" limit. From this judgment, plaintiffs appeal.
DISCUSSION
A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full- scale trial where there is no genuine factual dispute. Sanders v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 96-1751, p. 5 (La. App. 1st Cir. 6/20/97), 696 So. 2d 1031, 1034, writ denied, 97- 1911 (La. 10/31/97), 703 So. 2d 29. It should only be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966.
Previously, our c
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