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Castille v. State2/2/2000
(Court composed of Sylvia R. Cooks, Michael G. Sullivan, and Glenn B. Gremillion, Judges.)
AFFIRMED.
Jerry Castille was injured in an automobile accident on June 1, 1991. He, his wife, and children filed suit against the State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development, and the Parish of Lafayette. Defendants filed joint petitions for declaratory judgment, seeking a judgment declaring the 1996 amendment to La.R.S. 13:5106(B)(1), which established a $500,000 statutory limit on general damages recoverable for personal injuries, to be applicable to the Castilles' claims. The trial court denied judgment. Defendants appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm.
Background
In 1985, the legislature passed Act No. 452 which amended La.R.S. 13:5106 to establish a $500,000 limitation on general damages in suits against the state, a state agency, or political subdivision. In Chamberlain v. State, through DOTD, 624 So.2d 874 (La.1993), the Louisiana Supreme Court declared the statute to be unconstitutional, finding that it conflicted with Article XII, Section 10(A) of the Louisiana Constitution. In 1995, the legislature passed Act 1328 which proposed the amendment of Article XII, Section 10(C) of the Constitution to allow the legislature to "limit or provide the extent of liability of the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision in all cases." Act 1328 was approved by the people of this state and became effective November 23, 1995.
In conjunction with Act 1328, the legislature enacted Act 828 which amended La.R.S. 13:5106(B)(1) to limit the recovery of general damages to "the limit of liability in effect at the time of judicial demand." As of the effective date of the amendment, the limit of liability was $750,000. Thereafter, the limit of liability would be established on January 1 of each year by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. In 1996, La.R.S. 13:5106(B)(1) was amended again to re-institute a fixed limit of liability of $500,000 on general damages. See Act 63 of 1996.
Declaratory Judgment
Defendants' motions for declaratory judgment are based in part on the language contained in the 1995 constitutional amendment to Article XII, Section 10 and the 1996 amendment to La.R.S. 13:5106(B)(1). Act 1328, the 1995 constitutional amendment to Article XII, Section 10(C), provides in pertinent part:
he legislature by law may limit or provide for the extent of liability of the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision in all cases, including the circumstances giving rise to liability and the kinds and amounts of recoverable damages. . . . The legislature may provide that such limitations, procedures, and effects of judgments shall be applicable to existing as well as future claims. (Emphasis added.)
Act 63 of 1996 amends and re-enacts La.R.S. 13:5106(B)(1) to read as follows:
In all suits for personal injury to any one person, the total amount recoverable, including all derivative claims, exclusive of property damages, medical care and related benefits and loss of earnings, and loss of future earnings, as provided in this Section, shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars. (Emphasis added.)
Defendants' argue that the constitutional amendment specifically defines "all" to include new and existing claims and that "all suits for personal injury " contained in Act 63 was "written to implement constitutionally granted authority to its fullest." Further, they argue that Act 63 "repealed all limiting language and provided expansively that its provisions apply to `all suits for personal injury.'"
We do not agree with D
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