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Gautreaux v. W.W. Rowland Trucking Co.2/29/2000
CANNELLA, J., DISSENTS.
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED
Defendants/appellants W.W. Rowland Trucking Company, Gregory J. Lee and Nobel Insurance Company appeal summary judgments finding them to be 100% liable for injuries sustained by plaintiff/appellant Chad Gautreaux and dismissing the other defendants. Finding that Rowland and Lee did not provide a basis to deny the motions and raise issues of material fact, we affirm.
Gautreaux was injured while driving his automobile on the Huey P. Long Bridge. He was following a tractor-trailer rig when suddenly the rear axles of the trailer separated from the chassis, striking the Gautreaux vehicle. Defendant Gregory Lee was an employee of Rowland and was driving the truck while acting in the course and scope of his employment. The tractor was owned by Gregory Lee's father, Charley Lee and leased to Rowland. Nobel was the insurer of the tractor and tractor operator. Gautreaux initially filed suit against the Lees, Rowland, and Burlington Motor Carriers. In subsequent supplemental and amending petitions Gautreaux added Flexi-Van Leasing as an owner of the chassis and substituted Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, the lessee of the chassis, in place of Burlington Motor Carriers. XTRA Lease Inc. a/k/a XTRA Intermodal was also impleaded as an owner of the chassis leased to Burlington. Later added as defendants were Miller Trailer Company (now Oshkosh Trailers, a division of Oshkosh Truck Company) which manufactured the trailer and tandem axles, and In-Terminal Services which operated the terminal where the container and chassis were stored prior to the accident. Oshkosh was alleged to have improperly manufactured and designed the chassis while In-Terminal was allegedly negligent for failing to properly set the locking pins for the axles, failing to properly inspect the trailer, and failing to warn Lee. In this amending petition Gautreaux also pleaded the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.
XTRA moved for summary judgment, and subsequently Gautreaux filed his own motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability. Gautreaux averred that after discovery, it became clear that Rowland and Gregory Lee were 100% at fault and that the other defendants should be dismissed. Attached to these motions were photos, various depositions of the parties and witnesses, Nobel's insurance policy, and certain discovery documents. Also attached to Gautreaux's motion was a statement of uncontested facts. Rowland and Lee filed a memorandum in opposition without accompanying attachments or exhibits. However they did file a written response denying the vast majority of the statement of uncontested facts submitted by Gautreaux.
Following oral argument, the trial court granted judgment in favor of Gautreaux and XTRA, finding Rowland and Lee to be 100% at fault. The court found that Gautreaux was not at fault and dismissed as defendants XTRA, Burlington and Santa Fe, In Terminal Services, Miller and Oshkosh. No reasons for judgment were given.
On appeal, Rowland and Lee contend there are questions of material fact sufficient to preclude summary judgment and that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is inappropriate to the facts of the present case.
Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo under the same criteria that govern the district court's consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. An appellate court must ask the same questions as does the trial court in determining whether summary judgment is appropriate: whether there is a genuine issue of material fact remaining to be decided, and whether the appellant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The appellate court must consider whe
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