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Vallien v. State ex rel Dept. of Transportation and Development3/27/2002
AFFIRMED.
Thibodeaux, J., concurs in part and dissents in part and assigns written reasons.
These wrongful death and survival claims arise out of a single-vehicle accident which occurred in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on the morning of March 13, 1997. In the accident, Leonard Vallien, Sr., sustained fatal injuries when his truck left the road and collided with a tree in the marsh. Mr. Vallien's wife, Christine, instituted this lawsuit on behalf of herself and her three minor children, Leonard Vallien, Jr., Tiffany Vallien, and Joy Vallien. She named the State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), as the only defendant.
A jury trial resulted in a verdict finding Mr. Vallien twenty-five percent at fault in causing the accident and assigning the remaining seventy-five percent to DOTD. The jury awarded Mrs. Vallien and her children a total of $1,215,000.00 in general damages and $545,641.88 in special damages. The apportionment of partial fault to Mr. Vallien had the effect of reducing the total jury verdict to $1,320,481.41. The trial court executed a judgment incorporating the jury's findings, but further reduced the award to $909,231.41 to comport with La.R.S. 13:5106, which establishes a cap on general damages in suits against the state. Both DOTD and Mrs. Vallien have appealed.
DISCUSSION OF THE RECORD
The accident occurred on Louisiana Highway 82 (Hwy. 82) in Grand Chenier, Cameron Parish, Louisiana, while Mr. Vallien and his passenger, Nelson Phillips, were on their way home following a seven-day shift offshore. Mr. Vallien, followed by co-worker Renaldo Boutte, was traveling in an easterly direction in his 1991 Mitsubishi truck. While attempting a passing maneuver in the westbound lane of Hwy. 82, Mr. Vallien's truck struck an area of ponded water, causing him to lose control of his truck, slide across the eastbound lane of the highway through the ditch on the south side of the highway, and come to rest under a tree limb in the marsh. The branch of the tree sheared off the top of the truck, piercing the passenger compartment. Mr. Vallien and Mr. Phillips were killed as a result of the impact with the tree.
Both Mrs. Vallien and DOTD filed timely appeals. In its three assignments of error, DOTD asserts (1) that the jury erred in concluding that the roadway and shoulder defects created an unreasonable risk of harm and that it had prior notice of any such defects, (2) that the jury erred in its apportionment of fault, and (3) that the jury erred by awarding excessive damages to each of the children. In her appeal, Mrs. Vallien seeks a declaration that La.R.S. 13:5106, the statute limiting awards of general damages in suits against the state, and La.R.S. 13:5112, the statute limiting prejudgment interest, are unconstitutional on the grounds that they violate the Louisiana Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, Sovereign Immunity Clause, and Access to Courts Clause.
OPINION
DOTD's Assignment of Error Number One
In this assignment of error, DOTD contends that the jury erred in concluding that any roadway and/or shoulder defects created an unreasonable risk of harm and that it had prior notice of any such defects. Specifically, DOTD asserts that (1) no credible evidence existed for finding water pooled in the road at depths greater than one-half inch, (2) its duty to provide safe roads and shoulders did not encompass Mr. Vallien's manner of driving, (3) pooling of water in the roadway was not the cause-in-fact of the accident, and (4) it did not have notice of any defects in the road or shoulder.
Whether the claim against the DOTD is based on
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