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McBride v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company3/26/2002
REVERSED; DAMAGES AWARDED
This matter arises out of an automobile accident in which Plaintiffs-Appellants assert the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) was at fault. Finding manifest error in the trial judge's apportionment of fault, we reverse this finding, find the DOTD 25% at fault in the accident, and award damages.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Suit in this matter was filed on September 19, 1994, originally naming as Defendants Scott Falgout and his automobile liability insurer, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. Falgout was the driver of the automobile into which Plaintiffs' driver collided; Falgout and State Farm were ultimately dismissed from the suit. Also added, then dismissed, was Falgout's employer, A3M. A summary judgment was granted by the trial judge dismissing A3M and their insurer on the grounds that Falgout had not been in the course and scope of his employment when the accident occurred.
The named Plaintiffs were the guest passengers of the other driver involved in the accident and their parents. These Plaintiffs are Felton and Janice McBride, on behalf of the (then) minors, Jason and Paul McBride, who also sought damages for loss of consortium; Charlette (spelled Charlotte in the transcript) Mazique Davis, on behalf of the minor Eric Mazique, who also has a loss of consortium claim; Presley and Ruth Taylor, on behalf of the (then) minor Ponce Taylor; and George and Leona Grimsley, on behalf of the (then) minor Justin Grimsley.
Though the DOTD had not originally been a Defendant, on July 26, 1995, the Plaintiffs added the Department by way of their First Amended Petition for Damages.
A Third Supplemental and Amended Petition was filed on January 21, 1997, substituting Jason McBride, Ponce Taylor and Jason Grimsley for their parents as plaintiffs for their individual claims.
A bench trial was held on August 7 and 8, 2000. At the conclusion of Plaintiffs' case, the DOTD moved for an involuntary dismissal, which was denied. The case was then submitted for judgment on the evidence produced only by Plaintiffs. A written judgment and reasons were filed into the record on November 4, 2000. A motion for new trial was denied on December 29, 2000.
Plaintiffs-Appellants now appeal the judgment, and assert the following errors:
1. The trial judge erred in failing to hold the DOTD responsible because plaintiffs proved all of the essential elements of strict liability as well as negligence;
2. The trial judge was wrong in failing to find that plaintiffs' uncontroverted evidence established a prima facie case;
3. As to the issue of causation, the trial judge was wrong in narrowly focusing his analysis on just one party because the evidence showed that there was more than one cause-in fact of the collision.
FACTS
The accident in question occurred on July 28, 1994. On this date, Jason and Paul McBride, Eric Mazique, Ponce Taylor and Justin Grimsley were guest passengers in the vehicle being driven by a friend, Lashonda Williams (referred to sometimes as Lashonda Short). The accident occurred at the intersection of LA Highway 3188 (LA 3188) and Fairway Drive, located in LaPlace. Plaintiffs alleged fault on the part of the DOTD based on their assertions that the intersection in question was defective, an assertion they sought to prove by means of testimony regarding public complaints about the intersection, and through the testimony of their expert, a traffic engineer.
LA 3188 is a four-lane road, divided by a wide median, running in a north-south direction. At the time this accident occu
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