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Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. v. Regal Insurance Co.3/6/2002
r either failed to engage her signal or the signal on her truck was inoperable. Plaintiff had no cause to reasonably anticipate Cormier would veer back into the right lane in order to enter her driveway.
The facts in Rothering similarly are not consistent with the present facts. In that case, plaintiff's following vehicle, a motorcycle, attempted to overcome a defendant's lead vehicle which was stopped at an intersection rather than veering to the left as the lead vehicle in Myers. The defendant in Rothering was found liable for failing to signal a right turn, and the plaintiff was found contributorily negligent for failing to maintain a proper lookout and driving on the shoulder.
Again, the trial court in the instant case found Fitzgerald did not depart from his lane of travel when Cormier's vehicle veered into the left turning lane. The trial court also found Cormier did not engage a turn signal enabling Fitzgerald to anticipate she would steer back into the right lane.
We find the facts in Nesbit analogous to the facts in the case at bar. Nesbit involved a collision between two vehicles, both proceeding in the same direction. Nesbit, 218 So.2d 396. The plaintiff's vehicle followed the defendant's vehicle, an eighteen-wheel truck. The court found the defendant's vehicle crossed over the centerline into the oncoming lane of travel. The court found defendant's action induced plaintiff to believe defendant was going to park the truck on the shoulder. Instead, the truck attempted a right turn resulting in the two vehicles colliding. Id. The court allocated 100% fault to defendant holding motorists making right turns have a statutory duty to assure the turn can be made safely. Id.
Pursuant to the legal principles and applicable standard of review noted above, we cannot say the trial court's determination of fault in this instance is clearly wrong. The trial court found Cormier's testimony was inconsistent. The trial court further found Cormier's husband contradicted her testimony that he helped her connect the trailer's lights. Her testimony that she did not veer into the left turning lane was contradicted by Joseph Calais, an independent witness traveling directly behind Fitzgerald's vehicle when the accident occurred. Moreover, the trial court found the investigating officer's testimony probative when he testified the skid marks were consistent with Fitzgerald's statement that he swerved onto the right shoulder only to avoid Cormier vehicle. The court stated;
Skid marks indicate Mr. Fitzgerald attempted to avoid the collision by veering to the right . . . onto the shoulder of the road. This leads the Court to conclude that either Mrs. Cormier failed to signal her intentions or that the signal on the truck was inoperable.
The record supports the conclusion that Fitzgerald encountered an unanticipated hazard created by Cormier's preceding vehicle. The trial court properly found Fitzgerald free of fault. See Evans, 609 So.2d 299.
DECREE
For the forgoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court allocating 100% fault to Ms. Cormier and her insurer, Regal Insurance Company, is hereby affirmed. All costs of this proceeding are assessed against the appellants, Ms. Joyce Cormier and Regal Insurance Company.
AFFIRMED.
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