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Wiley v. Sanders8/22/2001
This is an appeal from the grant of a motion for summary judgment. Claymon Wiley filed a petition seeking damages for the wrongful death of her nineteen-year-old son, Robert Wiley, who drowned in a pond located on Vernon Sanders' property in Columbia, Louisiana. Ms. Wiley died during the pendency of the litigation, and the administratrix of her succession was substituted as the proper party plaintiff. Defendants, Vernon Sanders and his insurer, filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the petition.
Facts
Robert Wiley drowned just after midnight on June 14, 1992. Mr. Sanders home is on a nine-acre tract in Columbia, Louisiana. At the time of this incident, Mr. Sanders, a millwright, was working in Shreveport, Louisiana. Because he couldn't come home for the weekend, his wife joined him in Shreveport. His eighteen-year-old son, Samuel, remained at home alone and had a group of young people over, many of whom played on the same high school football team. They were drinking alcohol and swimming. Samuel estimated that there were about 20 guests and "there was a lot of people drunk."
On that evening, Robert Wiley had first attended a fish fry where he consumed several beers. From the fish fry, he went to the party at the home of Vernon Sanders. How much he had to drink at the Sanders' home is unclear. Wiley was last seen sitting on a platform or raft floating on the pond with his legs crossed and eyes closed. Participants at the party stated that Richard Morgan first noticed that Wiley was missing. A search of the area found that Wiley's clothes were still on the bank. The sheriff's department was eventually contacted. That morning after daylight, Wiley's body was found in the pond. The autopsy placed the time of death at 12:45 a.m. on June 14, 1992.
The pond which was dug by defendant, Vernon Sanders, was located about sixty yards behind Sanders' house and was used for swimming and fishing. The pond was basically diamond-shaped and covered one-quarter of an acre. It had a gradual slope with no unexpected drop-offs or washouts and the deepest point was seven and one half feet. There were no stumps, concealed or hidden objects in the pond. There was a wooden platform or raft at the pond. At one time the platform had been anchored to the bottom, but had since been turned upside down and pulled onto the shoreline. On this night, the overturned raft had been pushed out into the water. Wiley was last seen sitting on this raft which was estimated to be six to ten feet from the shore. According to Samuel Sanders, a law officer told him that Wiley's body was discovered in knee-deep water approximately 15 feet from the shore. The autopsy performed by Dr. Abdulla Elias revealed no contusions, lesions or head injuries.
Claymon Sue Wiley, the mother of the decedent, filed a petition for damages on June 11, 1993, naming Vernon Sanders and State Farm Fire and Casualty, Sanders' liability insurer, as defendants. Ms. Wiley died on March 27, 1998. On June 18, 1999, Aisha Moore, the administratrix of the succession of Ms. Wiley and sister of the decedent, was substituted as the proper party plaintiff. Trial was set for August 21, 2000; however, defendants file their motion for summary judgment on June 1, 2000.
Attached to the summary judgment motion were depositions of seven of the young men who were at the Sanders residence at one time or another on the night of the drowning, as well as the depositions of Dr. Elias, the pathologist, and Vernon Sanders. Noticeably absent is a deposition or affidavit of Richard Morgan, Wiley's friend. Morgan was with Wiley all evening and first noticed that he was missing.
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