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Scott v. American Tobacco Co.11/15/2002
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH CIRCUIT, PARISH OF ORLEANS
We granted certiorari in this tobacco class action litigation to determine whether the lower courts properly considered the issue of the applicability of comparative fault to plaintiffs' suit for relief in the form of a court-supervised medical monitoring and/or cessation program. Additionally, we granted certiorari to examine the validity of the trial court's amended trial plan. For the reasons that follow, we find the lower courts acted prematurely in considering the applicability of comparative fault principles to plaintiffs' claims at this point in the litigation and prior to any adjudication relating to defendants' liability for damages. Moreover, we conclude as herein discussed that Phase I of the trial should be structured to solely determine defendants' liability for all damages and any decisions regarding future Phases of this complex litigation should be withheld until such time as they become necessary and relevant.
Facts and Procedural History
As discussed in our prior decision, Scott v. American Tobacco Co., 01-2498 (La. 9/25/01), 795 So.2d 1176 (Scott I), this litigation arises from a class action filed by plaintiffs against various tobacco company defendants. Specifically, plaintiffs seek the establishment of a court-supervised medical monitoring and/or cessation program on behalf of all Louisiana residents who are or were smokers of cigarettes manufactured by defendants on or before May 24, 1996, and who desire to participate in such assistance programs.
On August 2, 2002, plaintiffs filed a Motion and Incorporated Memorandum to Exclude Allegations of or Evidence Regarding Comparative Fault. The Motion asserted that principles of comparative fault were not applicable because the requested relief certified for class-wide treatment was not an "action for damages" pursuant to La. C.C. art. 2323. Subsequently, plaintiffs stipulated on the record that they would not proceed with a cause of action for negligence at trial. After a hearing, the trial court granted plaintiffs' motion. In its reasons for judgment, the trial court indicated that comparative fault is inapplicable to plaintiffs' theories related to defendants' intentional conduct under La. C.C. art. 2323, that plaintiffs' claim for the establishment of a medical monitoring and/or cessation program is not an action for "damages" as defined in Bourgeois v. A.P. Green Indus., Inc., 97-3188 (La. 7/8/98), 716 So.2d 355, and that comparative fault would be inapplicable to plaintiffs' theories of recovery under the principles set forth by this court in Bell v. Jet Wheel Blast, 462 So.2d 166 (La. 1985), and Veazey v. Elmwood Plantation Associates, Ltd, 93-2818 (La. 11/30/94), 650 So.2d 712 (La. 1994). On September 20, 2002, the court of appeal granted defendants' supervisory writ application and reversed the judgment of the trial court. Relying in part on this court's decision in Gilboy v. American Tobacco Co., 582 So.2d 1263 (La. 1991), the court of appeal concluded that comparative fault of all the parties, including plaintiffs, should be considered, even if the only theories asserted in Phase I of the trial involve issues of intentional conduct by defendants. Thus, the court of appeal held comparative fault principles to be applicable in this litigation.
At approximately the same time, defendants filed a Motion for Notice of Fundamental Trial Issues in Accordance with Defendants' Due Process Rights. In response, the trial court issued a judgment amending the Trial Plan. As to Phase I, the trial court's judgment stated:
In accordance with LACCP Art. 593.1, the Phase I trial shall adjudicate the
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