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Breaux v. Touchet6/26/2002
AFFIRMED.
This case originated from a suit filed by Clarence Touchet to recover personal injury damages in connection with an automobile accident that occurred in 1993. That suit resulted in a 1997 judgment in favor of Mr. Touchet. The issue now before us involves the enforcement of certain aspects of that judgment.
Personal Injury Action
Clarence Touchet sustained personal injuries in a December 30, 1993 automobile accident that occurred in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. The accident occurred at an intersection where an employee of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development was attempting to repair a traffic light that had malfunctioned and a deputy sheriff of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Department was directing traffic during the repair process. Mr. Touchet was a guest passenger in a vehicle being driven by Monique Leger when it collided in the intersection with a vehicle being driven by Angela Mire.
Mr. Touchet's suit proceeded to trial against Lafayette Parish Sheriff Don Breaux; Deputy Michael Prejean (the deputy sheriff directing traffic); and the State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD). A bifurcated trial resulted in conflicting trial dispositions. The jury, which determined the liability of DOTD, apportioned fault as follows: DOTD 27%, Ms. Leger 23%, and Deputy Prejean 50%. The trial court, which determined the liability of Sheriff Breaux and Deputy Prejean, found DOTD to be without fault in causing the accident. Instead, the trial court found Deputy Prejean 75% at fault and Ms. Leger 25% at fault. Additionally, while the jury found Mr. Touchet's damages to be $101,500.00, the trial court awarded damages in the amount of $123,035.37. The trial court signed a judgment on August 6, 1997, incorporating the conflicting dispositions without reconciling them. Additionally, the judgment contained the following language:
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that there be judgment herein in favor of Cross Claimant, State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation & Development, and against the Cross Defendants, Don Breaux, in his capacity as Sheriff of Lafayette Parish, and Deputy Michael Prejean, for indemnity in the amount of seventy-five (75%) percent of the amount for which the Cross Claimant, State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation & Development, is cast in judgment, including costs, with legal interest thereon from date of judicial demand, until paid.
It is the enforcement of this language that has given rise to the current dispute.
All three defendants appealed the judgment. However, before a decision could be rendered on appeal, Mr. Touchet's attorney and DOTD's attorney reached an apparent agreement which caused DOTD to dismiss its appeal. By a letter dated October 21, 1997, Mr. Touchet's attorney advised DOTD's attorney as follows:
The principal amount of the judgment against DOTD is $27,405. Legal interest through October 20, 1997, according to my calculation, is $7,195.70, bringing the total principal and interest due under the Judgment to $34,600.70. You have a Judgment granting you indemnity from the Sheriff for 75% of that amount, making your net loss on this Judgment $8,650.17.
If DOTD does not appeal the Judgment, I would recommend to Mr. Touchet that he agree to:
1. Withhold collection of the Judgment until after the Sheriff's appeal is decided, and
2. Forgive $5,000.00 of the unindemnified portion of the judgment.
I do not know that the Sheriff is even going to challenge your right to indemnity, but even if he does, I cannot see any
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