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Seitz v. Scofield2/26/2002
AFFIRMED.
In this personal injury action, after trial, the jury found that Jean Scofield was negligent but that her negligence was not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's back injury. The plaintiff, Donna Seitz, appeals. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court.
Facts and Procedural History
May 28, 1999 was Ariel Seitz's last day of fourth grade. She was a student at St. Philip Neri School in Metairie and classes were dismissed at 11:30 a.m. that day. At that time, her father, Axel Seitz, and her maternal grandmother, Jean Scofield, enjoyed joint custody of Ariel.
On the last day of school, Donna Seitz, Axel's wife and Ariel's step-mother, called the office at St. Philip Neri to say that she would be picking Ariel up from school that day as directed by the court-ordered custody agreement. She also informed the school secretary that she had telephoned for a deputy from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office to meet her at the school to avoid any trouble that might arise.
Immediately, the school secretary called Jean Scofield to report Seitz's telephone call. Jean Scofield telephoned her attorney and drove to the school. At that time, Scofield was under the mistaken impression that custody did not revert to Mr. Seitz until 3:30 p.m. and had planned to pick Ariel up from school that morning.
When Deputy Haase of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrived at the school, both women were already in the parking lot. Conveniently, Donna Seitz had a copy of the court order with her that day. After examining the court order, Deputy Haase determined that Donna Seitz was allowed to take Ariel. As Donna walked with Ariel toward her car, Jean Scofield requested that she be allowed to take Ariel's school backpack home with her since she had paid for the bag and the school and since Ariel's report card and standardized test scores were in the backpack.
Accounts of the ensuing "altercation" differ. Over the course of the litigation, Donna Seitz reported that, during the alleged altercation, Jean Scofield shoved her from behind, jerked the backpack from Ariel's back, then swung the backpack to hit Seitz in the shoulder. She also stated that Scofield shoved her from behind then reached over her back to grab the backpack from Ariel's back. Further, Seitz told her family physician that she was injured when her step-daughter's grandmother "tried to wrestle the schoolbag away from her."
Jean Scofield testified, however, that she was facing Seitz when she removed the backpack from Ariel's back. She adamantly denied touching Seitz with the backpack; in fact, she testified that Seitz grabbed the backpack after Scofield was holding it and Seitz forcefully attempted to "yank" the bag out of Scofield's hands by twisting and pulling the bag. Further, it is uncontroverted that Seitz did not fall as a result of the alleged incident nor did she experience any bruising or other abrasions.
Immediately after the "altercation," Seitz reported the alleged incident to Deputy Haase, who investigated. Although there were several people standing in the parking lot of the school, no one remembered seeing the alleged incident. At trial, Ariel testified that she did not see any type of altercation between her grandmother and her step-mother. At Seitz's insistence, Haase, however, cited Scofield for simple battery that day. That charge was later dropped.
That day, after Seitz dropped Ariel off at home, she returned to work as a hairdresser at Supercuts. Later that evening, she began to experience muscle pain in her lower back, which she treated with over-the-counter medication and heating p
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