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Yellott v. Underwriters Insurance Co.8/31/2005
Court composed of Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux, Chief Judge, Jimmie C. Peters, Marc T. Amy, Michael G. Sullivan, and Elizabeth A. Pickett, Judges.
AMY, J., CONCURS IN PART AND DISSENTS IN PART AND ASSIGNS REASONS.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND RENDERED.
This personal injury action, arising out of a car collision between a left-turning pickup truck and the plaintiff's vehicle, which was attempting to pass, was tried by jury and resulted in a fault allocation of 50% to each driver. The jury awarded the plaintiff, M. Jayne Yellott ("Yellott"), $10,000.00 for loss of past earnings and $90,000.00 for past, present, and future medical expenses. However, the jury rejected Yellott's request for general damages and damages for loss of future earning capacity. Yellott has appealed, contending that a reallocation of fault is necessary based on the evidence presented at trial and that the damage award should be requantified and further modified to reflect general damages and damages for loss of future earning capacity.
The defendants, Sabine Pools, Inc. and its insurer, Underwriters Insurance Company (hereafter collectively referred to as "Sabine Pools"), answered the appeal, seeking an increase in the allocation of fault to Yellott and additionally seeking a reduction in all monetary damages awarded to her. Sabine Pools has also asked this court to modify the assessment of court costs imposed by the trial court.
Both parties have asked this court to consider whether a new trial is due as a result of the trial court's denial of the parties' respective motions to preclude lay opinion testimony of fact witnesses for both sides, which the parties contend constituted inadmissible and prejudicial testimony. We conclude that the trial court committed legal error in allowing the lay opinion testimony of Trooper Ronald Mann and witnesses David Bunch and Michael LeLeux. We decline to remand for a new trial. Rather, because these legal errors interdicted the fact-finding process and were prejudicial, we conduct a de novo review of the record.
For the following reasons, we reverse the portion of the judgment which rejected the plaintiff's claims for general damages and damages for loss of future earning capacity. We award $100,000.00 in general damages and $181,694.00 for loss of future earning capacity. Further, we increase the award of damages to the plaintiff for past loss of earnings to $23,189.00 but decrease the award of medical expenses to the plaintiff to $34,500.00. Finally, we reallocate the assessment of fault to ninety percent to Sabine Pools, Inc. and ten percent to Ms. Yellott and trial court costs similarly of ninety percent to Sabine Pools, Inc. and ten percent to Ms. Yellott. The judgment is affirmed in all other respects.
I. ISSUES
This appeal presents multiple issues. First, both sides of this dispute have asked this court to determine whether the trial court's admission of certain lay opinion testimony from multiple fact witnesses constituted error that necessitates a new trial. Additionally, this court is faced with the question of whether the jury's allocation of fault and its damage awards are reasonable based on the evidence presented at trial. Finally, this court has been asked to consider whether the trial court's assessment of court costs to the parties should be modified.
II. FACTS
On August 21, 2000, a car accident occurred between Yellott, who was driving a Pontiac Grand Am, and David Bunch ("Bunch"), the employee/driver of a Sabine Pools GMC 3500 extended cab, heavy duty pickup truck. The events leading up to and during the accident are disputed, as well as the exten
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