95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 1/29/97, Williamson v. Haynes Best Western of Alexandria

• Decision Date: 29 January 1997
• Citation: 688 So.2d 1201
• Parties: 95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 1201

688 So.2d 1201

95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 1/29/97

Sonya Johnson WILLIAMSON, et al. v. HAYNES BEST WESTERN OF ALEXANDRIA, Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Haynes Individually, Best Western International, Inc. American General Fire and Casualty Company, Transamerica Insurance Company, et al.

No. 95-CA-1725.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

Jan. 29, 1997.

Rehearing Denied March 31, 1997.

Mack E. Barham, Robert E. Arceneaux, Hansel M. Harlan, Barham & Arceneaux, New Orleans, and Lawrence J. Smith, Lawrence J. Smith & Associates, New Orleans, and J. Ransdell Keene, Shreveport, for Plaintiffs/Appellants.

Campbell E. Wallace, Spyridon, Koch, Psarellis, Wallace & Palermo, Metairie, for Appellee Best Western International, Inc.

Marshall G. Weaver, Henican, James & Cleveland, New Orleans, for Appellee St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company.

Richard S. Vale, Blue Williams, L.L.P., Metairie, for Defendants/Appellees Haynes Best Western of Alexandria, Inc., American General Fire and Casualty Company, and Maryland Casualty Company.

William F. Page, Jr., Briney & Foret, Lafayette, for Appellant/Intervenor Insurance Company of North America.

Before BARRY, LOBRANO and WALTZER, JJ.

[95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 1] WALTZER, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE:

Sonya Williamson claims that she was electrocuted on 21 July 1989 while attempting to turn off the light in her room in the Haynes Best Western Motel in Alexandria (HBWA). She claims to have been doing paperwork for Seahorse Farms, a family business, while in the motel. ¹ The family had lived at the motel for over a month, requesting to move from room to room until settling in Room 170, where they had been living for two weeks at the time of the accident. Sonya had no burns on her body, and no entrance or exit wound. She was ultimately diagnosed as suffering from permanent spastic hemiparesis caused by organic brain damage from an electrical shock which she claims caused her to be a quadriplegic.

She sued the motel chain, Best Western International (BWI), the motel, HBWA, its owners, the Hayneses, and their insurers. Defendants defended on a claim of fraud. Best Western International (BWI) filed a third party demand against Robert T. Williamson, Sonya's husband, alleging that his actions preventing the motel staff from entering or inspecting Room 170 during the Williamsons' stay therein prevented the motel from discovering and remedying the alleged defective condition; his refusal to allow Sonya to obtain necessary medical tests and treatment jeopardized her condition.

[95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 2] This case was removed to United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana where related cases were pending. In those related cases Robert Williamson was acquitted on charges of insurance fraud brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1990; in November 1993, one of Best Western's insurers, St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co., filed a civil RICO action against Robert and others alleging a continuing pattern of insurance fraud, including the Best Western incident. That suit was pending as of the instant trial. Early in 1994, Robert was indicted on charges involving prescription fraud; the United States Attorney subsequently dismissed the charges. ² In 1993, Lawrence Smith filed suit in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Sonya Williamson, et al. v. Ellis Pisciotta, et al., Civil Action No. 93-3729, alleging a conspiracy to deprive the Williamsons and others of their civil rights in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act, the federal RICO statute, the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act and "other laws of Louisiana and the United States of America." In her Order and Reasons of 23 May 1994, Judge Berrigan set forth the following procedural history of the latter case:

1. In response to the Eastern District of Louisiana's requirement of a RICO statement of facts, Mr. Smith withdrew his RICO allegation on December 10, 1993;

2. Also on December 10, 1993, Mr. Smith filed a motion to remand in which he alleged that the defendants' removal of the case from state court violated Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On March 2, 1994, Mr. Smith filed a motion to withdraw his motion to remand;

3. On December 12, 1993, Mr. Smith filed a "Supplemental and Amending Petition" adding ... plaintiffs. The additional plaintiffs are associates of Robert Williamson who have been investigated or arrested at various times, allegedly in an attempt to "get" Williamson. [95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 3] The pleading alleges that all of the defendants "have conspired and continue to conspire to get Robert Williamson' " and have conspired to "intimidate witnesses" into testifying falsely in the Williamson personal injury suit and the St. Paul Mercury RICO case.

4. On February 3, 1994, Mr. Smith filed a Motion for Leave to File Second Supplemental and Amending petition. In addition to the previous civil rights allegations, the Second Supplemental Petition alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process and a Bivens claim against all defendants. Mr. Smith dropped Earl Smith of the IRS as a defendant, but added three additional attorneys participating in the defense of the personal injury claim: Berit Reiss, Marshall Weaver, and Campbell Wallace.

5. On March 7, 1994, Mr. Smith filed a "Motion to Withdraw Second Supplemental and Amending Petition and to Dismiss St. Paul Mercury Insurance ... Without Prejudice ..." By withdrawing the Second Supplemental Petition, Mr. Smith sought to dismiss attorneys Reiss, Weaver and Wallace without prejudice. The motion was filed "so as to avoid a confrontation at this time with regards to Rule 11 Sanctions [filed by the defendants]," but with "the full reservation of rights to rename all said defendants at a later date after the deposition of Don Dixon."

6. On March 28, 1994, Mr. Smith filed a Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice all of the defendants except Pisciotta (claims adjuster), Reagan (AUSA), and Dixon (FBI). The motion also drops the claims of McCollough, Dauzat and Thompson, leaving only Sonya and Robert Williamson as plaintiffs.

7. On May 10, 1994, Mr. Smith filed the "Amended Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice" that is the subject of this Order....

8. On May 16, 1994, Mr. Smith filed a "Motion for Leave to File Third Supplemental and Amending Petition." The third amending petition reurges the allegations contained in the earlier complaints, but it appears to do so on behalf of only the Williamsons and against only Ellis Pisciotta, Don Dixon and Larry Reagan.

The district court granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice the claims against all defendants except Maryland Casualty Company and Pisciotta, Dixon and Reagan. The court dismissed the claims against Maryland Casualty and American General Fire without prejudice, assessing against plaintiffs the costs and attorneys fees incurred by those defendants in their defense of the federal action. The court dismissed the claims of the Williamson associates with prejudice against all [95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 4] defendants except Pisciotta, Dixon, Reagan, Maryland Casualty and American General, and dismissed the claims against the latter defendants without prejudice. Subsequently, on defendants' Motion for Sanctions under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Mr. Smith was fined $10,000 and ordered to do unspecified community service.

This case was then remanded to Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans where trial was held before a jury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendants, finding that although Sonya was "injured" while in the Haynes Best Western Motel, the accident was either staged or fraudulent. The Williamsons moved unsuccessfully for Judgment N.O.V. and New Trial. From the judgment on the jury's verdict for defendants, the Williamsons appeal. ³

HBWA and its insurers answered the appeal, alleging that the trial court erred in:

1. failing to allow all thirty-eight prior claims to be admitted before the jury;

2. allowing redundant testimony by plaintiffs' medical and electrical experts;

3. failing to allow defendants to introduce impeachment evidence concerning Dr. Antoinette Appel;

4. allowing William Porter to testify as a fraud expert;

5. allowing hearsay testimony to be introduced during the testimony of Robert Williamson and William Porter;

6. allowing evidence of "brain mapping," an invalid medical test;

7. disallowing videotape prepared by Dr. Brown showing the accident could not have occurred as claimed by plaintiffs;

[95-1725 La.App. 4 Cir. 5] 8. disallowing introduction of the MRA prepared by Dr. Soll and in limiting his testimony concerning that MRA;

9. disallowing and limiting testimony of Stuart Wood, defendants' economist;

10. failing to submit defendants' Jury Interrogatories to the jury.

BWI answered the appeal, contending that the trial court erred:

l. in pre-trial rulings on BWI's motions, exceptions and motion for summary judgment;

2. in not granting and enforcing the exception of res judicata and allowing evidence in regard to alleged misconduct and "conspiracies" involving defendants and allowing irrelevant and improper evidence in connection with these matters;

3. in not granting and enforcing motion to exclude U.S. Product Safety Commission documents and allowing admission of these documents into evidence;

4. allowing improper expert testimony by Dr. Grimaldi, Larry Talley, Dr. Want, Dr. Broughton and Dr. Dryo;

5. in not granting motion to exclude parol evidence regarding BWI's contractual relationship to other defendants;

6. in denying motion to exclude apparent agency evidence;

7. in allowing evidence of alleged post-accident remedial measures;

8. in allowing plaintiffs' experts to testify about matters not disclosed in their reports or answers to interrogatories, and in not allowing BWI to depose plaintiffs' experts;

9. in allowing expert evidence concerning...