Faciane v. Green

• Decision Date: 10 January 1980
• Docket Number: No. 10649,10649
• Citation: 379 So.2d 847
• Parties: Arthur Francis FACIANE v. Norbert GREEN, Veronica Green and Gulf Insurance Company.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 847

379 So.2d 847

Arthur Francis FACIANE v. Norbert GREEN, Veronica Green and Gulf Insurance Company.

No. 10649.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

Jan. 10, 1980.

John J. Cummings, III, Gregory F. Gambel, Bienvenue, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon, Robert N. Ryan, William L. Brockman, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

Porteous, Toledano, Hainkel & Johnson, James S. Thompson, Montgomery, Barnett, Brown & Read, Wood Brown, III, New Orleans, for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before GARRISON, CHEHARDY and STOULIG, JJ.

GARRISON, Judge.

This case arises out of a collision which occurred on August 4, 1976 between a left-turning automobile and an overtaking and overpassing motorcycle at the intersection of Elm Street and Louisiana Highway 18 (River Road) in the city of Hahnville, Parish of St. Charles. Mr. Faciane filed suit seeking recovery for personal injury and property damage. Mrs. Green answered through her insurer and then reconvened through private counsel. The reconventional demand was answered by Mr. Faciane's insurer. Subsequent to trial, the district court rendered judgment dismissing both the original and reconventional demands on the grounds that both parties were negligent and the negligence of each was a proximate cause of the accident. Mrs. Green appealed from that judgment which we affirm.

The trial judge stated the following findings of fact in his written reasons for judgment:

"The uncontroverted facts are that defendant, Green was the lead car in a four or five vehicle group proceeding upstream on La. 18. She slowed her vehicle when nearing the junction of Elm Street and La. 18 and almost came to a stop preparatory to turning left onto Elm Street. The three or four vehicles immediately to the rear of the Green vehicle also slowed and their brake lights came on. Ms. Becnel in the rear vehicle of the group could not see the Green vehicle at the front of the line of cars, only the slowing speed of the cars and their brake lights caused her to slow, causing her to brake her car and almost come to a stop.

The final uncontroverted fact is that Ms. Green started her left turn and while in the left, or downstream, lane of La. 18 her vehicle was struck by the overtaking cycle of plaintiff as he attempted to pass the four or five vehicles that had slowed speed in the right lane.

"Plaintiff, Faciane, testified that he saw brake lights on the cars ahead. The cars ahead had decreased their speed. He saw no obstruction ahead and he pulled into the left lane to pass the cars. He passed the rear car and the cars in the right lane stopped and he could not get back into the right lane. Although he saw the brake lights on each of the cars in the line as he approached them, he could not see the signals on the Green vehicle when he pulled into the...