Jackson v. A.L. & W. Moore Trucking
| Decision Date | 02 December 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 24207-CA,24207-CA |
| Citation | 609 So.2d 1064 |
| Parties | Purvis JACKSON, et al., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. A.L. & W. MOORE TRUCKING, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
William D. Hall, Shreveport, for plaintiff-appellant.
Bodenheimer, Jones, Klotz & Simmons by G.M. Bodenheimer, Shreveport, for defendant-appellant.
Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway by Kenneth Mascagni, Shreveport, for Progressive American Ins. Co.
Before LINDSAY, HIGHTOWER and VICTORY, JJ.
This case arises from an intersectional collision involving an automobile driven by Wilson Jackson and an 18-wheeler, owned by A.L. & W. Moore Trucking and driven by its employee, Jackie G. Curtis. Mr. Jackson died as a result of his injuries. His wife, Hattie, a passenger in the vehicle, was severely injured. Mrs. Jackson and the couple's surviving children asserted a survival action against Moore Trucking Co., Inc., Jackie Curtis and Clarendon Insurance Company, as well as claims for personal injury and wrongful death.
The case was tried before a jury which arrived at answers to interrogatories which were not consistent. The trial court granted a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), and found that both Jackie Curtis and Wilson Jackson were at fault in causing the accident, assessing fault at 80 percent to Mr. Curtis and 20 percent to Mr. Jackson. The court then found the amount of damages awarded by the jury was abusively low and adjusted the damage awards.
All parties have appealed or answered the appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, amend in part, and reverse in part the trial court judgment.
The accident occurred at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and La. Highway 531, in Webster Parish, on the morning of November 16, 1989. Involved were Mr. Wilson Jackson and his wife, Hattie, who were traveling west on Highway 80, and Jackie Curtis who was traveling north on La. 531.
At this point, Highway 80 is a two-lane highway running east and west. La. 531 is a two-lane road running north and south. Traffic at the intersection is controlled by flashing yellow and red lights. Traffic on Highway 80 is favored. There is a flashing yellow light for east and west bound traffic on Highway 80. Traffic on La. 531 is not favored. There is a stop sign and a flashing red light at the intersection, directing traffic traveling north and south on La. 531 to stop and yield to traffic on Highway 80.
Jackie Curtis was driving an 18-wheeler, owned by Moore Trucking, northbound on La. 531. Mr. Curtis stopped his vehicle at the stop sign and was looking across the intersection at a vehicle headed southbound on La. 531, driven by Susan Williams. Ms. Williams' vehicle was stopped at the stop sign. She signaled that she was about to make a left turn onto Highway 80, but she motioned to Mr. Curtis to proceed through the intersection before she made her turn.
Although the evidence is somewhat conflicting, it appears that Mr. Curtis proceeded to move through the intersection without checking for traffic proceeding on Highway 80. Mr. Curtis never saw the Jackson vehicle approaching from his right. Mr. Curtis broadsided the Jackson vehicle in the intersection.
Mr. Jackson sustained massive head injuries, including a fractured skull. However, he remained conscious and alert. Hattie Jackson sustained several broken ribs and a punctured lung. They were taken to a hospital in Minden where Mrs. Jackson was hospitalized. Due to the seriousness of Mr. Jackson's injuries, he was transferred to a hospital in Shreveport. The next day he died from his injuries.
Mr. Jackson was 90 years old at the time of the accident, but was in good health and very active. He was still working part-time collecting insurance premiums and was employed in this endeavor at the time of the accident. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson had been married for 66 years and had seven children.
Hattie Jackson and her seven children filed suit against A.L. & W. Moore Trucking, its insurer, Clarendon Insurance Company, and Moore's driver, Jackie Curtis. Mrs. Jackson claimed damages for her personal injuries, for pain and suffering and for medical expenses. She and her children claimed damages pursuant to a survival action for Wilson Jackson and sought damages for his wrongful death.
A.L. & W. Moore Trucking, Clarendon Insurance Company, and Jackie Curtis filed a third party demand for damages against the succession of Wilson Jackson and his insurer, Progressive American Insurance Company. The defendants claimed that Mr. Jackson was negligent in operating his vehicle while he had a heart condition and in failing to brake or take other evasive action to avoid the collision.
Progressive American Insurance Company filed a counterclaim against Moore Trucking, Clarendon Insurance Company and Curtis to recover the $7,750 paid to Mrs. Jackson under its insurance policy for damage to the Jackson vehicle.
A jury trial was held. Following the close of all the evidence, interrogatories were propounded to the jury. The jury was obviously confused by the interrogatories and returned conflicting responses. The jury found that the truck driver, Jackie Curtis, was at fault in the accident, but that his fault was not a legal cause of the accident. The jury then found that Jackie Curtis' degree of fault was 51 percent.
As to Wilson Jackson, the jury found that he was also at fault. However, the jury then found that his fault was not the legal cause of the accident. No degree of fault was assessed to Mr. Jackson.
The jury then went on to award damages. Hattie Jackson was awarded $15,000 for her injuries and her pain and suffering, plus $5,000 for mental anguish, $5,000 for future medical expenses and $18,000 for loss of consortium. She was denied damages for past medical expenses, even though this item had been proven and the amount was not contested.
Hattie Jackson and her seven children were awarded $1,700 on the survival action for the pain and suffering of Wilson Jackson prior to his death. For his medical expenses, $2,000 was awarded, plus $2,300 for funeral expenses. Each of the seven children was awarded $10,000 for the loss of their father.
The trial court interpreted the jury's ambiguous verdict to indicate that the defendants were not liable. Accordingly, the trial court signed a judgment on November 5, 1991, rejecting the plaintiffs' demands.
The plaintiffs then filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), claiming that the jury erroneously concluded that Jackie Curtis' actions were not a legal cause of the accident and that the amount of damages awarded was abusively low. Progressive American Insurance also filed a motion for JNOV. Progressive American also claimed that the jury erred in finding that the action of Jackie Curtis was not a legal cause of the accident and that the jury's decision was one which reasonable men could not have reached.
On January 24, 1992, the trial court signed a judgment granting the motions for JNOV as to both causation and damages. In written reasons, the court noted that the jury found that both Jackie Curtis and Wilson Jackson were negligent, yet their negligence was not the legal cause of the accident. The court reasoned that this finding was clearly wrong and stated that, but for the actions of Jackie Curtis in driving from the stop sign into the path of an oncoming car, the accident would not have happened. However, the trial court concurred in that portion of the jury verdict that found both Mr. Curtis and Mr. Jackson to be at fault.
The court further reasoned that the jury's failure to correctly decide issues of fault and causation resulted in its misapplication of the law of comparative fault. The trial court then assessed fault at 80 percent to Jackie Curtis and 20 percent to Wilson Jackson.
The court found that the jury also erred in its award of damages. The court reassessed the amount of damages and made the following awards:
(a) Plaintiff HATTIE JACKSON, individually, for
Her Pain and Suffering $100,000.00
Her Mental Anguish 20,000.00
Her Past Medical Expenses 17,749.03
Her Future Medical Expenses 31,491.60
Loss of her husband Wilson Jackson, and his love, support, 50,000.00
affection, consortium, service, and society
(b) Plaintiffs HATTIE JACKSON, PURVIS JACKSON, CALIP C. 15,000.00
JACKSON, THERON JACKSON ANNIE JACKSON SIMS, GEORGIA
JACKSON BROWN, LILLIE JACKSON WILSON and THERESA JACKSON
GILLIAM for the survival action for the pain and
suffering of Wilson Jackson prior to death
(c) Plaintiffs HATTIE JACKSON, PURVIS JACKSON, CALIP C
JACKSON, THERON JACKSON, ANNIE SIMS JACKSON, GEORGIA
JACKSON BROWN, LILLIE JACKSON WILSON, and THERESA JACKSON
GILLIAM for damages resulting from the wrongful death of
Wilson Jackson
Medical Expenses incurred by Wilson Jackson prior to death $11,718.69
Funeral Expenses 2,300.00
(d) Plaintiff PURVIS JACKSON
Loss of father's love, affection, consortium, service and 25,000.00
society
(e) Plaintiff CALIP P. JACKSON
Loss of father's love, affection, consortium, service and 25,000.00
society
(f) Plaintiff THERON JACKSON
Loss of father's love, affection, consortium, service and 25,000.00
society.
(g) Plaintiff ANNIE JACKSON SIMS
Loss of father's love, affection, consortium, service and 25,000.00
society.
(h) Plaintiff GEORGIA JACKSON BROWN
Loss of father's love, affection, consortium, service and 25,000.00
society.
(i) Plaintiff THERESA JACKSON GILLIAM
Loss of father's love,
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