Johnson v. State
| Decision Date | 03 March 2019 |
| Docket Number | 2017 CA 0973,2017 CA 0974 |
| Parties | MITCHELL JOHNSON, JR. v. THE STATE OF LOUISIANA THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY AND SHAWNETTE TAYLOR Consolidated with DAVID LANUS AND SHAYLA LANUS, INDIVIDUALLY, AS THE SURVIVING PARENTS OF DAYLON LANUS AND SARAI LANUS v. STATE OF LOUISIANA THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY AND SHAWNETTE TAYLOR |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Mitchell Johnson, Jr.
Eulis Simien, Jr.
This is an appeal by Appellant, the State of Louisiana through the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), seeking to reverse a jury verdict in favor of Appellees, Mitchell Johnson, Jr., and David and Shayla Lanus. Mr. Johnson answered the appeal seeking to increase the general damages awarded to him and reduce the allocation of fault assigned to Shawnette Taylor. The Lanuses answered the appeal seeking to reduce the allocation of fault assigned to Ms. Taylor. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the trial court judgment, and deny the answers to the appeal.
On June 24, 2014, Mitchell Johnson, Jr., David Lanus, Sarai Lanus, age nine, and Daylon Lanus, age six, were fishing on the side of Louisiana Highway 928, also known as Bluff Road, in Prairieville, Louisiana. At the same time, Ms. Taylor was driving her vehicle on Highway 928 and left the roadway striking the individuals who were fishing on the side of the road, resulting in the deaths of Sarai and Daylon Lanus and injuries to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Lanus. Mr. Johnson filed suit against DOTD, Ms. Taylor, and Geico Casualty Company, her automobile liability insurer. His suit was consolidated with another suit filed against the same defendants by David and Shayla Lanus, the parents of Daylon and Sarai, who filed a wrongful death claim for their injuries from the deaths of their children, as well as a survival action for their children, and for David's own injuries.
The plaintiffs alleged that the area of the accident was in the care and custody of DOTD and that DOTD was negligent in the construction and maintenance of Highway 928. The plaintiffs also alleged that Ms. Taylor was negligent in leaving the paved roadway.
After a trial, the jury found that the roadway or right-of-way was defective, that it created an unreasonable risk of harm, and that DOTD had knowledge of this condition. The jury awarded damages to all plaintiffs and assessed DOTD with sixty percent fault and Ms. Taylor with forty percent fault. On January 11, 2017, the trial court signed a judgment in accordance with the jury verdict. On February 6, 2017, the trial court signed a document entitled "Supplemental Judgment With Written Reasons."1 It is from both these documents that DOTD appeals. This court only has jurisdiction over the January 11, 2017 judgment.
DOTD claims that the following errors were committed at the trial court:
It is well-settled that a court of appeal may not set aside a trial court's finding of fact in the absence of manifest error or unless it is clearly wrong, and where there is conflict in the testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even though the appellate court may feel that its own evaluations and inferences are as reasonable. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So. 2d 840, 844 (La. 1989). Accordingly, appellate review of the factual circumstances and evidence of the case will not be the basis for reversal of the trial court's judgment, in the absence of manifest error, even if the court ofappeal is convinced that, had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Rosell, 549 So. 2d at 844. If the factual findings are found to be reasonable and supported by the record, the trial court's determinations must be given much discretion, especially in regard to the credibility of witness testimony, for only the factfinder can be aware of the variations in demeanor and tone of voice that bear so heavily on the listener's understanding and belief in what is said. Rosell, 549 So. 2d at 844. Consequently, when there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be manifestly erroneous. Stobart v. State, Dep't of Transp. & Dev., 617 So. 2d 880, 883 (La. 1993). Furthermore, in applying the manifest error standard where the jury makes a finding of liability on the part of DOTD, the reviewing court must presume that the jury concluded that the plaintiff carried the four-pronged burden of proof. Netecke v. State, Dep't of Transp. & Dev., 98-1182 (La. 10/19/99), 747 So. 2d 489, 495.
The reviewing court must review the record in its entirety to determine whether the factfinder's finding was clearly wrong or manifestly erroneous. Stobart, 617 So. 2d at 882-83. The Louisiana Supreme Court applies a two-part test to determine if a factfinder's determinations warrant reversal: (1) the appellate court must find from the record that a reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding of the trial court, and (2) the appellate court must further determine that the record establishes that the finding is clearly wrong (manifestly erroneous). Graves v. Page, 96-2201 (La. 11/7/97), 703 So. 2d 566, 573.
Highway 928 has existed since the 1930's and began as a gravel roadway. In 1965, Highway 928 was modified from a gravel, shell, nine-foot roadway to a twenty-foot wide hard surface roadway. In 1985, 2006, and 2010, overlay workwas done on Highway 928, some of which widened the driving portion of the roadway, but narrowed the shoulder.
At the time of the accident, beyond the white fog line, there was a six-inch asphalt shoulder followed by twelve inches of flat grass. Adjacent to the eighteen-inch shoulder was a steep slope that descended into a body of water. DOTD refers to the area as a "ditch" throughout its brief. However, the testimony at trial was that the area of water was over seventy feet wide, at least six feet deep, and used for fishing. Photographs introduced into evidence reflected that water was present on both sides of the roadway with large pipes underneath allowing water to flow back and forth. The area was also referred to as a very large swamp area, a bayou, and/or a canal during the trial. On the date of the accident, the plaintiffs were fishing near a cement culvert headwall which was 13.8 feet from the paved portion of the roadway and at the bottom of the slope.
Ms. Taylor testified that she drove...
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