Landry v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh
| Docket Number | 22-CA-593 |
| Decision Date | 13 December 2023 |
| Parties | KRISTYN LANDRY v. NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, CEVA LOGISTICS U.S., INC. AND JEREMIAH ETHAN RODNEY |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
1
KRISTYN LANDRY
v.
NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, CEVA LOGISTICS U.S., INC. AND JEREMIAH ETHAN RODNEY
No. 22-CA-593
Court of Appeals of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit
December 13, 2023
ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF ST. CHARLES, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 81,003, DIVISION "C" HONORABLE CONNIE M. AUCOIN, JUDGE PRESIDING
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE-2ND APPELLANT, JEREMIAH ETHAN RODNEY Rachel G. Webre
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, CEVA LOGISTICS US, INC. Raymond C. Lewis Joseph L. McReynolds
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, KRISTYN LANDRY Matthew D. Hemmer Terry B. Loup Przemek M. Lubecki
Panel composed of Judges Susan M. Chehardy, Stephen J. Windhorst, and Scott U.Schlegel
WINDHORST, J.
In this personal injury action, defendants/appellants, CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc. and Jeremiah Ethan Rodney, appeal a March 24, 2022 judgment in favor of plaintiff/appellee, Kristyn Landry, for $10 million dollars in exemplary damages.[1]For the following reasons, we affirm the award of exemplary damages against Mr. Rodney in favor of Ms. Landry, vacate the award of $10 million dollars, and render judgment awarding exemplary damages to Ms. Landry in the amount of $ 1.5 million dollars. We reverse the March 24, 2022 judgment to the extent it imposes vicarious liability for the exemplary damage award against CEVA.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This lawsuit involves a multiple-vehicle accident in which an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer driven by Mr. Rodney struck Ms. Landry's vehicle on March 17, 2015. At the time of the accident, Mr. Rodney, a CEVA employee, was driving an 18wheeler eastbound on Highway 90 in St. Charles Parish. As he approached a traffic signal on Highway 90, he collided with two vehicles, one of which was Ms. Landry's vehicle. After striking the two vehicles, Mr. Rodney veered into the oncoming westbound lane of Highway 90 and collided with a third vehicle.
On February 4, 2016, Ms. Landry filed a petition for damages against Mr. Rodney, CEVA and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, seeking compensatory damages for her injuries and exemplary damages. Ms. Landry sought exemplary damages under La. C.C. art. 2315.4, asserting that Mr. Rodney was driving while under the influence of Xanax, cocaine, and/or other drugs, and that this was the cause in fact of the accident.
On February 13, 2019, CEVA filed a motion for partial summary judgment, asserting that it cannot be held vicariously liable for any exemplary damages which
may be awarded against Mr. Rodney. The trial court granted this motion for partial summary judgment, ruling that CEVA, as Mr. Rodney's employer, cannot be held vicariously liable for exemplary damages awarded against him. On appeal, this court reversed the trial court's judgment granting partial summary judgment, ruling that an employer may be liable for exemplary damages awarded against an employee under La. C.C. art. 2315.4, where the evidence shows that the employer contributed to or might have prevented the employee from driving while intoxicated. Landry v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburg, 19-337 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/30/19), 289 So.3d 177, writs denied, 20-160 (La. 3/16/20), 370 So.3d 736 and 20-188 (La. 5/1/20), 295 So.3d 945. ("Landry-1").
Ms. Landry's claims proceeded to trial before a jury on March 21-24, 2022. After a four-day trial, the jury found that (1) Mr. Rodney was at fault in causing the accident and that his fault was the legal cause of Ms. Landry's injuries; (2) Mr. Rodney was intoxicated / impaired while operating a motor vehicle, which was a cause in fact of Ms. Landry's injuries; (3) Mr. Rodney acted with wanton or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others; and (4) that CEVA Logistics US, Inc., contributed to or might have prevented Mr. Rodney from driving while impaired. The jury awarded Ms. Landry $2,468,784.65 in compensatory damages, which included $18,784.65 in past medical expenses and $450,000.00 in future medical expenses. The jury further awarded $10 million in exemplary damages against Mr. Rodney and CEVA. Appellants moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in three separate motions regarding the compensatory damage award, the exemplary damages award, and CEVA's liability for the exemplary damages award. The trial court denied appellants' motions, and specifically stated relative to the exemplary damages award as follows:
The court does not find that a $10 million award in this case for exemplary damages shocks its conscience, nor should it have shocked a jury's conscience in this matter. The potential harm in this case was exponential. There is not a dollar amount this court could place on the potential harm that could have happened if it had been a school bus instead of Ms. Landry and the other two drivers who were involved, who finally stopped this catapult of an impaired driver behind an 18wheeler.
This appeal followed.
THE EVIDENCE
CEVA's Pre-Hire Evaluation of Mr. Rodney
CEVA had multiple employees testify regarding the evaluation process for hiring drivers. The testimony established that CEVA follows the regulations set forth in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act ("FMCSA") to evaluate whether an applicant is a qualified driver. Ms. Rhonda Bateman[2] testified that after a driver candidate completes an application for employment, CEVA (1) runs reports to investigate the candidate's driving record; (2) investigates the driver's previous employment history, criminal history[3], and whether the driver has any previous drug and/or alcohol history; and (3) conducts pre-employment drug testing.
On May 13, 2013, Mr. Rodney completed an application for employment with CEVA. He identified Swift Transportation, Blue Flash Express, VIP International, and Dependable Source Temporary Services as his previous employers. When he applied to work at CEVA, Mr. Rodney was employed by Dependable, which provided temporary drivers to companies, and was already driving as a leased driver for CEVA via Dependable. Mr. Rodney drove the same route as a leased driver for CEVA that he did when he was directly employed by CEVA.
In its pre-hire evaluation of Mr. Rodney, CEVA investigated his background through the following: (1) searched the national motor vehicle records, the commercial driver's license ("CDL") records, social security network records, state and national criminal and court records, nationwide Drive-a-Check ("DAC") database, and the period of service drug and alcohol database; (2) contacted three of Mr. Rodney's previous transportation employers; (3) performed a search of available records and databases regarding Mr. Rodney's drug and alcohol testing and accident history for three years prior to his applying CEVA; and (4) obtained the negative results of a drug test administered on September 28, 2012 by Mr. Rodney's prior employer, and administered a drug test on October 28, 2013, which returned negative.
Mr. Rodney's motor vehicle records indicated he had a valid CDL, with no moving violations, no accidents, and no drug-related incidents. CEVA confirmed that Mr. Rodney did not have a CDL in another state within the previous three years.
In reviewing information to determine whether Mr. Rodney had any criminal background history, CEVA discovered that he had a pending charge from November 2010 for possession of a controlled substance. After further inquiries, CEVA learned that Mr. Rodney had been charged with possession of Diazepam and Xanax, but had completed a pre-trial diversion program, was never charged, and the case was dismissed.[4] Ms. Bateman explained that this prior arrest did not disqualify Mr. Rodney as a driver under the FMCSA or with CEVA because there was no conviction, it occurred before he held a CDL, did not involve a motor vehicle of any kind, and did not render him medically unfit under the FMCSA.
CEVA also ordered Mr. Rodney's DAC employment history file and checked the DAC database, which typically contains information from companies regarding dates of employment and other miscellaneous information, such as driving school
records and drug and alcohol testing about particular drivers. Mr. Rodney's DAC report confirmed that he previously worked for Swift Transportation in 2011 and Blue Flash Express in 2012.
Swift terminated Mr. Rodney due to an unsatisfactory safety record, which was based on Mr. Rodney having two minor traffic incidents in two months. The accidents were not U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT") recordable accidents because they were not severe accidents. A non-DOT recordable accident means the driver was not cited or towed, no one was transported from the scene of the accident with injuries, and it did not involve a hazardous material load. Blue Flash terminated Mr. Rodney for failing to report an accident, which was also a non-DOT recordable accident. Ms. Bateman testified that these circumstances did not render Mr. Rodney unfit for driving for CEVA or under the FMCSA.
As required by the FMCSA, CEVA requested employment verification from three of Mr. Rodney's previous transportation employers, Dependable, Swift, and Blue Express. CEVA obtained verbal verification of Mr. Rodney's employment with Dependable by phone, and learned that Mr. Rodney had no drug or alcohol related issues and no accidents. CEVA also attempted to verify Mr. Rodney's employment with Blue Flash and Swift by phone, fax, and mail, but neither responded.
In evaluating Mr. Rodney for employment, CEVA confirmed that Mr. Rodney had not tested positive for controlled substances in the last three years. After he submitted his application, on October 28, 2013, Mr. Rodney submitted to a DOT five-panel drug test via a urine specimen without prior notice. He tested negative for Amphetamines, Cocaine, Marijuana, Opioids, and Phencyclidine.
Ms. Bateman testified that...
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