Richard v. Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co.

• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana
• Writing for the Court: HOOD
• Citation: Richard v. Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co., 212 So.2d 471 (La. App. 1968)
• Decision Date: 18 June 1968
• Docket Number: No. 2281,2281
• Parties: Francis RICHARD et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees-Appellants, v. SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE CO. et al., Defendants-Appellants-Appellees.

Page 471

212 So.2d 471

Francis RICHARD et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees-Appellants, v. SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE CO. et al Defendants-Appellants-Appellees.

No. 2281.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

June 18, 1968.

Rehearings Denied July 29, 1968.

Davidson, Meaux, Onebane & Donohoe, by Edward Abell, Jr., Lafayette, for defendant-appellant.

Andrus & Pavy, by H. Garland Pavy, Opelousas, for plaintiffs-appellees-appellants.

Voorhies, Labbe , Fontenot, Leonard & McGlasson, by David Foster, Lafayette, for defendants-appellees.

Garland, DeJean & Ledet, by Stephen J. Ledet, Jr., Opelousas, for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before HOOD, CULPEPPER and LEAR, JJ.

HOOD, Judge.

The plaintiff in this tort action, Mrs. Earline Richard Robin, claims damages for personal injuries which she sustained as the result of a two-car motor vehicle collision. ¹ One of the automobiles involved in the collision was owned by Ernest Richard and was being driven by his wife, Mrs. Felicia Arnaud Richard. Plaintiff was riding as a passenger in that vehicle. The other automobile was owned by C. H. Boehmer Sales Agency and was being driven by Richard H. Boehmer. This suit was instituted against Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, the insurer of the Richard automobile, and against C. H. Boehmer Sales Agency, Richard H. Boehmer and American Insurance Company, the latter being the insurer of the Boehmer automobile.

The last three named defendants answered and filed a third party petition against Ernest Richard, Felicia A. Richard and Southern Farm, demanding judgment against said third party defendants for one-half the amount which the third party plaintiffs may be condemned to pay.

Three other damage suits arising out of the same accident also were instituted, and they have been consolidated with the instant suit for the purposes of trial and appeal. We are deciding all of these companion suits on this date. See American Insurance Company v. Richard, La.App., 212 So.2d 481; Richard v. American Insurance Company et al., La.App., 212 So.2d 483; and Richard v. American Insurance Company, La.App., 212 So.2d 484.

In the instant suit judgment was rendered by the trial court in favor of plaintiff and against Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Company for the sum of $3772.61. The judgment also decreed that plaintiff's demands against the remaining defendants are rejected. Appeals from that judgment were taken by plaintiff and by the defendant who was cast in judgment, Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company.

The accident which caused plaintiff to suffer these injuries occurred at 11:45 a.m. on August 18, 1965, at the intersection of Willow Street and U.S. Highway 167, in the City of Lafayette, Louisiana. Both of these streets are wide, level, straight thoroughfares, and they are hard-surfaced with concrete at that intersection. The weather was clear and the streets were dry at the time the accident occurred.

Highway 167 is a four lane, divided highway, running generally north and south. The two northbound lanes of traffic on that highway are separated from the two southbound lanes by a wide neutral ground, the neutral ground being 800 feet wide at the place where the accident occurred. Highway 167 is heavily travelled and is known as the Evangeline Throughway. It is the right-of-way or preferred street at that intersection. The legal speed limit for vehicles travelling on that highway is 70 miles per hour.

Willow Street also is a four lane, divided highway. It runs generally east and west, the two eastbound lanes being separated from the two westbound lanes by a substantial neutral ground, although the neutral ground on that street is not as wide as is the one on Highway 167. Willow Street is the inferior street at that crossing. Stop signs were located at that intersection warning motorists on Willow Street to stop before proceeding to cross Highway 167. A motorist travelling west on Willow Street toward this intersection is confronted first with a stop sign directing him to stop before proceeding to cross the northbound traffic lanes of Highway 167. After crossing those lanes and continuing to travel west on Willow, the motorist is then confronted with another stop sign directing him to stop before proceeding to cross the southbound lanes of traffic on the highway.

Immediately prior to the time this accident occurred Boehmer was driving his automobile south on Highway 167 at a speed of about 60 or 65 miles per hour. He reduced his speed to 50 or 55 miles per hour as he approached the intersection of that highway with Willow Street. He testified that when he was about 400 feet from the intersection he noticed the Richard car approaching the crossing from his left, that it was travelling west on Willow Street, and that it had traversed about one-half the distance between the northbound and the southbound lanes of traffic on the highway when he first observed it. He stated that the Richard car appeared to be under control, that its speed was being reduced, that he knew there was a stop sign directing the driver of that car to stop before proceeding into his lane of traffic, and that there was nothing which would indicate to him that the driver of the Richard car did not intend to stop.

Boehmer testified further that when he reached a point about 100 feet from the intersection he noticed that the driver of the Richard car began accelerating her speed, and he then ascertained for the first time that she either did not intend to stop or would be unable to do so before she reached the crossing. He stated that he applied his brakes immediately and caused his tires to skid on the highway, but that he was unable to avoid a collision.

The evidence shows that the tires on the Boehmer car skidded a distance of 62 feet four inches immediately prior to the impact. The two automobiles collided with considerable force, and the occupants of both cars were injured.

As we have already noted, Mrs. Richard was driving the car which was travelling west on Willow Street. Two passengers, plaintiff and Miss Sandra Ann Zeringue, were in the car with her at the time the accident occurred. Mrs. Richard testified that she stopped before she proceeded to cross the Northbound lanes of traffic on Highway 167, that when she reached a point about halfway between the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic she saw a state trooper's car parked several hundred feet ahead of her car on Willow Street, and that she saw a stop sign directing her to stop before proceeding to cross the southbound lane of traffic on Highway 167. She stated, however, that she has no recollection of any other facts relating to the manner in which the accident occurred. She does not remember whether she stopped before proceeding to cross the southbound lanes of traffic on Highway 167, whether she saw the Boehmer car approaching or the rate of speed at which she was driving. Neither of the two passengers who were in the Richard car with the driver could recall or testify as to any facts at all relating to the manner in which this accident occurred.

Donald Calais, a state trooper, was parked about 150 feet west of the intersection when the collision occurred. He was observing both cars as they approached the crossing. He testified that the Richard car stopped before crossing the northbound lanes of traffic on Highway 167, and that after proceeding through that intersection the front end of her car was 'slightly elevated,' indicating that she was accelerating her speed. He stated that when that car reached a point about halfway between the two lanes of traffic it 'leveled off' as though the driver had taken her foot off the accelerator, that the front end of the car raised up again momentarily and that shortly thereafter it made a 'nose dive,' indicating that the brakes on the car had been applied with some force. Trooper Calais stated that he then looked in a northerly direction and saw the Boehmer car approaching from the north at a distance of about 400 feet. He then looked back at the Richard car and saw it accelerate again, go through the stop sign without stopping and collide with the Boehmer vehicle. He estimated the speed of the Richard car at 45 miles per hour before it 'leveled off' and at 30 miles per hour when the brakes were applied. He felt that the speed of that car was increased again to about 45 miles per hour by the time the collision occurred. He stated that the Richard car was about 60 or 70 feet from the crossing when the driver began to accelerate her speed the last time.

On these facts, the trial judge concluded that the sole proximate cause of the accident was the negligence of Mrs. Richard in failing to observe and obey the stop sign at the intersection of Willow Street and the southbound lane of traffic on Highway 167. He also concluded that Boehmer was free from negligence.

Appellants contend primarily that the trial judge erred in holding that Boehmer was free from negligence. They contend that he was negligent in operating his automobile at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent under the circumstances and in failing to maintain a proper lookout.

A motorist on a right of way street, with knowledge of the location of a stop sign on the intersecting inferior street, has the right to assume that any driver approaching the crossing from the less favored street will observe the law and bring his car to a complete stop before entering the intersection, and the motorist on the favored street can indulge in this assumption until he sees or should see that the driver of the other car has not observed or is not going to observe the law. ²

The law also is settled that a motorist on a right-of-way street, upon approaching an intersection where drivers of vehicles on the inferior street are required to stop before entering the crossing and are warned by stop signs to come to a complete stop before entering the intersection,...