Robinson v. Graves
| Decision Date | 28 February 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 58304,58304 |
| Citation | 343 So.2d 147 |
| Parties | Carolyn Ann ROBINSON and Frank J. Tornabene v. Robert GRAVES, Jr., and New Orleans Public Service, Inc. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Gerald J. Leydecker, Paul J. Galuszka, New Orleans, for plaintiffs-appellants.
C. B. Ogden, II, New Orleans, for defendants-appellees.
Plaintiff Carolyn Ann Robinson was a passenger in a taxicab driven by Frank J. Tornabene on October 16, 1971 when the cab was rear ended by a New Orleans Public Service streetcar in the 600 block of Carondelet Street. As a result of injuries sustained in the collision, plaintiff filed suit against these defendants and the trial court awarded damages to the plaintiff in the amount of $159,532.00. Defendants appealed suspensively contesting the amount of the award. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the trial court in most respects, but reduced the trial court's award for loss of future wages from $82,000.00 to $33,240.18. Robinson v. Graves, 332 So.2d 303 (La.App.4th Cir. 1976). This court granted writs on September 24, 1976 to review the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
The sole issue for consideration is whether the Court of Appeal erred in reducing the award for future loss of wages. Prior to the accident plaintiff was employed at Barnett's Furniture Company as an assistant collection manager at a salary of $400.00 a month plus overtime. After the accident, when she returned to work in January, 1972, plaintiff was promoted to the position of assistant credit manager at a salary of $425.00 a month. At this same time her boss, Mr. McNeil, began to train her for the job of credit manager, and in May of 1972 her salary was increased to $500.00 a month. Plaintiff stopped work in February, 1973 just prior to her first back operation. Plaintiff attempted to return to her job at Barnett's in September, 1973 but was only able to work for three days due to the injuries resulting from the accident and the after-effects of her first operation. Trial was held in the district court on December 11, 1974 and January 16, 1975 and the trial judge rendered judgment on January 23, 1975.
In order to establish her future loss of earnings, plaintiff offered the testimony of three witnesses. Miss Sarah Nunez, president of Nunez Employment Service, testified that the plaintiff could not pass the physical given by a number of companies and that for the work the plaintiff could perform she would be paid the minimum wage prevailing at that time ($2.00 an hour).
Mr. McNeil, who was training the plaintiff for the job of credit manager, testified as follows:
'Her attitude was very good, very good.
'Her attendance record was real good, it was excellent until the accident; and after that it was spotty because of her injury and everything.
'Q Could you give us an idea as compared with other employees, other people working there as to what her increase would be through today if she would have continued working?
'Q Do you feel that she was qualified to become a Credit Manager?
'A At the time, yes, sir.
'Q Do you feel that she would have become the Credit Manager had she continued to work?
'A I would suppose so.
'Q Do you feel her salary would have been increased to $800.00?
'A It could have been; yes, sir.'
Peter Bondy, an actuary, also testified for the plaintiff. He computed the loss of future earnings by taking the plaintiff's monthly earning capacity (computed at $2.10 an hour), deducting that figure from what the plaintiff would have been earning had she not been injured, and then taking into account a 6% Discount rate and a 3% Inflation rate and computing this figure over the plaintiff's expected work life.
The dispute here concerns the amount that the plaintiff would have been earning had she not been injured. Competent evidence was adduced that she was earning $500.00 a month when she left her employment and probably would have been earning $800.00 a month had she stayed on and completed her training for the job of credit manager. The trial judge, in his discretion, used a figure of $700.00 a month and thereby determined that the plaintiff's loss of earnings was $82,000.00. The Court of Appeal found that the 'loss of earnings testimony based on the possibility that plaintiff would become credit manager at some time in the future at $700.00 or $800.00 per month is speculative' and reduced the loss of future earnings to $33,240.18 (based on the $500.00 a month salary). 332 So.2d...
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96-92 La.App. 3 Cir. 9/25/96, Pierce v. Milford
...v. State Through W.O. Moss Hosp., 614 So.2d 189, 196 (La.App. 3 Cir.), writ denied, 617 So.2d 906, 907 (La.1993), citing Robinson v. Graves, 343 So.2d 147 (La.1977); King v. Louviere, 524 So.2d 65 (La.App. 3 Cir.1988); and Freeman v. Harold Dickey Transport, Inc., 467 So.2d 194 (La.App. 3 W......
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93-1536 La.App. 4 Cir. 12/15/94, Bridgett v. Odeco, Inc.
...jury to consider possible promotions and raises in calculating awards for loss of future earning capacity. For example, in Robinson v. Graves, 343 So.2d 147 (La.1977), the plaintiff argued that had not been injured and forced to stop working, she would have been promoted from assistant cred......
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