Touchard v. Williams

• Decision Date: 12 April 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-C-2919,92-C-2919
• Citation: 617 So.2d 885
• Parties: Mary TOUCHARD, Applicant, v. Brenda G. WILLIAMS, et al., Respondents.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 885

617 So.2d 885

Mary TOUCHARD, Applicant, v. Brenda G. WILLIAMS, et al., Respondents.

No. 92-C-2919.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

April 12, 1993.

Rehearing Denied May 13, 1993.

John H. Pucheu, Pucheu, Pucheu & Robinson, Eunice, for applicant.

Jerry J. Falgoust, Stephen J. Bienvenu, Dauzat, Falgoust, Caviness, Bienvenu & Stipe, Opelousas, Robert A. Lecky, Voorhies & Labbe, Larry Lane Roy, Roy & Hattan, Lafayette, John E. Ortego, Cooper, Ortego, & Woodruff, Abbeville, for respondents.

CALOGERO, Chief Justice. ^*

We granted writ in this case to determine whether Louisiana Civil Code article 2324(B) imposes solidary liability on joint tortfeasors only when the victim cannot collect at least 50% of his recoverable damages or whether the article imposes solidary liability on joint tortfeasors subject to a cap of 50%.

This case arose out of two separate but related collisions that occurred on Interstate 10 on September 17, 1987. Four vehicles were involved in the accident. These vehicles and their respective drivers were: (1) a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by Brenda Williams; (2) a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by James H. Minter; (3) a 1985 Chrysler Fifth Avenue driven by Martha Causey; and (4) a 1986 Buick Skylark driven by Steven L. Lege. Plaintiff, Mary Touchard, was a passenger in the Williams vehicle.

Touchard brought this action seeking damages for the injuries she sustained in the accident. Those injuries included a damaged disc at the L5-S1 level, a ligamentous injury to the cervical spine, a contusion of her left shoulder and clavicle joint, muscle spasms, bruises over her entire torso, as well as her forehead and temple, and a concussion.

After all the evidence was presented and instructions given by the court, the jury returned a verdict holding Brenda Williams 63% at fault, Martha Causey 30% at fault and Steven Lege 7% at fault. Plaintiff's total damage award was $100,000.00.

Subsequent to trial, the plaintiff received policy limits of $25,000.00 from State Farm, Brenda Williams' insurer, $30,000.00 from Allstate, Martha Causey's insurer, and, $7,000 from Texas Farmers Insurance Company, Steven Lege's insurer.

Plaintiff appealed complaining of the percentages of fault assigned to the various defendants, the amount of the award and the district court's interpretation of Louisiana Civil Code article 2324(B). The appellate court affirmed. 606 So.2d 927 (1992).

The pivotal issue in this case is the interpretation of the phrase "only to the extent necessary for the person suffering injury, death, or loss to recover fifty per cent of his recoverable damages" contained in Louisiana Civil Code article 2324(B) (emphasis added). This language creates a question of whether the article creates conditional or "functional" liability among joint tortfeasors or whether the article imposes solidary liability on joint tortfeasors of 50%.

The lower courts in this case concluded that the phrase created conditional or "functional" solidary liability among joint tortfeasors. Under this interpretation, which is urged by defendants, the existence or non-existence of solidary liability among joint tortfeasors is conditioned upon whether the victim can successfully recover fifty percent of his recoverable damages from the joint tortfeasors. If the victim is able to collect an aggregate amount equal to fifty percent or more of his recoverable damages, solidarity would not exist among the joint tortfeasors. Conversely, if the victim is unable to collect an aggregate amount of fifty percent, solidarity would be imposed on the joint tortfeasors. ¹ Thus, under this interpretation, solidarity would not exist among joint tortfeasors until its determined that the victim is unable to collect fifty percent of his recoverable damages.

A second interpretation, which is espoused by the Second Circuit Court of Appeal, ² as well as the plaintiff in this case, is that the phrase was intended to limit the exposure of joint tortfeasors to 50%, rather than 100%, of the plaintiff's recoverable damages. Under this interpretation, the joint tortfeasors would be solidarily bound for only 50% of the victim's recoverable damages. Thus, a victorious plaintiff could secure 50% of his recoverable damages from any one of the liable defendants, provided that the plaintiff's assignment of fault did not exceed that of the defendant from whom recovery was sought. ³ A judgment debtor who paid more than his allocated share would be able to seek his respective indemnity or contribution from his joint tortfeasors.

The Louisiana Civil Code mandates that when a law is clear and unambiguous and the application of the law does not lead to absurd consequences, the law must be applied as written without any further interpretation of the intent of the legislature. La.Civ.Code art. 9 (West 1993). However, where a statute is ambiguous or susceptible of two reasonable interpretations, statutory interpretation is necessary. State v. Randall, 219 La. 578, 53 So.2d 689 (1951).

Louisiana Civil Code article 2324 is not clear and free of ambiguity. Scholars and commentators have wrestled with the meaning of the article since its revision. ⁴ Moreover, recent decisions of the courts of appeal which interpret this article, including this case, reveal that the article is susceptible of at least two reasonable interpretations concerning solidary liability of joint tortfeasors. Compare Thompson v. Hodge, 577 So.2d 1172 (La.App. 2d Cir.1991); Johnston v. Fontana, 610 So.2d 1119 (La.App. 2d Cir.1992) with Touchard v. Williams, 606 So.2d 927 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1992).

The function of statutory interpretation and the construction to be given legislative acts rests with the judicial branch of government. State v. Sissons, 292 So.2d 523 (La.1974); Ethyl Corp. v. Collector of Revenue, 351 So.2d 1290 (La.App. 1st Cir.1977). The Civil Code and related jurisprudence establish guidelines for statutory interpretation. Louisiana Civil Code article 10 provides:

When the language of the law is susceptible of different meanings, it must be interpreted as having the meaning that best conforms to the purpose of the law.

The Code also suggests that ambiguous text be interpreted according to the generally prevailing meaning of the words employed in the statute. La.Civ.Code art. 11 (West 1993); Bradford v. City of Shreveport, 305 So.2d 487 (La.1975).

Accordingly, the starting point for the interpretation of any statute is "the language of the statute itself." Zeringue v. State, Dep't of Public Safety, 467 So.2d 1358 (La.App. 5th Cir.1985) (citing Lewis v. United States, 445 U.S. 55, 100 S.Ct. 915, 63 L.Ed.2d 198 (1980)). However, the paramount consideration for statutory interpretation is ascertainment of the legislative intent and the reason or reasons which prompted the legislature to enact the law. Keelen v. State Dep't of Culture and Recreation, 463 So.2d 1287 (La.1985); Turner v. City of Shreveport, 437 So.2d 961 (La.App. 2d Cir.1983). This court has stated that "when the meaning of a statute appears doubtful it is well settled that we should seek the discovery of the legislative intent." State v. Marsh, 96 So.2d 643 (La.1957).

In the present case, neither the words of the statute nor the related articles reveal the meaning of the provision. See, supra note 1. Accordingly, resort to legislative intent is necessary.

Solidary liability among co-tortfeasors has been a part of Louisiana's civil tradition for over 150 years. Louisiana Civil Code article 2324 is derived from article 2304 of the 1825 Louisiana Civil Code. ⁵ While Louisiana Civil Code article 2304 (1825) uses the term "jointly", the official revision comments reveal that the code contained an error in the English translation of French text. The proper translation should have been "in solido." This error was corrected by legislative act. Byrne v. Riddel, 3 La.Ann. 670 (1848).

Although Louisiana Civil Code article 2304 (1825) created solidary liability among joint tortfeasors who acted in concert, the Louisiana Supreme Court has recognized solidary liability among simply negligent co-tortfeasors since 1889. Cline v. Crescent City R.R. Co., 41 La.Ann. 1031, 6 So. 851 (1889). In Cline, this Court "engrafted negligence-based solidary liability onto article 2324 using the general obligations articles." M. Kevin Queenan, Civil Code Article 2324: A Broken Path to Limited Solidarity Liability, 49 La.L.R. 1351, 1368 (1989). The court rejected the defendants' contention that the law failed to provide for negligence-based solidarity. Id. This court explained that "[s]olidary obligations exist 'on the part of the debtors when they are all obliged to the same thing ... although ... the debtors [are] obligated differently ... and by different acts or at different times.' " Id. (quoting Cline v. Crescent City R.R. Co., 41 La.Ann. 1031, 6 So. 851 (1889)). The court continued: "there are many contracts in which the obligation is declared by law to be in solido, without any express stipulation." Cline v. Crescent City R.R. Co., 41 La.Ann. 1031, 6 So. 851 (1889). The court concluded by noting that "some of these contracts 'may be found in the chapter which treats of' offenses and quasi offenses, 'such as' art[icles] ... 2315 ... 2316 ... 2317 [and] 2320." Queenan, supra at 1368 (quoting Cline v. Crescent City R.R. Co., 41 La.Ann. 1031, 6 So. 851 (1889)). Thus, according to the court, articles 2315, 2316, 2317, and 2324 create solidary obligations among joint tortfeasors for their delicts, even if the delicts are founded upon negligence.

More recently, this court has recognized this principle. Dixie Drive It Yourself Sys. Co. Inc. v. American Beverage Co., 242 La. 471, 137 So.2d 298 (1962) ("When the actionable negligence of two tortfeasors contributes in causing harm to a third party, each of them is responsible for the damage. They are solidarily liable."); Narcise v. Illinois Cent. R.R. Co., 427 So.2d 1192 (La.1983); Huguet v....