Robert F. Kennon

The case involved a lawsuit by Roy L. Fulco and his wife against City Ice Service, Inc. and its insurer for damages from a nighttime car collision on a Shreveport street, where an unauthorized driver took the company's unattended truck (left with keys inside on company property) and drove it without lights into the plaintiffs' vehicle. After three jury trials that produced verdicts for the plaintiffs, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit, reversed the trial court's judgment on appeal and dismissed the suit. The court reasoned that the unknown operator was not an employee or authorized user, the truck was not parked on a public street, and the company's act of leaving keys in the vehicle did not amount to negligence or an implied invitation that proximately caused the accident.

torts & liability

In Caldwell v. Caldwell, an emancipated minor sued his father, who operated a concrete products plant, and the father's workers' compensation insurer for benefits after losing his leg in a tractor accident while returning from lunch following a work-related errand. The trial court awarded compensation at $20 per week for 400 weeks, but on rehearing the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit, reversed the judgment. The appellate court found that the plaintiff had not proved by a preponderance of the evidence that an employer-employee relationship existed under the compensation policy, determining instead that the wage arrangement was more akin to a fixed allowance than compensation for covered employment. The suit was therefore dismissed at the plaintiff's costs.

labor & employment

The case involved four plaintiffs who performed labor and supplied materials to renovate a building leased by Mrs. Marie Holley from owner Eugene J. Coen; after Holley failed to pay and declared bankruptcy, the plaintiffs sought to enforce laborer's and materialman's liens on the property or, alternatively, obtain personal judgment against Coen. The district court canceled the liens but awarded the plaintiffs personal judgment against Coen. On appeal, the Court of Appeal reversed that personal judgment, holding that Coen was not liable because there was no privity of contract between him and the plaintiffs, the unrecorded lease prohibited alterations without his written consent, and he had not authorized the work. The court relied on longstanding Louisiana precedent that a property owner is not responsible for debts incurred by a lessee in improving leased premises, even with the owner's knowledge, to avoid undermining property rights and enabling potential fraud.

propertyprocedurelabor & employment

Mrs. C. W. Corbitt, a licensed real estate broker, sued Stephen H. Robinson to recover a commission after he sold a lot and apartment house in Bossier City to a buyer she had introduced, despite his withdrawal of the property from her agency five days after the showing. The trial court entered judgment for the defendant, but the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit, on rehearing, reversed and awarded the plaintiff a reduced commission of $469.97. The court concluded that the broker's advertisements and initial showing were the procuring cause of the sale, even though the owner later negotiated directly with the buyer on different terms including repairs and a lower price.

business & regulatoryproperty

This case involved a lawsuit by Hazel D. Goodwin against the Louisiana Department of Highways seeking damages for the death of her husband, who drowned when his car drove off the end of a highway into the Red River where a bridge had been destroyed. The court decided in favor of the plaintiff, awarding $5,600 in damages, after determining that the Department was negligent in failing to provide adequate warnings and barricades at the abrupt end of the highway. The reasoning centered on the lack of sufficient signs or barriers, particularly at night, creating a dangerous condition that the driver could not reasonably avoid, and that the husband was not contributorily negligent given the unusual hazard and poor visibility of the existing barricade.

torts & liability

This case involved a bus passenger who suffered injuries in a collision between the bus and a truck, leading to consolidated suits by multiple passengers and the bus owner against the drivers, owners, and their insurers. The plaintiff alleged negligence by both the bus and truck drivers, while each side blamed the other for the accident caused by the truck crossing the centerline. The District Court found the truck driver solely at fault due to faulty brakes or poor driving and awarded damages against the truck defendants, rejecting claims against the bus defendants. On appeal, the Court of Appeal affirmed the finding of liability on the truck side, adjusted the damage amounts in several consolidated cases, and upheld the judgments with modifications to reflect those changes.

torts & liabilityprocedure