Scott v. ClarkScott v. Clark
Michael L. Martin, Windhorst, Gaudry, Talley & Ranson, Gretna, for defendants (Requesting Writ) Judy H. Clark and State of La.
Before COVINGTON, C.J., and LANIER and GONZALES, JJ.
LANIER, Judge.
This is a suit for damages in tort by Daisy P. Scott and Alton J. Scott (the Scotts) against the State of Louisiana through the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and one of its employees, Judy H. Clark. The Scotts did not request a trial by jury. DOTD answered denying all allegations and did not request a trial by jury. Later, Clark answered and requested a trial by jury. On September 11, 1990, the trial court ordered a trial by jury contingent upon Clark posting a $5,000 bond. On November 27, 1990, during a pre-trial conference, the trial court
FACTS
In their petition, the Scotts allege the following facts:
3.
On or about June 18, 1989, at approximately 10:25 a.m., petitioner Daisy P. Scott was operating a 1985 GMC Sierra Classic pickup truck in the southbound lane of Louisiana Highway 316 approaching Intracoastal Canal Pontoon Bridge No. 4120200381. Petitioner crossed through the north gates of the aforementioned pontoon bridge, and was over the south side apron of the pontoon bridge when defendant Judy H. Clark, suddenly and without warning, raised the bridge apron, causing petitioner‘s vehicle to suspend in mid air.
4.
At all times pertinent hereto, it is alleged that the defendant State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development, was the owner of the Intracoastal Canal Pontoon Bridge No. 4120200381, located on Louisiana Highway 316, in the Parish of Lafourche, State of Louisiana, and was responsible for the actions of its employees, namely defendant Judy H. Clark.
5.
As a result of the above described incident, petitioner Daisy P. Scott suffered severe personal injuries including, but not limited to, injuries to her back, neck, left shoulder, right knee, and chest.
6.
That, as a further result of the above described injuries, petitioner Daisy P. Scott has suffered extreme physical and mental pain, suffering and discomfort which, on information and belief, will continue indefinitely into the future.
7.
Additionally, as a further result of the above described injuries, petitioner Daisy P. Scott has incurred medical and pharmaceutical expenses for the treatment of said injuries and, on information and belief, will incur additional medical and pharmaceutical expenses indefinitely into the future.
8.
The personal injuries and damages sustained by petitioner Daisy P. Scott were caused by the negligent conduct and/or fault of the defendants, State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development and its employee, Judy H. Clark, whose conduct and negligence was the legal cause of petitioner‘s injuries and damages, for the following nonexclusive particulars:
a. Improperly controlled bridge;
b. Failure to adequately and/or reasonably operate bridge;
c. Failure to see traffic on the bridge;
d. Opening the bridge apron when it was unsafe to do so;
e. Any and all other acts of negligence and/or fault which may be proven at the trial of this matter or discovered prior thereto.
9.
By reason of the above described circumstances, petitioner Daisy P. Scott is entitled to recover such general and special damages as are reasonable in the premises.
10.
By reason of his wife‘s injuries, petitioner Alton J. Scott has sustained the loss of his wife‘s love, affection, comfort, society, and consortium. Therefore, petitioner Alton J. Scott is entitled to recover all damages as are reasonable in the premises.
DOTD and Clark contend the trial court erred in denying their motion to reinstate the jury order because they have waived their immunity from trial by jury provided for in
There is no United States or Louisiana constitutional right to a trial by jury in a civil case in a Louisiana court. This right is provided for by statute.
The issue in this writ is a question of statutory interpretation. The following rules found in Bunch v. Town of St. Francisville, 446 So.2d 1357, 1360 (La.App. 1st Cir.1984) are applicable:
When a law or ordinance is clear and free from all ambiguity, it must be given effect as written....
When interpreting a law (ordinance), the court should give it the meaning the lawmaker intended. It is presumed that every word, sentence or provision in the law was intended to serve some useful purpose, that some effect is to be given to each such provision, and that no unnecessary words or provisions were used. Conversely, it will not be presumed that the lawmaker inserted idle, meaningless or superfluous language in the law or that it intended for any part or provision of the law to be meaningless, redundant or useless. The lawmaker is presumed to have enacted each law with deliberation and with full knowledge of all existing laws on the same subject. The meaning and intent of a law is to be determined by a consideration of the law in its entirety and all other laws on the same subject matter, and a construction should be placed on the provision in question which is consistent with the express terms of the law and with the obvious intent of the lawmaker in enacting it. Where it is possible to do so, it is the duty of the courts in the interpretation of laws to adopt a construction of the provision in question which harmonizes and reconciles it with other provisions. A construction of a law which creates an inconsistency should be avoided when a reasonable interpretation can be adopted which will not do violence to the plain words of the law and will carry out the intention of the law maker....
When the expressions of a law are “dubious“, the most effectual way of discovering the true meaning of the law is to consider the reason and spirit of it, or the cause which induced the lawmaker to enact it.... When a law is susceptible to two or more interpretations, that which affords a reasonable and practical effect to the entire act is to be preferred over one which renders part thereof ridiculous or nugatory.... If there is an irreconcilable conflict between the provisions of a law, only one provision can prevail.
(Emphasis added; citations omitted)
See also Achee v. Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement Board, 527 So.2d 1116, 1118-1119 (La.App. 1st Cir.1988); Notoriano v. Anthony, 527 So.2d 1120, 1121-1122 (La.App. 1st Cir.1988).
Our interpretation is supported by the Louisiana Supreme Court‘s decision in Descant v. Rapides Parish Police Jury, 409 So.2d 1226 (La.1982). In Descant, the Rapides Parish Police Jury (political subdivision) requested a trial by jury in connection with a suit for damages filed against it by Descant. The trial court granted the political subdivision‘s request. Descant filed a motion to strike the jury order citing
We find that the language of La.R.S. 13:5105 is clear: “No suit against the state or a state agency or a political subdivision shall be tried by a jury.” This is a suit against such an entity. Hence, the statute prohibits a trial by jury. The court of appeal erred in ruling otherwise.
See also, Daigle v. Hanson, 476 So.2d 953 (La.App. 1st Cir.1985).
In support of its positions that it is free to request a trial by jury or that it is free to waive its statutory protection under
In Talley, the Louisiana Supreme Court characterized the language found in
In Callahan, the governmental defendant assigned as error on appeal a violation of the prohibition expressed in
From its failure to object to a trial by jury of the issues involved in this case, we find that the defendant, Town of Bunkie, has waived its right to object to such a jury trial under the authority of LSA-R.S. 13:1504. Though the defendant public body is not required to submit to a jury trial, it can in its own discretion proceed in accordance with a trial by jury and thereby waive its statutory protection. It could not have been the intention of the redactors of this article that this article would be utilized as a means to escape liability once it had been validly determined and assessed by a jury consented to by all parties. If this article were construed as an all encompassing prohibition against jury trials even after the manifestation of consent thereto by the state or other public body, then we would in effect allow an extreme injustice in the administration of our civil law. To construe this article in such a fashion would be to allow the state or other public body to have “two bites at the apple.” The defendant state or other public body could sit back and safely submit to a trial by jury, knowing beforehand that if a judgment were rendered adversely to their position that an ultimate appeal based upon LSA-R.S. 13:5104 would afford them relief. This we will not countenance.
See also, Simmons v. Beauregard Parish School Board, 315 So.2d 883 (La.App. 3rd Cir.), writ denied, 320 So.2d 207 (La. 1975).
Callahan is distinguishable from the instant case. Callahan dealt with the timeliness of a political body‘s objection to a trial by jury on appeal after a completed trial on the merits. In Callahan, there was no objection to the trial by jury until appeal. In this case, the trial court struck the jury order before trial pursuant to the authority of
In Triche, this court considered whether the trial court erred in denying the request for a trial by jury filed by the City of Houma and its insurers. After considering the Talley and Callahan cases, this court stated the following:
Though this particular issue is res nova in that there are no reported cases dealing with a public body defendant requesting a jury trial, we reason that if the legislature had originally intended that no suit wherein the state, state agency or political subdivision was a defendant could be tried by a jury, or stated another way, that the state, state agency or political subdivision as defendant could not request a jury trial, which we doubt, the legislature has failed to reaffirm that intention after [Callahan] Bunkie and Talley when there was ample time to do so. In particular, the legislature in 1975 enacted Act 434 which amended and reenacted LSA-R.S. 13:5101 et seq. without changing any of the language of LSA-R.S. 13:5105 other than to change its numerical designation from 13:5104 to 13:5105. This failure to reaffirm any supposed intention must lead us to the conclusion that the original as well as present intention of the legislature as expressed in LSA-R.S. 13:5105 is not to deprive the public body defendant that opportunity for a jury trial if it so desires. We must, therefore, conclude that the Trial Judge was in error in denying defendants-relators’ request for a jury trial. (Emphasis added)
DOTD is not entitled to a trial by jury in this matter. The trial court did not err in denying the motion to reinstate the jury order as to DOTD.
This Part applies to any suit in contract or for injury to person or property against the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision of the state, as defined herein, or against an officer or employee of a political subdivision arising out of the discharge of his official duties or within the course and scope of his employment. This Part also applies to any proceeding, except those specifically excluded by R.S. 13:5110, and to any other suit expressly authorized by special or general law or resolution adopted by the legislature. (Emphasis added)
Since laws on the same subject matter must be interpreted in reference to each other,
The language pertaining to officers and employees of political subdivisions was added to
SENATE BILL NO. 445 BY MR. HAINKEL AN ACT
To amend and reenact R.S. 13:5101 and to enact 5102(C), relative to suits against political subdivisions; to provide for procedure in suits against officers and employees of political subdivisions arising out of their official duties and employment; to provide definitions; and to provide for related matters.
It is clear from the title to Act 781 that the legislature intended the language added to
The language used in
In Champagne v. American Southern Insurance Company, 295 So.2d 437 (La.1974), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that, considering the scheme of Louisiana‘s statutory and constitutional law, a civil litigant was not to be deprived of the important right of a trial by jury except by an express legislative provision. See also, Jones v. City of Kenner, 338 So.2d 606 (La.1976). Since
Because the language of
We further note that under
DOTD‘s assignment of error is without merit; Clark‘s assignment of error has merit.
DECREE
For the foregoing reasons, the writ issued herein is recalled in part, and the order of the trial court denying the motion to reinstate the jury order as to DOTD is affirmed. The writ issued herein is made peremptory in part, the order of the trial court denying the motion to reinstate the jury order as to Clark is reversed, and the motion to reinstate the jury order as to Clark is granted. This action is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings in accordance with law. The costs of this writ shall be assessed in a final judgment on the merits in the trial court.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED.