Case Name: Gustave E. GUIDRY, Jr., for himself individually and for and on behalf of minors, etc. v. Robert James CROWTHER et al.
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1957-06-04
Citations: 96 So. 2d 71
Docket Number: No. 4416
Parties: Gustave E. GUIDRY, Jr., for himself individually and for and on behalf of minors, etc. v. Robert James CROWTHER et al.
Judges: Rehearing denied; ELLIS, J., dissenting.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 96
Pages: 71–88

Head Matter:
Gustave E. GUIDRY, Jr., for himself individually and for and on behalf of minors, etc. v. Robert James CROWTHER et al.
No. 4416.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana. First Circuit.
June 4, 1957.
Rehearing Denied June 28,1957.
Writ of Certiorari Denied Oct. 8, 1957.
Taylor, Porter, Brooks, Fuller & Phillips, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant.
A. Deutsche O’Neal, Houma, for plaintiff-appellee.
Adams & Reese, New Orleans, Pugh, Lanier & Pugh, Thibodaux, for defendant-appellee.

Opinion:
TATE, Judge.
At about l':00 P.M. on July 7, 1954, an Oldsmobile driven by Robert J. Crowther skidded into a Chevrolet driven by Gus-tave E. Guidry, Sr. Guidry and his wife, a front seat passenger, died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident; and Mrs. Crowther, a passenger in the car driven by her husband, was most seriously crippled. Two other passengers in the Guidry car suffered injuries of lesser severity.
In the five personal injury actions based upon this tragic accident, the substantial question is whether any negligence of Crowther constituted the sole or a concurrent proximate cause of the mishap; or whether, as the District Court held, the sole proximate cause of the accident was the negligence of Roy J. Hebert, driver of a station wagon following Guidry, in imprudently attempting to pass Guidry and pulling out into Crowther's lane and in Crowther's immediate path. It is conceded that no negligence on the part of Guidry contributed to the fatal incident.
The accident in question occurred on U. S. Highway 90 about 3miles west of Des Allemands in Lafourche Parish, The District Court aptly summarized its setting as follows:
"The testimony shows with unmistakable certainty that there were only three automobiles in the immediate vicinity of the accident at the time of its occurrence: (1) the Guidry Chevrolet travelling westerly in its own right lane (the south [north] lane of US 90) and driven by Guidry; (2) the Plymouth station wagon driven by Hebert in a westerly direction and approaching the Guidry car from the rear; (3) the Oldsmobile being driven by Crowther in an easterly direction. It is reasonably clear that the accident took place approximately at the foot of a long, gentle curve, that before the accident Guidry and Hebert were travelling westerly in the curve and Crowther was travelling easterly approaching the curve, and that at the point of impact Guidry was about to emerge frota the curve and Crowther was about to enter it. In the general area of the accident (that is, at the place of impact and for some distance in either direction therefrom) the highway consisted of an eighteen-foot slab of undulant asphalt with exceptionally narrow shoulders, not more than a foot or two in width near the pavement, that sloped sharply down to the prairie or marsh at the side. At the time of the accident the asphalt was wet as a result of a heavy shower shortly before its occurrence."
Guidry's car, driven at a speed variously estimated as from 30 to 50 mph, was struck and severely damaged in its own lane by Crowther's Oldsmobile. Crowther stated that his own vehicle had gone into a skid crossing the highway into Guidry's lane when, at a speed of from 45-55 mph, he had immediately applied his brakes when the oncoming Hebert station wagon suddenly pulled into his path and alongside Guidry in a rash attempt to pass Guidry as these latter two vehicles were about to emerge from the slight curve.
The principle factual question of this appeal is whether the District Court was manifestly wrong in accepting the testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Crowther that Hebert impatiently pulled out into their path to pass the slower-moving Guidry and drew almost alongside Guidry when the Crowthers were just 150-200"' distant; rather than that of Hebert (corroborated in general by the two passengers in his station wagon) that the Hebert vehicle had nosed out when about 30O' behind Guidry and, seeing Crowther's Oldsmobile approaching at a terrific speed from the opposite direction about 800-1200' distant, had slipped back, noticing as he did so that Crowther went into a skid because of slipping off onto the shoulder. There were no other living witnesses to the accident, the surviving Guidry passengers having observed nothing thereof.
We see no compelling reason to enter into a detailed analysis of the evidence in this bulky record, so ably and exhaustively analyzed by the, lengthy briefs furnished to us by opposing counsel. The trial court's findings of fact will not be disturbed by a reviewing court unless manifestly erroneous, Jones v. Jones, 232 La. 102, 93 So.2d 917, especially when based upon an evaluation of the credibility of opposing witnesses, Fouquier v. Fouquier, 231 La. 430, 91 So.2d 591.
Counsel for appellants most ably argues that it is a mathematical and physical impossibility for the accident to have occurred as the District Court found, accepting the Crowthers' testimony, if the Hebert station wagon (as testified by the occupants thereof) was able to draw to a stop 30-40 feet behind the Guidry-Crowther wreck. Accepting this premise, counsel is able to demonstrate that Hebert must have been a considerable distance behind Guidry at the time that Crowther went into his skid and, consequently, could not have drawn out into Crowther's lane just 150-200' distant from him.
The fallacy of this well reasoned argument is that the only testimony as to this safe stop was given by the occupants of the station wagon. And the District Court specifically found, based on what it found to be deliberate and apparently well-planned variations from original statements given by them to their own insurer, that these three engineering employees were in concert deliberately trying to deceive the court by concocting a version of the accident which, mathematically, would exculpate Hebert, their driver. He found their testimony completely unworthy of belief. We, an appellant court unable to see and hear the witnesses as did the trier of fact, are unable to hold that this evaluation of credibility was manifestly wrong; and we ourselves note that, unlike those particular witnesses, Mr. and Mrs. Crowther consistently gave the same version of the accident — from the time the State police drove up a few minutes after the accident, with Mrs. Crowther mutilated and in agony, perhaps dying, Mrs. Guidry dead, and Mr. Guidry dying, right on up through the trial below.
We do not find too impressive efforts made by appellants to discredit Crowther's testimony because, he initially reported to the police right at the time of the accident that it was a yellow Plymouth automobile which drew alongside the Guidry car (whereas in truth the Hebert vehicle was a green Plymouth station wagon), precipitating the accident. All parties agree that the only overtaking vehicle involved was the Hebert vehicle, and the precision of observation expected as to such relatively minor incidentals in the few split-seconds preceding a horrible tragedy seems to be unrealistic.
Corroborative of the testimony of the Crowthers that a vehicle drew out into their lane, immediately in their path, almost alongside the Guidry car, is the death bed declaration of Mr. Guidry, lying in the hospital, to a kinswoman, "If it wouldn't have been for that station wagon and those three boys, it never would have happened." (Tr-81.) No objection was made at the time this evidence was introduced.
Whether after the accident Hebert's station wagon actually did stop to the rear of the wrecked cars — or whether, for instance, it had passed in its left lane the cars colliding in its right lane before stopping west of the accident — are unknown, the District Court having found to be absolutely unworthy of belief the testimony of the boys in the station wagon, who are the only witnesses able to testify as this vehicle's actions, due to the preoccupation of the other participants in the accident with their own safety and that of their loved ones at the time. There is testimony in the record that Hebert subsequently told a girl friend that he had been involved in the wreck and his vehicle had run into and tapped the Guidry car, although Hebert subsequently told an investigating attorney he had just been "spoofing". Nor, considering the possibilities indicated by the testimony and argument of a slower speed (30 mph) of Guidry as compared to Crowther (50 mph), a quicker reaction time of a passing driver (Hebert) more alert to the potential danger than one (Crowther) confronted with a sudden emergency, and/or a greater braking efficiency of the station wagon used by the surveying crew as compared with that of an ordinary passenger vehicle, etc., would a stop by the station wagon to the rear (east) of the wrecked cars necessarily indicate incorrect the Crowthers' consistent version of the accident as caused by a vehicle drawing into their lane with the realistic intention of passing Guidry in their immediate path and when they were just a short distance away.
But we are not called upon to speculate as to what the station wagon actually did after the accident; suffice it to say that for the reasons indicated, we are unable to accept counsel's argument that the testimony of the boys in the station wagon of their complete stop behind the wrecked cars affords a compelling reason to discard as manifestly erroneous the District Court's factual determination of an attempted passing in Crowther's immediate path.
Appellants' second main line of attack in seeking to hold Crowther and his insurers at least concurrently negligent is the contention that Crowther's speed, under the circumstances, contributed to the accident. Immediately before the accident, Crowther had slowed to a speed of 45-55 mph. U. S. Highway 90, where the accident occurred, was at the time a narrow (18') blacktop highway, with extremely narrow (F) shoulders, slick because of the preceding rain. Based on isolated quotes from the testimony, able counsel attempts to depict this main highway of the State as a thoroughly dangerous thoroughfare, rutted, broken up by potholes, etc. We agree, however, with the District Court that the testimony taken as a whole does not indicate this main highway to have been so primitive as to require a lesser speed than that permissible on other main highways of the State under, similar circumstances; although it was certainly not a first class travelling surface at the time due to its relative narrowness and slickness. See Soudelier v. Johnson, La.App 1 Cir., 95 So.2d 39. Defendants' own witnesses uniformly described the speeds of the Hebert station wagon and the Guidry car at 40-50 mph as not unusual, and as prudent and safe under the circumstances; and we fail to see how Crowther's slightly greater speed of 45-55 mph could be considered so excessive as depicted. (The District Court, accepting Mr. Crowther's testimony, found Crowther's speed at the time to be 50 mph.)
However, whether such speed be considered negligent or not, it was not a proximate cause of this accident, which occurred because Hebert pulled suddenly from his own lane into the oncoming Crowther's so close in Crowther's path as to negligently cause the sudden emergency as a result of which this accident occurred, Lanier v. Hartford Indemnity Co., 228 La. 736, 84 So.2d 173, Higginbotham v. Frazier, La.App. 1 Cir., 92 So.2d 89 (Cert, denied), Marler v. State, La.App. 2 Cir., 78 So.2d 26 (Cert, denied). There is a complete lack of any evidence that the application of brakes on a slick pavement asphalt at 50 mph rather than. at, say, 25 mph, would have produced any different consequences. A driver is not required to maintain such speed and control as to be able to come to a complete stop when an unexpected and not reasonably to be expected obstacle blocking his lane is thrust suddenly into his immediate path. See Marler case, 78 So.2d 39, Syllabi 8, 9.
Cases such as Geoghegan v. Greyhound Corporation, 226 La. 405, 76 So.2d 412, relied upon by defendants, concern instances where a driver was unable because of his speed, excessive under the circumstances, to avoid hitting objects reasonably to be anticipated in his path; the speed therefore being a proximate cause of the accident. (The Geoghegan case specifically notes that the cows in question "did not suddenly dart in front of a bus", 76 So.2d 413; if they had, any alleged excessive speed would not have been a proximate cause of the accident. Cf., Gautreaux v. Orgeron, La.App. 1 Cir., 84 So.2d 632.)
Nor, as urged in reliance upon such cases as Chouest v. Remont, La.App. 1 Cir., 81 So.2d 568, would a negligent speed by Crowther necessarily bar him from the exculpation of the sudden emergency doc trine; for to bar such exculpation, the negligence in question must have "contributed to the creation of the emergency", 81 So.2d 571. Whether Crowther was going 50 mph or 25 mph, under the facts of this case, the sudden emergency was negligently created by Hebert when the latter pulled out into the latter's oncoming path so short a distance away from him.
Quantum.
The present suit was brought by or on behalf of the thirteen surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Guidry, Sr. The District Court awarded (1) $15,000 to each of the seven minor children for the damages sustained individually by each child for the sudden death of both their parents; (2) $3,000 for Mr. Guidry's own pain and suffering, which under LSA-Civil Code Article 2315 survived in favor of his minor children only; and (3) $1,249.50 special damages, for the destroyed automobile and Mr. Guidry's hospital bill. Judgment was rendered in favor of each of the seven children who were unmarried minors at the time of their parents' death in the amount of $15,525.46 each; and in favor of each of the six major children in the amount of $96.89 each, being Viz of the $1,249.50 special damages.
The special damages are not disputed. Relying upon Keith v. Royal Indemnity, La.App. 2 Cir., 90 So.2d 534, 539, the District Court held that a claim for property damage survived in favor of the decedents' estate, rather than in favor of the specified beneficiaries under Article 2315, LSA-C.C. (which excludes major children when there is a surviving spouse or minor children). However, this court has held that LSA-Civil Code Article 2315 applies even as to such items of damage. Young v. McCullium, La.App. 1 Cir., 74 So.2d 339, cert, denied. Therefore the award in favor of the major children for these items must he disallowed. No answer to the appeal or appeal as to quantum having been entered on behalf of the minors, we are unable to increase their award to allow them recovery of these proven damages.
The award of $3,000 for Mr. Gui-dry's personal injuries, including a crushed chest, several fractured ribs, and a collapsed lung, and three days suffering in the hospital prior to his death, conscious but under sedatives, does not appear to be manifestly excessive and will not be disturbed.
At the time of their deaths, Mr. Guidry was about 53 years of age, his wife about 46 years of age. Mr. Guidry was in good health, a fisher and trapper (earning $275 to $300 per month during the fishing season). Mrs. Guidry was about 46 years of age and was under medical treatment for carcinoma of the intestine at the time of the tragic accident. They had been married approximately 32 years at the time of their deaths.
The surviving unmarried minor children of the marriage were, with their ages at the time of the accident: Virgie, 20; Nancy, 18; Eulice, 11; Glorine, 10; Gloria, 8; Susie, 5; and James, 3. Virgie married sometime subsequent to the death of their parents. Their oldest brother, Gustave E. Guidry, Jr., qualified as their legal tutor.
The District Court in the following eloquent words described his award of $15,000 to each of the minor children for the death of both of their parents:
"No greater tragedy could befall the surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Gustave E. Guidry than the instant death of their mother and the indescribable anguish visited upon them by the impending death of their father for four days. If Descartes could have evolved out of his mathematical philosophy a formula to calculate and measure the pangs of grief suffered, it would necessarily have been one of multiplication. The death of one parent to those with strong family ties, as was the case here, is itself an immeasurable loss. But when a family is shattered by the loss of both parents, and a happy home that is the birthright of every child is obliterated as thoroughly and effectively as though from the impact of an atom bomb, then there is taken from the lives of the children the love and affection for which every human being yearns and the tender care and guidance which builds in youth the character of a lifetime. And no less important are the recollections of a happy childhood, and the reassembly from time to time of the members of the family with their, own children at the family home, which even after marriage remains the center, the very capital, of family life. These precious things of illimitable value the Guidry children shall never have, and there shall ever remain a void that will never be filled. No compensation is great enough to repay the loss.

"Now as important as is the father to the maintenance and supervision of his family, his death can hardly have the same impact as that of the mother. There can be no doubt that the mother is the heart and core of the family. She supplies every need, nurses every wound, consoles every care, and bestows every affection every hour of every day for her children, things that a father cannot do because of his absence in search of a livelihood and things that, because of our very nature he could not offer if he were constantly present. The experiences of
life disclose that it is generally loss of the mother, even when she is advanced in years and her children are self-sufficient, that is the source of the most profound grief. Her death, it seems to us, is the greater loss. It is our opinion that there should be judgment in favor of each of seven minors for the death of both parents in the sum of $15,000.00 as prayed for. "
We think this award to be in line with the following cases: Stansbury v. Mayor, etc., 228 La. 880, 84 So.2d 445; Keith v. Royal Indemnity Co., La.App. 2 Cir., 90 So.2d 534; and Bengston v. Travelers Ind. Co., D.C.W.D.La., 132 F.Supp. 512.
For the above and foregoing reasons, the judgment is affirmed insofar as in favor of the seven children who were unmarried minors at the time of the death of their parents; but is amended to reverse the award of $96.88 each to the major children at the time of the death, namely, Gustave E. Guidry, Jr., Clodia Guidry Gaspard, Pearline Guidry Bruce, Percy Guidry, Dudley Guidry and Joyce Guidry Gaspard. The judgment below is affirmed in all other respects.
Amended; and as amended, affirmed.
. The present is by the children of Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Guidry, Sr., against (a) Orowther, (b) his liability insurers, (c) Roy J. Hebert, driver of a vehicle overtaking Guidry, (d) O. H. Fenstermaker, Hebert's employer at the time of the accident, and (e) the Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, the liability insurer of Hebert and Fenstermaker. The suits on behalf of the Guidry rear seat passengers were against the same codefendants, Matherne v. Crowther, La.App., 96 So.2d 41 and Oliveira v. Crowthers, La. App., 96 So.2d 96. Mrs. Faith Sehack Orowther likewise filed suit for injuries resulting from the accident, making co-defendant all of said defendants except her husband and Hebert, Orowther v. Fenstermaker, La.App., 96 So.2d 91. Robert James Orowther filed suit only against Aetna, liability insurer of Hebert, Orowther v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., La.App., 96 So.2d 94. All of these opinions are rendered this date by this court. The present, opinion discusses the facts and legal issues relating to liability which are common to all five suits, whereas the separate opinions of the other four suits are restricted to a discussion of the damages awarded to the plaintiffs therein. The District Court rendered judgment against Hebert, his employer, and their liability insurer (Aetna) in all suits in which they were parties defendant; and these defendants are appellants herein. All plaintiffs except Crowther appealed devolutively from dismissal of their suits against Crowther and his liability insurers, in the event the appellate courts should allocate liability otherwise.
. It should be noted that the discrepancies are not those which sometimes result by the distortions of one person's oral answers as translated into a hostile adjuster's written statement; these statements of February, 1955, taken down by Aetna, their own insurer, amount to a radicahy different version of the accident than that to which testified. The front seat passenger's (Ansley's) original report was that Hebert nosed out to pass Guidry when the Crowther Oldsmobile was 175-200 feet away; at the trial, he testified to a distance of 700-1100'. The initial statement of this passenger was that Hebert had closed to 25-30 feet in Guidry's rear before pulling out into the lane, and the initial statement of the rear seat passenger was that Hebert pulled into the left lane when just 10' in Guidry's rear to pass; at the trial, the later was unable to estimate the distance, even in terms of 50' or 100', although he like the other station wagon occupants remembered with precision and clarity that the station wagon had come to a full stop 30' behind the wrecked Guidry and Crowther cars. Ansley's testimony at the trial is ambiguous as to whether he repudiated also his initial statement to his own adjuster that Hebert drew up to within 25-30' of the Guidry vehicle before crossing halfway into Crowther's lane; but defendant can draw little comfort if Ansley's testimony is construed so as not to repudiate this initial estimate, for then he flatly contradicts Hebert's version of the accident and substantially corroborates Crowther's. Hebert, a codefendant and alerted by a prior telephone call from counsel for plaintiff, gave a statement more consistent with his testimony at the trial, although he swore that his speed was 40 mph (as compared with the initial estimate in his statement of 30 mph), which if true would tend to increase his distance from Crowther when he pulled out, if he actually had come to a stop as he said he did. It is of course unnecessary to add that we could not conceivably intimate that any part in any intended deception of the courts was played by eminent counsel herein, who are among the most respected in this State for integrity and ability.