Case Name: ELEPHANT, INC. v. HARTFORD ACCIDENT & INDEMNITY CO.
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1970-06-30
Citations: 239 So. 2d 692
Docket Number: No. 8064
Parties: ELEPHANT, INC. v. HARTFORD ACCIDENT & INDEMNITY CO.
Judges: Before LANDRY, SARTAIN, and ELLIS, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 239
Pages: 692–697

Head Matter:
ELEPHANT, INC. v. HARTFORD ACCIDENT & INDEMNITY CO.
No. 8064.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.
June 30, 1970.
Rehearing Denied Aug. 17, 1970.
Gerald L. Walter, Jr., Baton Rouge, for appellant.
William H. Cooper, Jr., Baton Rouge, for appellee.
Before LANDRY, SARTAIN, and ELLIS, JJ.

Opinion:
ELLIS, Judge:
Elephant, Inc. was the owner of a baby elephant known as Sparkle, which was used by it in a political campaign on behalf of a Republican candidate for Congress. Dr. Robert Cane, a veterinarian in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a loyal Republican, agreed to house, transport, and care for the elephant at no charge other than the actual expenses incurred therewith. One evening, Sparkle was placed by Dr. Cane in a new stall. In an adjoining compartment separated from the stall only by a slat partition, a quantity of poison was left within reach of the elephant. Sparkle ate the poison and subsequently died as the result thereof. This suit was brought by Elephant, Inc. against Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., Dr. Cane's insurer, for damages resulting from the death of .the elephant. A motion for summary judgment was filed by Hartford, based on the existence of the following agreement between plaintiff and Dr. Cane:
"It is hereby agreed by and between Elephant, Incorporated, and Dr. Robert Cane that the said Elephant, Incorporated shall hold Dr. Robert Cane harmless from any liability in the event of the death of the elephant, "Sparkle". This agreement is made for and in consideration of professional services rendered and to be rendered by Dr. Cane."
The motion for summary judgment was sustained and suit dismissed. An appeal was taken to this court, and we found, on the basis of the affidavits filed in the proceedings, that there was an issue as to a material fact surrounding the execution of the above agreement and remanded the case for trial on the merits. See Elephant, Inc. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 216 So.2d 837 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1968).
After trial on the merits, judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff and against the defendant for $2500.00, which the court found to be the value of the elephant. After motion for a new trial was denied, a suspensive appeal was taken to this court.
The specifications of error are three in number: first, that the court erred in failing to find that Dr. Cane was a gratuitous depositary and as such not liable to the plaintiff in the absence of a finding of gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud. Alternatively, it is claimed that the court erred in not finding that the above agreement had the effect of releasing Dr. Cane from liability arising out of his own negligence with respect to the elephant. Finally, it is argued that the court erred in concluding that it was not the intention of the parties to the agreement to release Dr. Cane from liability of the nature sued on.
It is clear from the record that Dr. Cane was negligent in placing the elephant in a stall from which he could easily reach a lethal dose of poison. It is further un-' disputed that once this particular type of poison was ingested that there was nothing which could be done to save the life of the elephant, so that there is no professional misconduct or neglect on Dr. Cane's part, once he found that Sparkle had consumed the poison.
We find no merit in defendant's contention that a gratuitous depositary can be held liable only in the event of his gross negligence. Articles 1908 and 2937 of the Civil Code fix the burden of care placed on a depositary that of ordinary care which may be expected of a prudent man. Home Insurance Co. v. Southern Specialty Sales Co., 225 So.2d 776 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1969). The case of Pearl Assurance Co. v. De Cuir, 157 So.2d 314 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1963), which appears to be contrary, does not consider the applicability of Article 1908, and relies in part on Olinde Hardware & Supply Co. v. Ramsey, 98 So.2d 835 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1957), which is inapposite. We disagree with its holding, as did the Fourth Circuit, by implication, in the Home Insurance Co. case, supra. In view of this finding, it is not necessary that we determine whether Dr. Cane is a gratuitous or compensated depositary, since a compensated depositary has a higher burden of care under the provisions of Article 2938. When Dr. Cane placed the elephant in a stall from which it could easily reach the poison, he failed to exercise the ordinary care required of him, and would be liable for the death of the elephant, in the absence of other circumstances.'
Defendant in this case claims to be exculpated from liability for the death of the elephant by the agreement entered into between Dr. Cane and Elephant, Inc., here-inabove quoted. Plaintiff argues that, as a matter of law, such an agreement can release one from the consequences of his own negligence only when negligence is specifically mentioned in the agreement.
This court has so held in cases dealing with indemnification agreements, as in Arnold v. Stupp Corporation, 205 So.2d 797 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1967). It is pointed out by defendant that the Arnold case, supra, deals with indemnification by one party of another against vicarious liability to third persons, and that our interpretation of such an agreement operates to exclude therefrom cases in which there is direct liability as the result of negligence or a willful tort. It is argued that to place such an interpretation on the agreement in this case would render it meaningless, since liability for the death of the elephant on the part of Dr. Cane can only be predicated on his negligence or fault.
We agree that the Arnold case, supra, should have no bearing on the situation presented here, which involves an agreement between two parties, by virtue of which one of them is purportedly made free from liability if a certain event occurs. The question we must answer is if liability could only arise as the result of negligence, must the agreement contain a specific reference to such negligence in order to be given effect.
Plaintiffs rely on our holding in Plantation Pipe Line Co. v. Kaiser Alum. & Chem. Corp., 222 So.2d 905 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1969) (Writs refused 226 So.2d 522). In that case, there was an agreement by virtue of which plaintiff, who had a servitude over defendant's land, agreed that defendant had the right to "make every use of said lands and premises" and that defendant would "not be liable to Plantation for any loss or damage to said pipe lines resulting from any use of said lands and premises" by defendant. However, in that case, other agreements, subsequently entered into, were found to indicate that it was the intention of the parties to so interpret the above language as to exclude the negligence of defendant from the effect of the agreement. It was further found that defendant's conduct amounted to a willful tort rather than an act of negligence.
When the instant case was first before us, we reversed a summary judgment of dismissal and remanded for trial because we found a dispute as to a material fact. Plaintiff then claimed that other considerations were involved in the case which supplemented the original agreement. Elephant, Inc. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., supra. The case is now once more before us after trial on the merits, and we find no evidence of any agreements or considerations which would tend to alter or supplement the exculpatory agreement in any way. The only evidence presented is the testimony of the parties- to what they thought the agreement meant. Predictably, this supports their respective positions.
In interpreting the agreement, we are required by law to give legal effect thereto according to the true intent of the parties, and that intent is to be determined by the words of the agreement, "when these are clear and explicit and lead to no absurd consequences." Civil Code, Article 1945. A contract should be interpreted so as to give it some effect, rather than to "render it nugatory." Civil Code, Article 1951. We preclude from this discussion any question of willful acts which would not be included in the agreement as a matter of public policy.
In this case, if we give the agreement the interpretation argued for by the plaintiff, it is totally without effect. If the consequences of Dr. Cane's negligence are excluded therefrom, it is a release from nothing at all, and Dr. Cane's position before and after its execution is exactly the same. We do not believe that such could have been the intention of either of the parties thereto. Since liability for the death of the elephant could arise only from the negligence of Dr. Cane, the agreement must be interpreted to release him from the consequences thereof.
The judgment appealed from is therefore reversed, and there will be judgment in favor of defendant and against plaintiff, dismissing plaintiff's suit at its cost.
Reversed and rendered.