Case Name: Terry COLEMAN v. OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, United Technologies Corporation and Cigna Insurance Company
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1991-06-13
Citations: 582 So. 2d 341
Docket Number: No. 90-CA-1695
Parties: Terry COLEMAN v. OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, United Technologies Corporation and Cigna Insurance Company.
Judges: Before SCHOTT, C.J., and BARRY, BYRNES, CIACCIO and WARD, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 582
Pages: 341–346

Head Matter:
Terry COLEMAN v. OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, United Technologies Corporation and Cigna Insurance Company.
No. 90-CA-1695.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
June 13, 1991.
John K. Leach, Christovich & Kearney, New Orleans, for Otis Elevator Co. defendant-appellant.
Irwin R. Sanders, Metairie, for Terry Coleman plaintiff-appellee.
Before SCHOTT, C.J., and BARRY, BYRNES, CIACCIO and WARD, JJ.

Opinion:
WARD, Judge.
OTIS Elevator Company (OTIS) appeals a judgment awarding damages to Terry Coleman for injuries received when an elevator in Charity Hospital in New Orleans came to a sudden stop between floors.
On December 31, 1987, after visiting a patient, Mr. Coleman entered the No. 2 passenger elevator on the seventh floor to get to the first floor to leave the hospital. Coleman testified that the elevator proceeded to the first floor level when the elevator doors failed to open. Thereafter, the elevator went back up to the fifth floor and continued to run up and down with the doors closed. Meanwhile, Coleman continued to press the "floor" and "open" door buttons. When the elevator eventually stopped on the second floor, Coleman rang the emergency bell. Ms. Vivian Thomas, a Charity employee, attempted to open the doors but was unsuccessful. Then the elevator rapidly dropped to the basement level and came to an abrupt stop 2 1/2 to 3 feet below the basement level. Coleman went down on one knee. He was assisted out of the elevator by Mr. Terry Bode, an OTIS employee, who brought Coleman to the desk. Mr. Coleman filled out a report and was examined in the emergency room where x-rays were taken. When the X-rays indicated no physiological damage, hospital personnel released Coleman. However, Mr. Coleman was in pain and began treatment with Dr. Joseph P. Braud on January 7, 1988. He was treated for a contusion to the lumbosacral spine until he was discharged on May 5, 1988.
On January 31, 1989 he filed suit against OTIS Elevator Company, United Technologies Corporation, and Cigna Insurance Company based on a claim of negligence. After a bench trial on June 27, 1990, the District Court rendered judgment in favor of Mr. Coleman. The court ordered OTIS to pay fees in the amount of $300 for each expert. OTIS appeals that judgment.
On appeal, Otis contends that the trial court erred by: (1) allowing Mr. Raymond Curtis Hollingsworth to testify as plaintiffs expert witness; (2) finding that the elevator was inadequately maintained; and (3) shifting the burden to OTIS to prove proper maintenance procedures and exercise of reasonable care.
OTIS's counsel objected to the testimony of Mr. Hollingsworth because he was not advised of this expert witness until just prior to trial. OTIS claims that it was prejudiced because it was not provided the opportunity to depose Mr. Hollingsworth or otherwise obtain information about his anticipated testimony. The District Court overruled the objection because OTIS failed either to answer interrogatories until shortly before trial, or to respond to a motion to produce documents until after the court ordered production.
The District Court is vested with much discretion in discovery sanctions and the exclusion or admission of witnesses' testimony at trial. Orrill v. Ram Rod Trucking, 557 So.2d 384 (La.App. 4th Cir.1990); Llorence v. Natchitoches Parish School Bd., 529 So.2d 479 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1988), writ denied 532 So.2d 176 (La.1988). Moreover, error, if any, in allowing Mr. Hollingsworth to testify, was harmless in light of the testimony of Mr. Terry Bode, an employee for OTIS in December, 1987, and Mr. Vernon Von Bieberstein, an elevator maintenance and installation expert for OTIS.
Their testimony is essentially the same as that of Mr. Hollingsworth. All three witnesses testified that an integral part of the elevator control system failed (the PPT) and that there is no way to predict when or if there will ever be a failure. Moreover, the PPT is current, state of the art, technology, and frequent replacements of this device will not guaranty its effectiveness.
OTIS contends that the trial court erred in shifting the burden of proof to defendant to show that it exercised reasonable care in maintaining the elevator. Mr. Coleman claims that OTIS, as designer, manufacturer, installer and maintenance contractor of the elevator in question, had total control over the elevator even though the elevator is owned by Charity Hospital.
We agree. The evidence produced by Mr. Coleman proved that OTIS had the exclusive care and custody of the elevator and is therefore strictly liable for any defect. LSA — C.C. art. 2317; Loescher v. Parr, 324 So.2d 441 (La.1975).
OTIS argues Wilson v. Hibernia National Bank, 517 So.2d 1206 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987), writ denied 520 So.2d 425 (La.1988) is applicable. In that case, this Court affirmed the District Court's directed verdict dismissing plaintiffs cause of action when the evidence indicated that the elevator failed because a component with a non-determinable life span failed.
We factually distinguish Wilson, supra, and hold that strict liability applies in the present case because Mr. Coleman has shown that OTIS had "garde" of the elevators, whereas Hibernia had ownership as well as "garde" in Wilson. In the present case, OTIS hired an employee to work on the premises of Charity Hospital 40 hours a week solely to maintain the 48 elevators; in the Wilson case, Hibernia used OTIS's services on a "as needed" basis. Charity Hospital's contract with OTIS required OTIS to maintain and upgrade its elevator system of 48 elevators. This difference is critical, and in this case it is reasonable to find that OTIS had complete care, custody, and control of the elevators on Charity's premises.
OTIS also argues that Brown v. OTIS Elevator Co., 535 So.2d 525 (La.App. 4th Cir.1989) is applicable. The Brown case involved a plaintiff who, while confined in the elevator, received no serious injuries. Furthermore, no defect in the elevator was found, and Brown's injuries allegedly were attributable to her child pulling the emergency switch. This Court stated in Brown that the record "does not establish that OTIS had exclusive custody and control of the elevator."
The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed this Court's ruling in Socorro v. Orleans Levee Board, 568 So.2d 1068 (La.1990). In Socorro, the meaning of "garde" was addressed and this Court held that "garde" may rest with one who has supervision and control of the thing, one who need not be the owner.
. The term 'custody' has its origin in the French term 'garde.' Ross v. La Coste de Monterville, 502 So.2d 1026 (La.1987). 'According to the French understanding, garde is the obligation imposed by law on the proprietor of a thing or on the one who avails himself of it to prevent the thing from causing damages to other.' Id. at 1030. Although ownership may indeed evidence the 'garde' required for Article 2317, this guardianship may also rest with one who is not the owner.
The Supreme Court has defined Article 2317 "custody" as:
The things in one's care are those things to which one bears such a relationship as to have the right of direction and control over them and to draw some kind of benefit from them. This relationship would ordinarily be associated with ownership but the guardianship will also belong to the bailee, the lessee, the usu-fructuary, the borrower for use and the repairman, among others . Loescher v. Parr, 324 So.2d 441, 449 n. 7 (La.1975).
The question of "garde" is largely one of fact and not of law. The trial court held OTIS to the "reasonable care" standard that is applied to those who maintain and repair machinery. In the present case, because OTIS failed to prove that it had exercised proper maintenance and reasonable care, the District Court found in favor of Mr. Coleman.
We hold OTIS liable on the theory of strict liability and affirm the district court for the foregoing reasons.
AFFIRMED.