Case Name: Willard C. GALLOWAY v. STATE of Louisiana, Through the DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT, et al.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1995-05-22
Citations: 654 So. 2d 1345
Docket Number: No. 94-C-2747
Parties: Willard C. GALLOWAY v. STATE of Louisiana, Through the DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT, et al.
Judges: LEMMON, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 654
Pages: 1345–1350

Head Matter:
Willard C. GALLOWAY v. STATE of Louisiana, Through the DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT, et al.
No. 94-C-2747.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
May 22, 1995.
Richard A. Fraser, III, Cary A. DesRoch-es, Fraser & Sterbcow, New Orleans, Richard P. Ieyoub, Atty. Gen., for applicant.
Jerry Hermann, Kopfler & Hermann, Houma, William P. Golden, Jr., Eldon R.
Harrall, Jr., Accardo, Edrington & Golden, La Place, for respondent.

Opinion:
|1WATSON, Justice.
A loaded boat trailer came loose from its towing truck, veered into the opposing traffic lane, hit an oncoming vehicle's windshield and caused severe personal injury to the innocent driver, Willard C. Galloway. A writ was granted to consider the trial court's conclusion, affirmed by the court of appeal, that a bump in Louisiana Highway 20 was the sole cause of the accident.
RThe accident occurred on September 13, 1988. The driver of the towing truck, Avery P. Daigle, Jr., purchased the boat and trailer the preceding day from Ronald M. Harrall, who was a guest passenger at the time of the accident. Defendant Daigle filed a third party demand against Harrall, contending that the trailer hitch and safety chains were defective. The trial court dismissed Harrall from the suit by directed verdict. Daigle did not appeal or apply for a writ from the trial court's determination that Harrall was free from fault.
Plaintiff Galloway suffered a closed head injury and a herniated cervical disc. The trial court awarded $125,000 in general damages, plus medical expenses. Judgment was rendered solely against the State of Louisiana through the Department of Transportation and Development. The court of appeal affirmed. Galloway v. State, DOTD, 93-2116 (La.App. 1 Cir. 10/7/94), 643 So.2d 1336. A writ was granted. 94-2747 (La. 1/13/95), 648 So.2d 1326.
Most of the witnesses agreed that the bump was a cause of the accident. Investigating State Trooper Preston McDonald "assumed that the bump caused the trailer to become disengaged." (Tr. 225.) He described it as "a good hard bump." (Tr. 226.) Expert Dwaine T. Evans said "the cause of the accident was the bump in the road.... " (Dep. 9.) Dr. Olin Dart, expert for the State hDOTD, admitted that the bump contributed to the accident. (Tr. 337.) Another DOTD expert, Dr. Courtney Charles Busch, testified that there was no causal connection between the bump and the accident. (Tr. 401-402.)
The trial court accepted the testimony of Daigle and Harrall that their speed had slowed to 30 miles per hour when they hit the bump. Both Ronald Harrall and his brother, Eldon R. Harrall, Jr., described the trailer hitch mechanism and said it had never malfunctioned. The trial judge examined the trailer hitch, engaged in dialogues about its operation and concluded that it was not defective.
The State DOTD was aware of the defect in Louisiana Highway 20. There had been various complaints, including one from a state representative. In August of 1988, posted signs warned of a "bump" and recommended a speed limit of 30 miles per hour. The bump was not repaired until October 25, 1988. The hot mix asphalt patch applied was 35 feet long and approximately 1 -⅛ inches deep at its thickest point. After the asphalt patch was laid, the four percent slope was reduced to two percent. The repair took one day and required 18 tons of hot mix at a cost of $600 to $700.
pLSA-R.S. 9:2800 limits the state's strict liability for vices and defects. To be liable, the state must have notice of the defect and must have failed to remedy the defect despite a reasonable repair opportunity.
The DOTD was on notice of the roadway defect and posted warning signs. The trial court apparently concluded that the warning was inadequate and the delay in repair was excessive. Those conclusions are not clearly wrong.
The trial court decided that the bump was the cause of the accident. Great deference is accorded the trier of fact on the question of factual causation. Theriot v. Lasseigne, 93-2661 (La. 7/5/94), 640 So.2d 1305; Rick v. State, DOTD, 93-1776, 93-1784 (La. 1/14/94), 630 So.2d 1271; Lirette v. State Farm Ins. Co., 563 So.2d 850 (La.1990); Sistler v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 558 So.2d 1106 (La.1990); Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989); Harris v. Pizza Hut of Louisiana, Inc., 455 So.2d 1364 (La.1984). There is no manifest error in the trial court's finding that the bump was a cause of the accident. The question is whether the trial court erred in finding the bump to be the sole cause of the accident.
Daigle was cited by the investigating officer with a violation of LSA-R.S. 32:384(D) which states:
D. Every trailer and semi-trailer with a loaded gross weight capacity of up to six thousand pounds shall be equipped with safety chains. The safety chains shall be securely attached to |Bthe towing vehicle when the trailer or semi-trailer is in motion and shall be of sufficient strength to hold the trailer behind the towing vehicle in case the connection between the two vehicles detaches.
The total weight of the boat and trailer rig was estimated at 1700 pounds. Geisler v. Allstate Ins. Co., 489 So.2d 429 (La.App. 3d Cir.1986), indicated in dicta that the statute does not apply to vehicles with a weight capacity less than 6000 pounds. Geisler was wrong under the clear wording of the statute, and it is disapproved. This trailer was within the scope of the law. The phrase "up to" does not exclude trailers with a weight capacity of less than 6000 pounds.
Daigle had the ownership and garde of the boat trailer rig. LSA-C.C. art. 2317. The hitch, which came loose from the ball, must have been defective and the safety chains broke because they were inadequate. Daigle's safety chains were not sufficiently strong to hold the trailer behind the towing vehicle as mandated by LSA-R.S. 32:384(D). The statute was intended to avoid what occurred here: the hazard of an unattached trailer on the highway. The doctrine of negligence per se has been rejected in Louisiana. Boyer v. Johnson, 360 So.2d 1164 (La.1978); Faucheaux v. Terrebonne Consol. Government, 615 So.2d 289 (La.1993). However, statutory violations provide guidelines for civil liability. Meany v. Meany, 94-0251 (La. 7/5/94), 639 So.2d 229; Black v. First City Bank, 94-0423 (La. 9/6/94), 642 So.2d 151. Here, the failure to have |6adequate chains was a legal cause of the damage. The trial court's decision that the inadequate safety chains and defective hitch were not factual causes of the damage is clearly wrong.
Daigle's responsibility for his defective hitch and inadequate safety chains does not relieve the DOTD of its duty to keep the highways safe. Campbell v. Department of Tramp. & Dev., 94-1052 (La. 1/17/95), 648 So.2d 898.
There is a reasonable evidentiary basis for the trial court's conclusion that the trailer would not have disengaged but for the bump. However, the injury could have been avoided if the hitch had held or adequate safety chains had kept the trailer in place. Since there is no evidentiary basis for allocating fault to Ronald Harrall, fault must be apportioned between the State DOTD and Daigle.
The State DOTD knew of the defect and was in a superior position to remedy the bump. Daigle purchased the boat trailer rig the day before the accident. The hitch and chains were included in the purchase, and he was unaware that they were defective and/or inadequate. Daigle's faulty knowledge was not proven, but he is strictly liable for the defective hitch and inadequate chains.
^Considering all of the circumstances, fault is apportioned fifty percent to the State Department of Transportation and Development and fifty percent to Avery P. Daigle, Jr. Both Daigle and the State Department of Transportation and Development are liable for legal interest on their respective portions of the judgment from the date of judicial demand. Rick v. State, DOTD, 93-1776, 93-1784 (La. 1/19/94), 630 So.2d 1271; Goings v. State Dep't Public Safety, 94-1386 (La. 1/17/95), 648 So.2d 884.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment is amended to cast the State Department of Transportation and Development for fifty percent of plaintiffs damages and Avery P. Daigle, Jr. for the other fifty percent of the damages. The liability is joint and divisible under LSA-C.C. art. 2324(B).
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the court of appeal is amended and, as amended, is affirmed.
AMENDED AND AFFIRMED.
LEMMON, J., concurs.
CALOGERO, C.J., concurs and assigns reasons.
KIMBALL, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
. Judge Henry L. Yelverton, Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, participating as Associate Justice Pro Tempore, in place of Associate Justice James L. Dennis. Victory, J., not on panel. Rule IV, § 3.