Opinion ID: 734243
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The District Court's Ruling on Summary Judgment, as Clarified by Subsequent Rulings

Text: 10 We review grants of summary judgment de novo, guided by the standards of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, which provides that summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). 11 In this case, the material facts are undisputed: (1) Johnson Brothers damaged BellSouth's cables; (2) BellSouth's Utility Plat No. F2 purporting to show the location of the cables was erroneous; (3) Johnson Brothers relied on Utility Plat No. F2 as it proceeded with the excavation on August 13, 1993; and (4) Johnson Brothers did not comply with Louisiana's Damage Prevention Law. 12 The question which the district court had to resolve was a question of law, specifically: whether Johnson Brothers' violation of the Damage Prevention Law precluded introduction of evidence of comparative fault on the part of BellSouth. 13 It is well-established that this court reviews de novo questions of law raised in summary judgment appeals. See Eugene v. Alief Indep. Sch. Dist., 65 F.3d 1299, 1303 (5th Cir.1995). More specifically, we review a district court's interpretation of a state statute de novo. See Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. v. Transportation Ins. Co., 953 F.2d 985, 987 (5th Cir.1992). Occidental Chemical v. Elliott Turbomachinery Co., 84 F.3d 172, 175 (5th Cir.1996). 14 Thus, on review, this court must determine whether the district court correctly construed the Damage Prevention Law to preclude Johnson Brothers' comparative negligence claim. Louisiana's Damage Prevention Law provides, in pertinent part: 15 A. ... [N]o person shall excavate or demolish ... near the location of an underground facility or utility, ... without having first ascertained in the manner prescribed in Subsection B of this Section, the approximate location of all underground facilities or utilities in the area which would be affected by the proposed excavation or demolition. 16 B. (1) Except as provided in R.S. 40:1749.15 [emergency excavation], prior to any excavation or demolition, each excavator ... shall serve telephonic notice of the intent to excavate or demolish to the regional notification center serving the area in which the proposed excavation or demolition is to take place. Such notice shall be given to the notification center at least forty-eight hours, but not more than one hundred twenty hours, excluding weekends and holidays, in advance of the excavation or demolition activity.... 17 La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 40:1749.13 (West Supp.1997) (emphases added). Following the statutory notice, the regional notification center notifies all member operators having underground facilities in or near the site of the proposed excavation. § 40:1749.14(B). The operator then must provide the excavator with the approximate location and type of underground facilities and may visit the site and mark the location and type of utilities involved. § 40:1749.14(C). Violators of these provisions may be fined as much as $250 for a first violation and as much as $1,000 for subsequent violations. § 40:1749.20. 18 Johnson Brothers does not dispute that it failed to notify BellSouth in violation of the Damage Prevention Law. It contends, however, that the lower court erred in finding that BellSouth's alleged violation of § 38:2223 could not support a comparative fault defense. Section 38:2223, which governs the commencement of work under public contracts, provided at the time of the accident: 19 A. Whenever any public entity enters into a contract for the construction, alteration or repair of any public works, the public entity through its official representatives shall, before the issuance of any work order and before the commencement of any work, give notice of such contract, in writing, to all utility, communication and public service companies and all public agencies and boards who furnish any utility, gas, water, electrical, communication, sewerage or drainage services which may have underground pipes, cables or any other underground installation which may be within the right-of-way where the public work is to be constructed, altered or repaired.... 20 Said written notice shall require that the person, partnership, corporation, board or agency so notified shall furnish to the public entity ... a diagram or plat showing the location of such underground installations within the right-of-way, a copy of which shall be furnished by the public entity to the contractor before commencement of the work under the contract. If such diagram or plat is not furnished within the time specified or any extension thereof granted by the public entity, the work order may be issued and the work commenced. 21 Should the diagram or plat not be furnished or the location of the underground cables, pipes or other underground installations be inaccurately shown thereon, the public entity and the contractor shall be released from any responsibility in connection with their damage unless such damage is caused by the negligence of the public entity or contractor. 22 La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 38:2223 (West 1989) (emphases added). 4 Apparently, BellSouth provided plats to the DOTD, as required by this statute, in the early 1980s when Louisiana began the Greater New Orleans Bridge Project No. 2. 5 Johnson Brothers argues that because the plats provided to the DOTD and on which Johnson Brothers relied were inaccurate, it should have been allowed to submit to the jury the question of whether BellSouth's fault contributed to its own damage. 23 The district court concluded that the mandatory comprehensive language of the Damage Prevention Law precluded Johnson Brothers from asserting BellSouth's comparative negligence. We find the district court's reasoning to be unpersuasive for two reasons. First, its treatment of violations of the Law is irreconcilable with judicial treatment of other analogous statutory violations. Second, the lower court's interpretation is inconsistent with the Law's penalty and remedy provisions and, as a consequence, improperly transforms this penal safety statute into a predicate for strict civil liability. 24 BellSouth accurately characterizes the language of the Law as mandatory. However, most safety statutes are compulsory in nature, and under Louisiana case law, the violation of such a statute does not, in and of itself, impose civil liability. Weber v. Phoenix Assurance Co. of New York, 273 So.2d 30, 33 (La.1973) (rejecting concept that violation of penal statute constitutes negligence per se); see, e.g., Nolan v. Jefferson Downs, 592 So.2d 831 (La.App. 5th Cir.1991), writ denied, 596 So.2d 559 (La.1992); Wuest v. Fosco Enterprises, Inc., 544 So.2d 1328 (La.App. 4th Cir.1989). Civil responsibility is imposed only if the act in violation of the statute is the legal cause of damage to another. Faucheaux v. Terrebonne Consol. Gov't, 615 So.2d 289, 292-93 (La.1993). Nothing in the language of the Damage Prevention Law indicates that it was meant to disturb these principles of Louisiana tort law. 6 25 Nor does the mandatory language of the statute foreclose the assertion of comparative fault in a negligence claim. Id. at 294-95 (applying comparative fault analysis where defendant violated regulation but plaintiff's negligence contributed to harm). Louisiana's comparative fault statute provides that [w]hen contributory negligence is applicable to a claim for damages, the amount of damages recoverable is reduced in proportion to the degree of negligence attributable to the plaintiff. La.Civ.Code art. 2323. In turn, contributory negligence is applicable when there is evidence of plaintiff's fault. Nealy v. LeBlanc, 654 So.2d 468, 471 (La.App. 1st Cir.1995). Defendants asserted that BellSouth violated § 38:2223 in providing inaccurate plats and that the violation of BellSouth's statutory duty caused the damage to its underground cables and related equipment. While the factfinder may conclude that BellSouth's statutory violation was not a legal cause or cause in fact of the accident, the district court, on this summary judgment record, was not entitled to bar consideration of BellSouth's comparative fault. 26 This conclusion is further supported by Damage Prevention Law provisions that suggest that the legislation is intended to act as a penal safety provision and nothing more. Under § 40:1749.20, violators of the Law may be fined as much as $250 for a first violation and as much as $1,000 for subsequent violations; this penalty can be imposed whether or not damages have occurred. Furthermore, the Damage Prevention Law itself, at § 40:1749.21(A), expressly negates any intent to provide a comprehensive civil liability scheme to the exclusion of Louisiana tort principles. That section provides: 27 This Part shall not affect any civil remedies for personal injury or property damage, including damage to underground facilities or utilities. 28 § 40:1749.21(A). 29 The above provision is not a unique Louisiana statute. We find an almost identical provision in the Louisiana Criminal Code, which provides: 30 Nothing in this Code shall affect any civil remedy provided by the law pertaining to civil matters, or any legal power to inflict penalties for contempt. 31 La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 14:6 (West 1986). The Louisiana Supreme Court has applied this same principle to penal safety statutes located outside the Criminal Code itself and held that those provisions may provide evidence of a duty, but nothing more. See Laird v. Travelers Ins. Co., 263 La. 199, 267 So.2d 714, 717 (1972) ( 'Criminal statutes are not, in and of themselves definitive of civil liability' and do not set the rule for civil liability, but they may be guidelines for the court in fixing civil liability. (quoting Pierre v. Allstate Ins. Co., 257 La. 471, 242 So.2d 821, 829 (1970)); see also Boyer v. Johnson, 360 So.2d 1164 (La.1978). 32 After considering the language of the entire Damage Prevention Law, we see no reason to treat this act differently from other penal safety statutes. The Louisiana courts have consistently held that those statutes may be used to demonstrate a duty but are not designed to impose strict civil liability. 33 In sum, we conclude that the district court erred in precluding Johnson Brothers from arguing that BellSouth's comparative negligence in submitting erroneous plats to the DOTD contributed to this accident.