Opinion ID: 1724447
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: absolute liability provisions of lsa-c.c. article 2315 analogized with article 667

Text: LSA-C.C. Article 667 provides: Although a proprietor may do with his estate whatever he pleases, still he can not make any work on it, which may deprive his neighbor of the liberty of enjoying his own, or which may be the cause of any damage to him. LSA-C.C. Article 669 provides: If the works or materials for any manufactory or other operation, cause an inconvenience to those in the same or in the neighboring houses, by diffusing smoke or nauseous smell, and there be no servitude established by which they are regulated, their sufferance must be determined by the rules of the police, or the customs of the place. In Langlois v. Allied Chemical Corporation, 258 La. 1067, 249 So.2d 133, 140 (1971), we said: We do not here establish a new standard for liability, but merely apply the standard set by law and applied repeatedly in our jurisprudence. The activities of man for which he may be liable without acting negligently are to be determined after a study of the law and customs, a balancing of claims and interests, a weighing of the risk and the gravity of harm, and a consideration of individual and societal rights and obligations. See Yommer v. McKenzie, 255 Md. 220, 257 A.2d 138 (1969). Plaintiffs submit that in the above words of the Langlois case, the defendant's insured has killed this decedent by its fault as analogized from the conduct required under Civil Code Article 667 and others, and responsibility for the damage attaches to defendant under Civil Code Article 2315. We do not find the case of Langlois, supra, apposite to this matter. Langlois involved the emission of gas from the plant of Allied Chemical Corporation and the contraction of chemical bronchitis by plaintiff. Damages were allowed under the theory of strict liability. Likewise, we do not find the case of Chaney v. Travelers Insurance Company, 259 La. 1, 249 So.2d 181, cited by plaintiffs, apposite to this matter. That case involved damage done by vibration. In awarding damages, this Court held that an activity which causes damage to a neighbor's property obliges the actor to repair the damage, even though his actions are prudent by usual standards. Reason dictates and justice demands that, in the final analysis, each case has a peculiar and separate life of its own. The problems of one case are not the problems of another, and therefore each case must be decided on the facts and circumstances shown to exist therein. The instant fire, cause unknown as found supra, did not occur as the result of a usual act. No activities were being conducted either in the restaurant or in the bar at the time the fire commenced. The kitchen, the restaurant dining room, the bar, and all other facilities were closed; the last remaining employee had departed. Therefore, Petrossi was doing no work on his property which deprived Boudreaux of the liberty of enjoying his attic apartment. The evidence, supra, does not establish that the fire resulted from work carried on in Charlie's Steak House before closing time. Strict liability cannot be imposed merely because of ownership; under the facts and circumstances herein, LSA-C.C. Art. 667 does not apply to the accident suffered by Edward Morris Boudreaux. No damage attaches to defendant under LSA-C.C. Art. 2315 (Liability for Acts Causing Damage). For the reasons assigned, the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, is affirmed. All costs to be borne by plaintiffs. SANDERS and BARHAM, JJ., concur in the result. SUMMERS and DIXON, JJ., dissent.