Court Opinion

ID: 9906360
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-01 20:05:09.442863+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:24:16.380517
License: Public Domain

COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT

                                                                                                      NO.     2023       CW       0892
KATINA       GREEN

                                                                                                                  PAGE       1    OF 2
VERSUS

RONALD BARBIER AND STATE
FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE                                                                                                           2023
                                                                                                 DECEMBER 11
INSURANCE           COMPANY

                                                                                                       Mutual           Automobile
                                                             and            State         Farm
                    Ronald              Barbier
In    Re:
                                                                                                                                   writs,
                                                                     applying              for        supervisory
                    Insurance                 Company,
                                                                                          Parish        of    Ascension,                No.
                    23rd        Judicial             District               Court,
                    133287.

                                                                                         HESTER AND GREENE,                      JJ.
                                                     CHUTZ,          LANIER,
BEFORE:             GUIDRY),            C. j. 1

                                                                                                                   denying               the
        WRITGRANTED.                                The      trial            court         erred            by
                                                                                    defendants,               Ronald              Barbier
exception            of        prescription                  filed           by
                                                                                                                        Plaintiff' s
                                                                             Insurance           Company.
and State Farm Mutual Automobile
                                                                       in     question           occurred              on        February
petition           alleges              the     accident

                                              defendants               introduced              evidence            demonstrating
11,     2021;           however,
                                                                                           2021.             Once        defendants
                               occurred                on    February               9,
the         accident

                                                                                         petition was filed outside
offered evidence that established the
                                                                                    period,     plaintiff then bore
the     applicable              one- year              prescriptive                                                    prescription
                                                                competent                evidence           that
the     burden           of     proving             with                                                                                LLC,
                                                                        See       Gibson         v.     Jalou          Cash' s,
was     interrupted                 or     suspended.
                                                                                               308      So. 3d          1188,          1192.
                         La.                    ist         Cir.       7/    17/ 20),
 2019- 1308 (                      App.                                                                                                       a
                                                                                                              not            exempt
                                                                             valentem            will
                                              contra            non
 The        doctrine               of
                                                                                          of     prescription                     if     her
 plaintiff'          s       claim            from          the        running
                                                                                           willfulness                 or        neglect;
                        is     attributable                     to     her        own
 ignorance
                                                                                           know       what        she    could          have
 that       is,     a plaintiff w` 11 be deemed to
                                                    diligence.                    Alliance             Hospitality,                L. L. C.
 learned           by     reasonable
                                                                                                                 322                   So. 3d
                                                                                 1st      Cir.        2/ 24/ 21),
 v.     Esquivel,              2020- 0807 (               La.        App.
                                                                                                                             rule       when
             257.              Courts          refuse             to        apply         the        discovery
 253,
                                                                                          basis         of    her        failure          to
                                                diligence               is        the
 plaintiff' s                lack        of

 assert        a    cause          of    action,            and the facts giving rise to her cause
                                                                     knowable             within            the        prescriptive

 of         action           are        reasonably
                                                                                                      offered           no       evidence
                                        Plaintiff,                Katina           Green,
 period.                 id.
                                                                                                                             of        action
 demonstrating                  that          the      facts         giving rise to her cause
                                                                                                     prescriptive                  period.
                                                    knowable            within            the
 were        not         reasonably
                                                                                                              2022,          more        than
 Thus,        plaintiff' s petition filed on February 10,
                                                                       9,     2021         accident,              is     prescribed.

 one        year        after       the         February
                                                                                                                                          and
                                                                                   prescription               is       granted,
 Defendants'                 peremptory exception                            of                                                         State
                                              against           defendants,                Ronald           Barbier          and
 plaintiff' s                claims

                                                                                                are     dismissed.
 Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company,
                                                                       WRC
                                                                       WIL

                                                                       CHH

                                                                        HG

                                                                                          would             deny             the         writ
             GUIDRY,               C. J.,         dissents                   and
                                                                                                                                 construed
                                   Prescriptive                      statutes              are          strictly
  application.

  against prescription and in favor of the obligation sought
                                                        that
                                                             to be                        constructions,
                                                                                                                                        which
  extinguished;                    thus,          of      two        possible

                                                                                                       an    action           should          be
  favors           maintaining,                as       opposed             to     barring,
                                                                      2004- 0646 (             La.      1/ 19/ 05),              892    So. 2d
  adopted.               Carter          v.    Haygood,
                                                                                                                                 valentem
  1261,       1268.            The jurisprudential doctrine of contra non
                            STATE OF LOUISIANA

        COURT OF                        1,
                                             PPEAL9 FIRST CIRCUIT

                                                                              No.       2023 CW         0892

                                                                                            PAGE 2      OF 2

                                                                                                and     justice
                                  in        some
                                                     circumstances,               equity
recognizes            that,
                                                                                      the    plaintiff            is
                        prescription            be    suspended        because
require        that
                                                                           when        it    accrues,           for
                                                        of        action
unable       to    exercise            her    cause

                                                                                  Hospitality,              L. L. C.
                                 her    control.        See       Alliance
reasons        outside

                                                                      Cir.        2/ 24/ 21),         322    So. 3d
                                              La.     App.     1st
v.     Esquivel,           2020- 0807 (
                                                                             doctrine        applies,           the
                                        situations           when    the
253,     256.         In    those
                                                                                        nature          of      the
                                                                     equitable
                                       to     weigh         the
court        is     allowed
                                                                                                         whether
                                                                    case     to     determine
                                              individual
circumstances               in     each
                                                                                                                  of
prescription will                 be   tolled.         See    Id.     Considering            the       nature
                                                                                                       the     f act
                                                presented          here,     particularly
                      circumstances
the     unique
                                                             bore the wrong date,                  I    find     the
that     the      initial        accident          report                                   ch
                                                       of    the     doctrine         in

                                                                                                 i
                                  application
district          court'     s
                                                                                     presription                 was
                                                        exception            of
         denial            of     defendants'

reasonable and was not manifestly erroneous.

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