Preview:

01/15/02 "See News Release 004 for any concurrences and/or dissents."

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA No. 01-CC-1522 JUSTIN BRIAN LENARD, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE SUCCESSION OF NATALIE DIANE LENARD AND SARA BETH LENARD VERSUS ERWIN DILLEY, METRO AMBULANCE SERVICE, INC. AND NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL SECOND CIRCUIT, PARISH OF OUACHITA CALOGERO, Chief Justice* We granted this writ to determine the standard of care that La. Rev. Stat. 32:24 imposes on the driver of an emergency vehicle. Upon review of the statute, we find it contains two alternate standards, depending on the circumstances. If, and only if, subsections A, B and C of La. Rev. Stat. 32:24 are met, will an emergency vehicle driver be held liable only for actions which constitute reckless disregard for the safety of others. On the other hand, if the emergency vehicle driver's conduct does not fit subsections A, B and C of La. Rev. Stat. 32:24, such driver's actions will be gauged by an ordinary negligence standard.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On May 19, 1997, Metro Ambulance was notified that a vehicle traveling on Interstate 20 in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana had crashed in the median and that one person had been ejected. Metro dispatched an ambulance driven by one Erwin Dilley. When Mr. Dilley arrived at the accident scene, he parked the ambulance partially in the left lane of eastbound Interstate 20. As Mr. Dilley was attending to the victim of the
Retired Judge Robert L. Lobrano, assigned as Justice Pro Tempore, participating in the decision.
*

accident, one Natalie Lenard, driving a private passenger vehicle, collided with the right rear of the ambulance. Mrs. Lenard, who was pregnant at the time of the accident, was killed as a result of the accident. On July 21, 1997, Mrs. Lenard's husband, Justin Lenard, filed suit against Erwin Dilley, Metro Ambulance Service, and National Union Fire Insurance Company. On July 7, 2000, defendants filed a motion in limine, contending that La. Rev. Stat. 32:24 requires this plaintiff to prove gross negligence, and asking that the judge so instruct the jury. La. Rev. Stat. 32:24 statute reads as follows:

Download 2001-CC-1522 JUSTIN BRIAN LENARD, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE SUCCESSION O

Louisiana Law