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FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE # 22 FROM: CLERK OF SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

The Opinions handed down on the 25th day of February, 2004 , are as follows:

BY KNOLL, J.:

2003-C -1767

NANCY LOCKETT AND RONNY LOCKETT, HUSBAND AND WIFE v. THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT (Parish of E. Baton Rouge) For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgments of the trial court and court of appeal. AFFIRMED. VICTORY, J., dissents and assigns reasons.

02/25/04 SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA NO. 03-C-1767 NANCY LOCKETT and RONNY LOCKETT, HUSBAND and WIFE VERSUS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL FIRST CIRCUIT, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

KNOLL, Justice This civil case addresses the legal question of whether multiple $500,000 caps are allowed under La. R.S. 13:5106(B)(2) in wrongful death actions brought against the State. Plaintiffs' brought a wrongful death action against the State through the Department of Transportation & Development ("DOTD") for their daughter's death as a result of an automobile accident that happened at a DOTD controlled intersection. The district court found DOTD partially liable and awarded each parent $500,000 in general damages. The court of appeal affirmed. We granted writ primarily to resolve a split among the circuits over whether the cap for wrongful death damages provided in La. R.S. 13:5106(B)(2) is applied "per death victim" or "per plaintiff." We further address whether the district court's finding of partial liability against DOTD constituted manifest error. Lockett v. State, Dept. of Transp. and Development, 03-1767 (La. 10/17/03), 855 So.2d 745. For the following reasons, we find the cap is to be applied "per plaintiff" for the wrongful death of any one person and affirm the decisions of the lower courts finding DOTD partially liable for the accident.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY This case arises out of an automobile accident which occurred on July 18, 1998, at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 19 and Groom Road in the City of Baker. Katy Lockett, the daughter of Nancy and Ronny Lockett, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Miranda Britt Rupnarian ("Miranda"). As the vehicle proceeded in a southerly direction along Louisiana Highway 19, a four lane undivided highway, Miranda attempted to negotiate a left turn from the southbound lane of Louisiana Highway 19 eastbound onto Groom Road. The traffic signal at the intersection facing Miranda provided for a protected left turn on the "green arrow" with a permissive turn on the "green globe." As Miranda approached the intersection, the signal facing her was a green globe. Miranda was in the process of executing the left turn at the intersection when another vehicle, traveling in the outside lane of traffic in a northerly direction along Louisiana Highway 19, collided with her vehicle. Katy Lockett died as a result of the accident, and her parents, Nancy and Ronny Lockett, brought the instant lawsuit against DOTD, alleging DOTD was responsible for the existence of an unreasonably dangerous condition at the intersection which caused the accident. Following a trial on the merits, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, assessing Miranda with thirty-five percent (35%) liability and DOTD with sixty-five percent (65%). The jury also awarded general damages in the sum of $500,000 to each plaintiff, as well as $100,000.00 for medical expenses and $10,000 in funeral expenses. Although the district court denied both parties' motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict to set aside and modify the jury's apportionment of fault, it did grant DOTD's motion for remittitur, reducing the funeral expenses award to $7,991.24 and the medical expenses to $27, 106.37.

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DOTD suspensively appealed the judgment. The First Circuit Court of Appeal found no manifest error in the jury's factual findings and affirmed the judgment finding DOTD liable and the allocations of fault. Lockett v. State, Dept. of Transp. and Development, 02-0651 (La. App. 1 Cir. 4/2/03), 844 So.2d 949. The Court of Appeal also affirmed the jury's award of general damages in the amount of $500,000 to each plaintiff, finding these awards did not violate the statutory cap set by La. R.S. 13:5106(B)(2). DOTD sought rehearing, which the Court of Appeal denied. This Court granted DOTD's writ application to review the issue of liability and to resolve the split among the circuits over the statutory cap on wrongful death damages. LAW AND ANALYSIS La. R.S. 13:5106(B)(2) The amount of general damage awards for wrongful death actions brought against a State entity are controlled by La. R.S. 13:5106(B)(2). Because La. R.S. 13:5106 limits the damages of the State in derogation of the general rights of tort victims, any ambiguities in the statute should be strictly construed against coverage. See David v. Our Lady of the Lake Hosp., Inc., 02-2675, p. 11 (La. 7/2/03), 849 So.2d 38, 47 (interpreting La. R.S. 9:5628); Conerly v. State, 97-0871, p. 3 (La. 7/8/98), 714 So.2d 709, 710 (interpreting La. R.S. 40:1299.39). On the other hand, legislation is the solemn expression of legislative will, and therefore, interpretation of a law involves primarily a search for the Legislature's intent. La. Rev. Stat.

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