Wrongful Death

Recently, in the State of Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit, a case was decided that effectively laid out the requirements of a settlement agreement. These requirements are especially important because many cases are settled before they get to court. In fact, settlement is often preferable because it saves a significant amount of time, money, and it allows the parties to reach a compromise that they not only come up with themselves, but that is also acceptable to both parties. That way, the parties share the benefits instead of there being a clear-cut loser and clear-cut winner as is usually the situation should a case go to trial.

In this case, an individual was seeking to enforce a settlement agreement with an insurance company regarding a life insurance policy. The life insurance policy involved three beneficiaries; however, it was unclear as to when the money should go to each beneficiary. There may have been a contingent beneficiary. That is, the policy was set up so that if one of the beneficiaries had passed away prior to the money dispersion, then it would go to a different beneficiary. However, the insurance company was unsure of this stipulation, so they did not give out any money at all.

As a result of all of this confusion, one of the beneficiaries entered into negotiations with the insurance company in order to get at least some money out of the life insurance policy. Louisiana Civil Code, Article 3071, defines compromise as “a contract whereby the parties, through concession made by one or more of them, settle a dispute or an uncertainty concerning an obligation or other legal relationship.” Therefore, the parties in this case sought to compromise regarding the payment of the insurance policy.

In addition to defining compromise, the Court also points out that the settlement agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties as required by Louisiana Civil Code Article 3072. In this case, there was an oral agreement, but when the parties attempted to put the terms in writing, there was still dispute regarding the agreeability of quite a few of the terms of the settlement. They created drafts and sent them back and forth, but nothing was ever finalized by way of a signature from either party. The Court recognizes that there are no other cases where a settlement was validated even though neither party signed the final settlement agreement.

The Court also goes on to explain that contracts, which are the basis of a compromise, require that there be a “meeting of the minds.” That is, both parties should completely understand and agree to the terms in the contract. The contract embodies the intention of both parties and if the intention of both sides is not fully included in the settlement, then that settlement cannot be valid. In this case, both sides described other terms that were either not included in the agreement or that appeared, but they did not approve of their inclusion in the settlement. The Court notes that there was no “acceptance and acquiescent from both parties” in this case.

Although the settlement agreement can be included in more than one document, it is apparent that there was no such agreement. It based this conclusion on the testimony of both parties, lack of signature on the settlement agreement, and other communications between the parties at the negotiation stages in this case (such as letters between the attorneys that expressed displeasure with terms in the agreement). Therefore, the Court concluded that a settlement agreement did not actually exist and that it could not enforce a settlement agreement that does not actually exist.

Obtaining settlement agreements can be somewhat complicated because they involve getting both sides to agree to many different terms. However, they are very valuable because they allow the parties to avoid trial and get their conflicts resolved quickly. The Berniard Law Firm is always interested in solving our clients’ problems quickly and effectively.

Wrongful death cases get very complicated when they involve insurance companies and employers. In a recent case, an individual was killed in the scope of his employment with Dunham-Price, Inc. He was driving a concrete truck at the time. The individual’s family brought a wrongful death case against the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD). This case went to trial and awarded the individual’s wife and children $700,000 in damages, based on the finding that 50% of the fault was attributed to the DOTD and 50% of the fault was attributed to the individual driving the concrete truck.

This case seems like a classic wrongful death suit. However, it also involved two insurance companies, so it gets a little more complicated than it would first appear. There are two overreaching concepts in this case. The first is the third-party defendant and the second is appeals for partial judgments.

In most cases, there are two parties-one plaintiff and one defendant. However, the defendant also has the ability to call in parties who may be liable to the defendant should the court rule in the plaintiff’s favor. Insurance companies are usually privy to this type of liability. That is, if the defendant is found to be liable, then they have an insurance company that is supposed to cover them for that type of situation. In this case, DOTD called in two insurance companies: Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Valley Forge Insurance Company (VFIC).

Third party defendants differ from a second defendant in that where there are two defendants, they could both be separately liable for the accident. For example, if there is a three-car pile-up and two cars hit one car at virtually the same time, then they could be both called into court. In a third-party defendant case, the third party should help compensate the defendant even though they were not liable for, or even remotely involved in, the accident itself.

The other concept that this case illustrates is appeals for partial judgment. In this case, VFIC stated that although they prove insurance for DOTD, the policy did not cover for the type of accident that the concrete driver experienced. Therefore, they sought a summary judgment to dismiss the claim against them. Summary judgment occurs when there are no material disputes of fact and one party is therefore entitled to have the decision run in their favor. This type of motion allows the court to throw out cases where there is a clear winner and bringing the case in full would be a waste of the court’s time. VFIC’s argument was that if the policy did not cover the accident then they cannot owe DOTD anything, as a result, they could not be involved as a third-party defendant.

The Court agreed with VFIC and granted the request for summary judgment. DOTD then proceeded with the rest of the case involving the family of the deceased. At trial, as mentioned, DOTD lost and was ordered to pay damages. Therefore, DOTD appealed the judgment and sought to also appeal the summary judgment that the Court granted for VFIC.

However, there is a time limitation in which a party is allowed to appeal. In Louisiana, parties have sixty days to appeal or seek a new trial after a final judgment. In the course of the other portion of the trial, DOTD’s sixty days had run, and although they were still in trial with other parties, the issue with VFIC was complete. Because VFIC was removed from the case previously, the grant of summary judgment constituted a partial final judgment and the sixty days to appeal started to run when the notice of judgment was served. Therefore, DOTD could appeal the rest of the case, but could not appeal the summary judgment granted to VFIC because its time limit had expired.

There were many procedural intricacies involved in this case. These intricacies require competent legal representation to navigate.

Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Court Explains the Requirements of a Settlement Agreement

Insurance Complications in Wrongful Death Suit