[StBernard] Court adds $2.4 million to award for man injured in drunk-driving wreck

[Westley Annis]

Court adds $2.4 million to award for man injured in drunk-driving wreck

Print Paul Purpura, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Paul Purpura, NOLA.com

| The Times-Picayune 

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on April 25, 2014 at 3:50 PM, updated April 25, 2014 at 4:32 PM

A state appeals court has increased by $2.4 million the damages that a jury
awarded to a Chalmette man who was left permanently disabled in a horrific
car wreck just days before Hurricane Katrina. Three Chalmette teenagers were
killed and two were injured in the Aug. 21, 2005, crash in northern St.
Tammany Parish, the result of underage drinking among kids celebrating the
start of their senior year in high school.

Ryan Wiltz, who was then 16 years old, was one of the two survivors of the
crash, which was blamed on the alcohol that the 17-year-old driver consumed.
The teens illegally purchased beer and liquor from stores in St. Bernard
Parish before a day of tubing on the Bogue Chitto River in Washington
Parish.

Wiltz suffered irreversible brain damage, was partially paralyzed, requires
a feeding tube and will never be able to care for himself. He also lives in
pain, according to court documents.

His parents sued, and a Jefferson Parish jury in August 2011 found that the
Meraux Food Store and Winn-Dixie in Chalmette were partially responsible for
their son's injuries. The lawsuit was filed in the 24th Judicial District
Court in Gretna, because some of the defendants had corporate offices in
Jefferson Parish.

The jury found that the teens purchased alcohol at the Meraux store, and
mustered and drank with larger group of friends at the Winn-Dixie parking
lot before driving to Washington Parish. The jury awarded $18.5 million to
Ryan Wiltz, $15 million of which was for his future medical expenses.

The amount included $600,000 for his pain and suffering.But a three-judge
panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal on Wednesday found $600,000 was not
enough and increased that amount to $3 million.

"Considering the significant and permanent injuries sustained and the total
award, we conclude that the jury's general damage award, totaling
$600,000.00, is abusively low," Judge Hans Liljeberg wrote for the court's
panel, which included Chief Judge Susan Chehardy and Judge Robert Chaisson.

"We find that no rational trier of fact could assess the effects of Ryan's
brain damage at $600,000.00, especially when Ryan's parents were awarded
nearly that same amount each in damages for loss of consortium," Liljeberg
wrote.

A further appeal is expected. "We are pleased with the appeals court
decision and appreciate the hard work of the judges and their staffs that
went into this lengthy and extraordinarily detailed written opinion" said
Richard Trahant of Metairie, the Wiltz family attorney. "But we expect the
defendants to play this out to the end and seek review from the Louisiana
Supreme Court."

Wiltz was one of five teenagers in a car driven by Brian LaFontaine, 17.
Despite efforts by a friend to prevent him from driving because he was
drunk, LaFontaine sped off. He drove about 10 mph above the speed limit on
Louisiana 16 near Sun, when he lost control of his car, which struck a tree.

LaFontaine, whose blood-alcohol level was two-and-a-half times the legal
limit for adults to drive, was killed. Charie Billiot and Rachel Gabb, both
16, also were killed. Billiot's sister Chrissie Billiot was the only
passenger wearing a seat belt. She survived.

Wiltz had hitched a ride with LaFontaine so he could be near Charie Billiot,
on whom he had a crush, according to testimony. Witnesses testified that as
many as 40 St. Bernard teenagers went on the trip, first meeting in the
Winn-Dixie parking lot on Paris Road before convoying to the north shore.

Wiltz's mother was awarded $750,000. His father, Tim, was awarded $500,000.
Those were for loss of consortium, or their lost ability to be with their
son.

The same jury awarded Gabb's parents $2 million for the wrongful death of
their daughter. It added $18,700 for funeral expenses.

The jury awarded Tina Tommaseao $300,000 for the deaths of LaFontaine and
Charie Billiot, who were half-siblings. However, the 5th Circuit Court cut
that award in half, finding she could not recover damages from Winn-Dixie
because the jury found the teenagers did not purchase alcohol from the
store.

The Bogue Chitto River Canoeing and Tubing Center, when the teenagers began
their river excursion, and the Alex Chevron store in St. Bernard Parish,
settled before the trial. LaFontaine's father's insurance company, which was
another defendant, also settled before trial.

According to testimony during the trial, teenagers admitted they lied about
their ages to employees at the Bogue Chitto tubing business, which required
customers under age 18 to be accompanied by adults. The employees drank
alcohol with the teenagers, and after the tubing trip, told the teenagers
how to avoid police sobriety checkpoints in the area, according to
testimony.

Witnesses testified that teenagers purchased beer at the Winn-Dixie, but the
jury cleared the grocery. However, jurors found that Winn-Dixie was
negligent because it permitted the teenagers to consume alcohol on its
property. In its appeal, Winn-Dixie argued that the plaintiffs' attorneys
did not prove the grocery's duty to monitor its parking lot was a legal
cause of the injuries.

"Testimony at trial clearly established that Winn-Dixie had actual knowledge
of the amount of alcohol, which was astonishing even considering the number
of teenagers present," Liljeberg wrote. "Approximately 40 teenagers with
approximately 25 cases of beer were visible in the Winn-Dixie parking lot
for approximately one hour.

"One teenager testified that he was blown away by the amount of alcohol in
the lot, and another testified there was too much beer available for the
number of people to consume on the trip," the judge wrote.