NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana state appeals court has upheld a total amount of $5.5 million in wrongful death damages, awarded to the daughters of a man who worked for Shell Oil Company and later died of mesothelioma.
Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal judges Terri F. Love, Dale N. Atkins and Rachael D. Johnson chose to affirm a pair of $2.75 million judgments each in favor of Jill and Shelley Stauder, for the death of their father, David Stauder, Jr.
Union Carbide Corporation had sought review of the District Court’s April 14, 2022 judgment, which was rendered in accordance with a jury verdict, and appealed it to the Fourth Circuit on the grounds that the award was excessive and the trial court had abused its discretion.
On first pass, the Fourth Circuit Court affirmed the aforementioned District Court judgment. However, the Louisiana Supreme Court later granted Union Carbide’s writ of certiorari, vacating and remanding the matter “for reconsideration of the jury’s award of wrongful death damages in light of the standards of review enunciated by this Court” in Pete v. Boland Marine & Mfg. Co., LLC.
In its analysis, the Fourth Circuit noted that among wrongful death damage awards in similar cases, such awards to adult children for the loss of a parent ranged from $500,000 to $750,000.
“With these cases in mind, we now turn to the facts of the instant matter. As noted above, the jury heard testimony that the impact of Mr. Stauder’s death on his daughters was devastating, as their close-knit family went from three persons to two. The Stauders had already lost a brother, who predeceased their father. Both daughters assisted in caring for their father prior to his death until he could no longer be cared for at home,” the Fourth Circuit said.
“Jill left the country when she married following her father’s death because it was hard for her to remain in the area after his passing. Shelley, who has a mental disability, is described as having a diminished emotional state since Mr. Stauder’s death, according to [her father’s longtime partner] Ms. [Anna] Bordelon. The testimony elicited at trial reflects that the Stauders are now a disjointed family, with each sister still mourning their father in their own distinct way.”
The Fourth Circuit explained that for Shelley, who visited and dined with her father daily for six years, her mental health worsened because of her father’s passing. Jill, who visited her father often and bonded with him over activities after her brother’s death, experienced guilt because Mr. Stauder missed her wedding and meeting his grandson.
The court added that “the record reflects that both sisters loved their father and spent copious amounts of time with him in good health and in illness” and that “the testimony establishes that each sister has sustained loss of love and affection from their father, who they each still grieve.”
“The jury’s award to the Stauders of $2,750,000 each is substantially greater than the range of the aforementioned jurisprudential awards. However, these cases are distinguishable. We do not find that the wrongful death awards under the unique facts presented at trial are beyond what a reasonable trier of fact would award, considering the testimony adduced at trial detailing the devastating effects Mr. Stauder’s extended and debilitating illness and resulting death has had on both of his daughters.
"As the Williams v. Placid Oil Co. court noted, large wrongful death awards have often been upheld on appeal in Louisiana courts ‘where the decedent…and minor children had extraordinarily close and loving relationships,’ but adult children in an ‘extremely close and loving family’ can also be deeply devastated by the loss of a parent. The jury found that to be the case here. Jury awards are not arbitrarily decided. The district court did not abuse its discretion in rendering its judgment in conformity with the jury’s awards,” the Fourth Circuit stated.
“We disagree with appellant’s position that the application of Pete’s holding requires this court to inextricably anchor current awards to past jurisprudential awards. To find otherwise would usurp the jury’s role to determine the amount of damages based on the particularized circumstances presented before that jury. Moreover, such a limited application of Pete to past jurisprudential awards does not consider other factors, such as inflation. For the foregoing reasons, the April 14, 2022 District Court judgment is affirmed.”
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, State of Louisiana case 2022-CA-0593
Civil District Court, Orleans Parish case 2016-02190
From the Louisiana Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com