Opinion
2022 CW 0885
01-12-2023
JIMMY WESTLEY v. ABRAHAM NUNEZ-RODRIQUEZ & M & W FARMS INC. ET AL
In Re: Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, applying for supervisory writs, 18th Judicial District Court, Parish of Iberville, No. 79466.
BEFORE: WELCH, PENZATO, AND LANIER, JJ.
WRIT GRANTED. We reverse the trial court's June 28, 2022 judgment denying the motion for summary judgment filed by defendant, Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company. We find that no genuine issue of material fact exists insofar as we find that defendant, Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, has demonstrated an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party's claim. We find that defendant, Abraham Nunez-Rodriquez, did not have permission to drive the vehicle in question, owned by M &W Farms, Inc., for the personal errand he was running at the time of the accident because he was not an H-2A worker, and therefore, did not qualify for his employer's exception that allowed use of the farm truck for certain personal errands, based on Abraham Nunez-Rodriquez's own admissions in his deposition testimony and the deposition testimony of his employer, M &W Farms, Inc. through Ryan Messina. See Aycock v. Jenkins Tile Co., 96-2348 (La.App. 1st Cir. 11/7/97), 703 So.2d 117, 122, writ denied, 97-3056 (La. 2/13/98), 709 So.2d 753. Therefore, coverage under the policy issued by Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company does not apply to Abraham Nunez-Rodriquez because without the express or implied permission of M &W Farms, Inc. to drive the vehicle, he did not qualify as an "insured" under the terms of the policy. Accordingly, we grant the motion for summary judgment filed by defendant, Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, and dismiss the claims of plaintiff, Jimmy Westley, and cross claimants, Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc. and Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, against Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company.
JEW
AHP
WIL