Compton v. Perry

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REVEN COMPTON v. EMMA PERRY, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE AND ACCC INSURANCE COMPANY (UM)

No. 2022 CA 1030

Court of Appeals of Louisiana, First Circuit

April 14, 2023

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

APPEALED FROM THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA DOCKET NUMBER 692471 HONORABLE TIMOTHY E. KELLEY, JUDGE PRESIDING

Reven Compton Manuel, TX, Plaintiff-Appellant Pro se.

Kellye R. Grinton, Kennedy M. Rose, Michael B. Scallan, Baton Rouge LA, Attorneys for Defendant-Appellee State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company & Emma Perry.

BEFORE: McCLENDON, HOLDRIDGE, AND GREENE, JJ.

GREENE, J.

In this case, the plaintiff filed a suit for damages following a car accident in a parking lot. After a bench trial, the trial court dismissed the plaintiffs claims with prejudice. The plaintiff appealed that judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The plaintiff, Reven Compton, was involved in a minor two-car accident in a parking lot at a medical center located at 5000 Hennessy Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 14 2019. Ms. Compton was driving a 2009 Audi A4 and the other driver, Emma Perry, was driving a 2003 Mercedes E320. On January 6, 2020, Ms. Compton filed a petition for damages naming as defendants Ms. Perry, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Ms. Perry's insurer, hereafter State Farm), and ACCC Insurance Company (also Ms. Perry's insurer, hereafter ACCC). Ms. Compton alleged that she suffered injuries and damages as a result of the accident.

State Farm answered the petition, admitted coverage and otherwise generally denied the allegations, and raised affirmative defenses. ACCC also answered the petition; however, ACCC was later given a stay from the proceedings after it went into receivership in Texas.

The case proceeded to a bench trial against Ms. Perry and State Farm on April 26, 2022. Ms. Compton represented herself by the time of trial. Ms. Compton testified that Ms. Perry was backing into a parking spot when Ms. Perry hit Ms. Compton's car. Ms. Compton's recollection of the accident was somewhat confusing. However, a photograph of Ms. Compton's car shows scratches and minimal damage to her left front bumper.

Ms. Compton testified she had been in one previous automobile accident, but did not recall any injuries from that collision. She denied having any injuries or accidents of any kind after the parking lot accident. Ms. Compton related many of her life experiences to the parking lot accident, including three miscarriages and the death of her grandfather, due to "stress" from the accident. Ms. Compton testified that she was not working at the time of the accident, but that she had been planning to take a job that paid $20,000.00 per month performing cancer screenings. Ms. Compton did not introduce any evidence at the trial and did not present any witnesses other than herself. She stated that she had lost her records pertaining to the parking lot accident after she moved a number of times.^[1]

On cross-examination, Ms. Compton could not remember the cost of the repairs to her vehicle, and she could not recall whether she suffered from head, neck, and back injuries prior to the parking lot accident. She could not recall being treated for those issues prior to the parking lot accident. When confronted with her medical records from Family Chiropractic Clinic showing treatment for neck and back pain before the parking lot accident, Ms. Compton did not disagree with the records.

Also on cross-examination, Ms. Compton admitted that two months before the parking lot accident, in December of 2018, she was in a physical altercation at Fresh Pickins where she was "jacked by the arm and suffered some injuries," although she could not recall receiving treatment at Family Chiropractic Clinic following that incident. The medical records showed that she received treatment for neck pain, low back pain, pain radiating into her arms, and a swollen arm after the incident at Fresh Pickins. Further, Ms. Compton could not recall being involved in a motor vehicle accident in January of 2018 and being treated at Family Chiropractic Clinic for her injuries. The medical records showed that she received treatment for neck and back pain after that incident. After being shown the medical records, Ms. Compton stated those injuries were "different." Ms. Compton further admitted on cross-examination that she was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Houston, Texas in November of 2020.

The Family Chiropractic Clinic record from February 28, 2019, shows that Ms. Compton was not pregnant on that date. Ms. Compton testified that she did not find out she was pregnant until sometime after the accident, and that her miscarriage occurred several months later.

At the close of the trial, the trial court found that Ms. Compton was unable to show that Ms. Perry was responsible for the accident, stating that "the things where you don't recall are things that were important to meet your burden of proof." The trial court stated that Ms. Compton's testimony had been "successfully impeached" and noted that "your credibility was - was not real high with regard to this particular matter." The trial court found that Ms. Compton had failed to prove liability, causation, or damages, and it dismissed her suit with prejudice. The trial court signed the judgment on May 10, 2022. Ms. Compton appealed that judgment.

MOTON TO SUPPLEMENT

Ms Compton filed a motion to supplement with this Court, wherein it appears that she is seeking to replace...