Opinion

Eura Dufrene v. Indemnity Insurance Company of North America

  • 303 F.2d 788
  • 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5078
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Filed
May 17, 1962
Status
Published
On the bench
Rives, Cameron, Bell
Cited by
5 cases
Authority
More cited than 84.0%

The opinion

PER CURIAM.

Appellant Eura Dufrene sustained serious injuries while working for B. T. Ritchie when the boom of a crane upon which appellant was employed collapsed and fell upon him. He made claim against his employer and has, since the time of his accident, been paid under the Workmen’s Compensation Laws of Louisiana (LSA-R.S. 23:1021 et seq.). This action was brought by appellant against appellee Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, the insurance carrier of *789 the manufacturer of the boom, based upon his claim that the boom was defective in design or manufacture. His case was submitted to a jury, which returned a verdict against him and in favor of appellee. Appellant’s chief attack upon the actions of the court below is based upon his contention that error was committed in the rulings of the trial court upon the testimony given by the experts relied upon by the respective parties.

The trial below developed largely into a battle between the experts. We do not find that the court below erred in admitting and rejecting their testimony. On the other hand, a careful examination of its rulings leads us to the conclusion that no such errors were committed as claimed by the appellant. Moreover, the handling of such minutiae of the trial was committed largely to the discretion of the trial judge.

It is clear that appellant’s chief complaint is that the jury accepted appellee’s expert testimony over that of appellant. This Court has consistently left to trial courts the choice as to which set of experts will be credited. Swift & Co. v. Morgan and Sturdivant, 5 Cir., 1954, 214 F.2d 115 , 49 A.L.R.2d 924 ; New York Life Insurance Co. v. Johnston, 5 Cir., 1958, 256 F.2d 115 ; and Shofner v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., 5 Cir., 1962, 300 F.2d 188 .

The case was fairly and fully presented to the jury by the court below and, under the scope of review of such cases uniformly followed by this court, cf. Greyhound Corporation v. Dewey, 5 Cir., 1957, 240 F.2d 899 , we feel that the judgment entered upon the jury’s findings should be and it is

Affirmed.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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