Durbin v. Argonaut Insurance Co.
Louisiana Court of Appeal
393 So. 2d 385 (1980)
- Written by Abby Roughton, JD
Facts
In 1976, Eddie Durbin suffered a fatal injury during his employment with Dibert, Bancroft & Ross, Limited (Dibert). At the time of Durbin’s death, Durbin lived at home with his parents, Russell and Nacine Durbin (plaintiffs). Durbin regularly gave his parents $10 or $20 per week out of his paycheck up until one month before he died, when Durbin’s mother told him to stop giving them money so he could save his money for his own apartment. Durbin’s parents were able to continue supporting themselves after Durbin stopped making his weekly contributions. In Durbin’s free time, Durbin helped at his family’s farm and occasionally worked at the family’s restaurant. Durbin sometimes received payment for this work from his father. After Durbin’s death, Durbin’s parents sought death benefits from Dibert’s workers’-compensation insurer, Argonaut Insurance Company (Argonaut) (defendant). The trial court found that Durbin’s parents were partially dependent on Durbin due to Durbin’s contributions of his earnings and Durbin’s work at the family farm. The court thus awarded Durbin’s parents death benefits of $25 per week for 400 weeks. Argonaut appealed to the Louisiana Court of Appeal, arguing that Durbin’s parents had not proved that they were Durbin’s dependents.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lottinger, J.)
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