Villa v. Derouen
Louisiana Court of Appeal
614 So. 2d 714 (1993)
- Written by Nicholas Decoster, JD
Facts
In May 1986, Michael Derouen (defendant) and Eusebio Villa (plaintiff) were performing welding work in the same area. At some point, Derouen sprayed Villa’s neck with pressurized oxygen. Derouen was reprimanded by a coworker. Several minutes later, Villa was welding when Derouen used his welding torch to spray oxygen on Villa’s groin area. As a result of the spraying, Villa suffered second-degree burns. Villa brought a civil claim against Derouen for civil battery. At trial, the evidence showed that Derouen intended to spray Villa with the oxygen, but only meant the spraying as a joke and did not intend to harm Villa. After receiving an instruction on intentional torts, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Derouen. Villa appealed, arguing that the jury’s verdict contained reversible error.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Saunders, J.)
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