HENRY PETE v. BOLAND MARINE AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY LLC ET AL (2023)

In this matter, Mr. Pete was awarded a total of $10,351,020.00 in combined special and general damages. This amount shocks the conscience and in my opinion is an abuse of discretion. See Romano v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 16-0954 (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/24/17), 221 So.3d 176; see also Zimko v. American Cyanimid, 03-0658 (La. App. 4 Cir. 6/8/05), 905 So.2d 465. Recent awards for the particular type of damages suffered by plaintiffs in cases similar to the instant case would suggest that a general damage award should be somewhere in the neighborhood of half of what was awarded to Mr. Pete. See Lege v. Union Carbide Corp., 20-0252 (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/12/21), 2021 WL 1917784; Terrance v. Dow Chemical Co., 06-2234 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/14/07), 971 So.2d 1058. Accordingly, I would reduce the damages awarded to Mr. Pete by one-half.

DYSART, J., DISSENTS