JAMES v. CHRISTUS HEALTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA (2020)

Writ application denied.

I would grant this application for the reasons assigned by Judge Conery in his dissent. It is well settled that a court of appeal may not set aside a trial court's finding of fact in the absence of “manifest error” or unless it is “clearly wrong,” and “where there is conflict in the testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review.” Snider v. La. Med. Mutual Ins. Co., 14-1964, p.5 (La. 5/5/15), 169 So. 3d 319, 323. An appellate court “must not reweigh the evidence or substitute its own factual findings because it would have decided the case differently. ․ Where the factfinder's determination is based on its decision to credit the testimony of one of two or more witnesses, that finding can virtually never be manifestly erroneous.” Id. (internal citations omitted). Here, the trial judge evaluated the credibility and reliability of the witnesses, found the facts, and rendered a decision in accordance with the law and evidence. Given the application of the manifest error standard of review, I would therefore grant the writ, reverse the court of appeal, and reinstate the judgment of the trial court.

Weimer, J., would grant and docket. Crichton, J., would grant and assigns reasons.