Hattori v. Peairs

662 So.2d 509 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Yoshihiro Hattori (Yoshi) was a foreign exchange student from Japan living with the Haymaker family at their home in Baton Rouge. Yoshi attended McKinley High School with the Haymaker's son, Webb. The boys learned through an acquaintance that another Japanese exchange student was living in the Baton Rouge area. She and Yoshi later spoke, and the boys were invited to a Halloween costume party to be held for area exchange students at the home of the girl's host parents, Frank and Connie Pitre. On the evening, Webb's father allowed him to drive the family's car and provided him with directions to the Pitre home which was located in Central, an unincorporated community. The boys were going to 10131 East Brookside but confused it with 10311 East Brookside, which had three cars parked in the driveway. The boys thought they had found the party. Webb parked in front of the house. Webb's costume was that of an accident victim. Dressed in shorts and tennis shoes, Webb had a bandage around his head, a hand splint and an ace bandage around his knee. Yoshi decided to go as John Travolta's character from the movie 'Saturday Night Fever.' He had a white tuxedo jacket, black pants, and a ruffled white shirt of which he had unbuttoned the top three buttons. He also carried a camera. Neither boy wore a mask. At approximately 8:15 P.M., they rang the front doorbell. No one answered the front door. They heard the clinking of window blinds from the rear of the carport area to the left of where they stood. They went toward the carport door. As the boys turned the corner, Webb observed a small boy, approximately eight or nine years of age, peering through the blinds of the carport door. A moment later, the door was opened by a woman wearing a bathrobe and glasses. As Webb attempted to speak to the woman, she slammed the door. Webb realized the danger, but Yoshi continued towards the man smiling and explaining several times that he had come for the party. Webb heard the man in the doorway yell, 'Freeze'; however, Yoshi continued to move towards the man. Yoshi was adjacent to the rear-view mirror of the Toyota station wagon parked on the right of the double carport when the man in the doorway fired. The bullet struck Yoshi in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground on his back, with his head about a foot from the carport door. Yoshi died on the way to the hospital. P sued D and D as found liable. D appealed.