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Case Study : Foster V. Houston General Ins

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Wetig SPED801 Case Briefing 14
1. Name & citation of case:
FOSTER v. HOUSTON GENERAL INS. CO.
NO. 14664.
407 So.2d 759 (1981)
Helen Ann FOSTER, Plaintiff-Appellant-Appellee,
v.
HOUSTON GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY; Inez Grant; Morehouse Parish School Board; Horace Mann Insurance Company and Lloyd Gray, Defendants-Appellants-Appellees.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.
Writ Denied January 18, 1982.
2. Facts: Explain the essential facts of the case. Tell the story of the case. Robert Foster, age 17, was a student at the Morehouse Educational Development Center (MEDC), a school for the mentally retarded. He was chosen a member of MEDC 's Special Olympics basketball team. This was a school sanctioned activity, with practice sessions …show more content…

In this case, plaintiff Helen Foster brought a wrongful death action after her mentally retarded son was killed while under the supervision of two teachers, defendants Inez Grant and Lloyd Gray.
3. Decision in administrative hearings and the lower courts: State the decision in administrative hearings and in the lower court(s). The trial court judge found that "Grant was negligent because of her failure to provide other transportation, her failure to supervise, her negligent choice of route to the park and her failure to adequately instruct the students."
In addition, the trial judge found that "Gray was negligent by virtue of his failure to provide alternate transportation, his failure to wait for Grant before undertaking the trip, his failure to adequately instruct or supervise his students, and his failure to maintain control over the students."
The trial judge, therefore, entered judgment for plaintiff Foster against defendants Grant and Gray. Grant and Gray appealed.
4. Rationale: This is a very important part of the case brief. You must explain the gist of the court ruling, (i.e., why the court arrived at its holding). The appeals court found Grant and Gray owed the following legal duty of care, including:
 First, the group was not accompanied by a sufficient number of supervisory personnel. This was evidenced by the precipitating event in this tragic drama - Gray 's loss of control of the group and the headlong dash of several students on across West

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