French v. Dilleshaw

Kevin Dilleshaw, an independent truck driver, lost the use of his flatbed trailer for several weeks as a result of an accident. Dilleshaw sued Christopher French, the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident, to recover the earnings that Dilleshaw lost while he could not use his trailer. Following a bench trial, the court below entered judgment for Dilleshaw, awarding him both lost earnings and attorneys’ fees, and French appeals from this judgment, contending that the evidence is insufficient to sustain these awards.1 Upon our review of the record, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the award of lost earnings, but it does not sustain the award of attorneys’ fees. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part. When an appeal is taken from a judgment entered following a bench trial, we owe no deference to the way in which the court below resolved questions of law, but we accept its factual findings unless clearly erroneous,2 Lifestyle Home Rentals, LLC v. Rahman , 290 Ga. App. 585 660 SE2d 409 2008, and we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment. Forshee v. Employers Mut. Casualty Co. , 309 Ga. App. 621, 621 n.1 711 SE2d 28 2011. The evidence in this case shows that Dilleshaw, who owns his own truck and flatbed trailer, worked as an independent contractor for Landstar Ranger, Inc., a freight-hauling company. Landstar paid Dilleshaw weekly, and his gross earnings were based on the number of loads that he hauled each week and the distance that he drove. Landstar advanced certain expenses to Dilleshaw, including the costs of fuel, insurance, and certain toll charges, and when it paid him each week, Landstar reduced his gross earnings by the amount of these advances.

On June 15, 2009, Dilleshaw set out with his truck and trailer to haul a load of hazardous materials from Augusta, Georgia to Michigan. As Dilleshaw was leaving Augusta, French crashed his car into the rear of the trailer, damaging it.3 To complete his haul, Dilleshaw secured a temporary repair of the trailer in Georgia and then made his way to Michigan. When he arrived in Michigan, Dilleshaw secured another temporary repair of the trailer, so that he could return with his truck and trailer to South Carolina. And when he finally made his way back to South Carolina, Dilleshaw took the trailer to a repair shop for permanent repairs,4 where it remained for several weeks. During this time, Dilleshaw was without a trailer and unable to haul additional loads.5