Clifford Moreau v. Otis Elevator Company

Clifford Moreau, plaintiff-appellant, instituted this diversity action against Otis Elevator Company (Otis) for personal injuries sustained when the elevator in which he was riding at the Georgia-Pacific mill at Port Hudson, Louisiana, fell two floors to the bottom of the pit. The accident was caused by a failure in the elevator’s braking equipment, which in turn was due to the presence of an unusual amount of water that had collected in the pit when the drain became clogged with debris from the mill. The trial court directed a verdict in favor of defendant Otis. Finding no error in that…