179 results for 'court:"USDC Western District of Louisiana "'.
J. Cain declines to find in favor of the railway company on the property owner's class action claims that his property was contaminated by the storage and transfer of creosoting products from nearby properties by the railway company. Although further discovery will be necessary to support the property owner's claims, he has provided sufficient evidence at this point to refute the railway company's contention that there was no creosote contamination near the owner's property.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv53, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Property, Tort, Class Action
J. Doughty finds that the wife fails to prove that her estranged husband, now deceased, intended his purchase of a Rolls Royce to be a gift or donation to her. The Rolls Royce, purchased for $315,000, largely remained at the husband's house and he insured it in both his name and his wife's name, which suggests he intended to maintain a form of possession over the car. Witnesses also testified that the husband stated he was just letting his wife use the car and it was not hers.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv335, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Wills / Probate, Conversion, Contract
J. Cain, ruling after a one-day bench trial, orders the owner of a 148-unit apartment complex to pay a contractor $669,876 plus attorney fees for breach of contract related to ���incrementally��� staged repair work. Work on the complex was complicated by the absence of previous blueprints on the development, hurricane damage, termite damage, permitting issues and the owner���s decision to move water heaters and to convert from gas to electric. The award includes $26,762 in credits the property owner received for presenting competent evidence of leaks necessitating roof repairs.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1083, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Evidence, Contract
J. Doughty denies requests by a woman suing Walmart for a trip-and-fall to exclude as highly prejudicial and irrelevant, evidence of prior or subsequent accidents like the incident at the chain store. The ruling agrees with Walmart���s argument that such evidence is ���wholly relevant��� in determining damages. The woman and her husband were involved in a car accident nearly one year after the slip and fall incident. That suit is currently pending in state court. Both suits are for personal injury claims for several related injuries, such as cognitive issues, depression and pain in the limbs.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv50, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Health Care
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J. Hicks denies a request by a nonprofit health care agency to exclude the expert testimony of a physician who treated a fired employee for physical pain and severe depression allegedly related to a physical workplace confrontation leading to her claims of racial bias, retaliation and vicarious liability against her ex-employer. The exclusion of the doctor���s testimony is not warranted. However, he may only testify to his personal knowledge obtained from examining and treating the woman. Any other opinions are specifically excluded and prohibited as he did not submit a report as required by rule.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Hicks, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv962, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Experts, Employment Discrimination
J. Joseph denies a New Mexico resident���s request to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction a lawsuit by a Louisiana company against his multi-state-based company to recover for the loss of the litigant���s industrial equipment in a fire at a well location in western Central Texas. The master lease agreement explicitly designates the Western District of Louisiana as a proper forum. Though the well site was in Texas, the master lease called for loading and unloading of the equipment at the litigant���s facility in Louisiana. Further, the New Mexican owner of the sued corporation fails to show that litigating the contractual dispute in Louisiana would be unfair or unreasonable.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 6:23cv936, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Energy, Jurisdiction
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to a seaman seeking to dismiss a vessel owner���s limit on his accidental injury claims to the vessel���s market value of $500,000 after the accident. Based on the evidence submitted, the ruling cannot conclude that the seaman communicated to the vessel owner that his damages could exceed $500,000 without an exhaustive quantum analysis, especially a damage model that evolves over time given the progression of the seaman���s medical treatment.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv2354, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Maritime, Tort, Damages
J. Joseph grants a request for a discovery order by multiple corporations being sued by 259 litigants for personal injuries and property damages, arising from toxic leaks at a now-closed pipe valve manufacturing facility in central Louisiana. Entry of a so-called ���Lone Pine Order,��� a discovery tool requiring litigants to meet an evidentiary threshold, will simplify complex issues, streamline costs, and help prepare for a consolidated, ���Phase I��� trial on common facts set for May 2024. District courts in the Fifth Circuit routinely enter Lone Pine orders in mass tort cases to facilitate case management and provide structure to the discovery process.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv1346, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Environment, Damages, Discovery
J. Joseph denies remand to an offshore anchor handler suing his maritime employer for a work-related accident. Because he is not qualified as a seaman under the Jones Act, he may not return his personal injury suit to state court. Generally, Jones Act cases filed in state court may not be removed to federal jurisdiction. The ruling adopts the recommendations of a magistrate judge���s report.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 6:23cv649, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Employment, Tort, Jurisdiction
J. Cain denies a request by an insurance company to dismiss ���bad faith��� allegations regarding the adjustment of hurricane damage by a property management firm. The insurer argued that at the time of its assignment of claims by a prior insured realty firm, the insured predecessor was satisfied with the adjustment of the claim and therefore, no bad faith claim. A review of the policy finds that the assignee may pursue its claims against the insurer. The assignee-property manager���s suggestion that additional hurricane damages were not discoverable until a tenant moved out is ���suspect.��� Nevertheless, the court is hesitant to dismiss a bad faith claim, which should ultimately be decided by the jury.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv2552, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Insurance, Discovery
J. Foote denies competing requests for summary judgment to the state Motor Vehicle Commission and the Louisiana-based manufacturer regarding whether federal law preempts regulation of a flying vehicle that its manufacturer calls the ���MK 3.2,��� described as a ���special light-sport aircraft,��� certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Neither litigant can meet its burden on whether the MK 3.2 is an All-Terrain Vehicle. The manufacturer argues the state does not have constitutional authority to regulate the MK 3.2 because the motor vehicle commission���s legal authority only allows it to regulate motor vehicles and recreational products, not aircraft like the MK 3.2.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Foote, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 5:19cv49, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Preemption, Vehicle, Aviation
J. Foote denies a request by a university hospital to dismiss an abuse of rights claim brought by a female physician arising from her sex discrimination and job retaliation complaint against the chancellor of the medical center, who also supervised her cleft and craniofacial fellowship. The doctor���s allegations are sufficient and include claims that the hospital���s predominant motive for denying her privileges at the facility was to retaliate against her for making a sex discrimination claim against its chancellor.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Foote, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv1607, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Health Care
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to a Kentucky-based air conditioning contractor, finding a petroleum products company in southwest Louisiana has ���submitted evidence of contradictory facts,��� regarding the contractor���s claim for the unpaid amount of $131,778 from construction of industrial cooling towers built at a total cost exceeding $3.8 million dollars. The contractor���s additional claims for bad-faith attorney fees cannot be resolved because summary judgment for its breach of contract claim will be denied.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv3708, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Doughty grants a request by a Louisiana sheriff, finding a woman���s request for $107,354 in attorney fees ��� atop a $10,000 settlement judgment in her favor for her arrest without probable cause ��� was ���unreasonably excessive.��� The award against the Sheriff is slashed to $35,696, with a private law firm receiving $31,275 and the ACLU receiving $4,421. The woman was arrested outside the sheriff���s office after she unsuccessfully attempted to file a police misconduct complaint. She videotaped her verbal altercations with deputies until one seized her phone.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv5205, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Attorney Fees, Police Misconduct
J. Summerhays finds a disaster recovery business is liable for the unpaid overtime wages of seven former employees who have been awaiting more than five years to get paid. Owners of the company, which hires dozens of disaster relief workers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, argued that they were required to pay the litigating workers half of their regular rate for overtime work, which ���clearly violates��� the Fair Labor Standards Act. Because the workers have sufficiently shown their entitlement to unpaid half-time wages, and their employers have not sustained their burden of showing that their failure to obey the Act was in good faith, the ex-employees are awarded liquidated damages. The principal owner of the company said he failed to respond to the Louisiana suit because it ���slipped [his] mind��� during an investigation of his company���s labor practices in Puerto Rico.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Summerhays, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 6:18cv1410, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Labor
J. Summerhayes denies a request by a prosecutor to dismiss claims of misconduct by a former criminal defendant who alleges he spent 44 years in prison for two rapes he did not commit. The former defendant contends the prosecutor fabricated a police report to defeat his alibi evidence. The creation and use of fake evidence constitutes investigative conduct for which an individual prosecutor would not be absolutely immune. The former defendant was freed after a state judge held that due process violations deprived him of a fair trial.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Summerhays, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1971, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Malicious Prosecution, Immunity, Due Process
J. Doughty denies a pretrial request by a baby products manufacturer that its competitor should be precluded from introducing any expert testimony or opinions beyond the scope of the expert reports already submitted for trial of the competitor���s patent infringement suit. A litigant may object at trial to any expert testimony or opinions it deems is beyond the scope of the expert���s report or outside the scope of the expert���s deposition. However, the baby products makers must be judicious in making such objections. The trial court will subtract any time spent resolving unfounded objections from the trial time allocated to the litigant that presents or prolongs an unfounded objection.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 3:17cv821, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Jury, Patent, Experts
J. Africk grants a couple���s belated request to add an expert witness to their suit against their insurance company alleging that inadequate compensation for their losses from Hurricane Ida in August 2021 have left them displaced from their home more than two years later. Although amendment of the witness list would be close to the date of trial, the insurer does not identify specific harm that would be caused by permitting the testimony of the expert, a neutral appraisal umpire. Further, the exclusion of other litigant experts renders the umpire���s testimony ���significant" to the homeowners' case.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Africk, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv218, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Experts, Discovery
J. Cain denies a request by State Farm to depose a hurricane-damage remediation contractor before the contractor's counsel deposes the insurer���s corporate representative regarding the former litigant���s assigned benefits claims on home repairs. State Farm unsuccessfully argues that because the contractor has the burden of proof at trial, State Farm should be permitted to depose the contractor first. State Farm has not shown good cause why its recommended sequencing of depositions should be ordered.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv3658, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Discovery, Contract
J. Doughty finds in favor of the developer, manufacturer and seller of a medical device used as an alternative to open heart surgery, dismissing sex discrimination and hostile workplace claims by a fired manager. The employer has met his burden of proving a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for terminating the manager���s employment.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv4022, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Cain grants an insurance company���s request to dismiss a car dealership���s claims for loss of five vehicles under a ���commercial crime policy.��� A theft ring engaged in identity theft to fraudulently obtain the vehicles by using an online ���touchless��� purchasing procedure the dealership developed to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The insurer���s crime policy provisions ���unambiguously��� exclude coverage for a loss resulting from the use of another person���s personal information.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv6024, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Insurance
J. Kay denies a request by a suspended Louisiana law firm to recover a percentage of attorney fees totaling $4,828 for work done on a suit against a property owner���s damages claim against his insurance company after back-to-back hurricanes. The ���nature and gravity��� of the firm���s misconduct -- illegally obtaining hundreds of hurricane-related contingency fee contracts through modern-day, non-attorney ���runners��� -- entirely negates any percentage of the fee to which it might otherwise be entitled. In short, the firm has done the client ���more harm than good.���
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Kay, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4083, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Attorney Fees
J. Summerhays grants requests by a parish District Attorney and his assistant D.A. who also is a tribal prosecutor, dismissing malicious prosecution claims against them by a former elected tribal leader of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, who was acquitted of criminal charges related to his former employment at a casino owned by the tribe. ���Absolute��� prosecutorial immunity bars the tribal leader���s state-law claims against the prosecutors. ���There is no dispute that [the tribal leader] was the subject of criminal proceedings, which resulted in his acquittal.��� The tribal official���s suit attempted to show that the prosecutors engaged in a frivolous investigation, fabricated evidence, and used perjured testimony at his trial.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Summerhays, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv404, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Fraud, Malicious Prosecution
J. Joseph denies summary judgment to owners and operators of a now-closed pipe valve manufacturing plant, ruling in favor of neighboring property owners in consolidated cases suing for environmental damages. The accused polluters unsuccessfully argue that their neighbors cannot provide evidence of a contractual provision of a state environmental law entitling them to ���excess��� groundwater remediation damages because no such contractual provision exists. The neighbors argue that they are not seeking damages for which the plant owners/operators are seeking summary judgment. However, applicability of the state���s groundwater law is a factual question for the jury.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv24, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Environment, Property, Tort