33 results for 'judge:"Dick"'.
J. Dick grants summary judgment to an insurer, dismissing breach of duty allegations by the estate and family trust of a deceased doctor that allegedly resulted in her cousin being declared the sole beneficiary of the physician’s life insurance policy. The counterclaimants concede the insurer provided the doctor with a change of beneficiary form upon her request, but she never submitted the form. They also concede her cousin was named a contingent beneficiary on the policy.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv469, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Insurance, Trusts
J. Dick grants, in part, an insurer's motion for summary judgment, dismissing two Louisiana property owners’ counterclaims for fire damage. The insured couple are not able to produce sufficient evidence they resided at the house at the time of the blaze, as required by their insurance policy. The couple’s claims for fire-damaged contents remain.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv584, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Damages
J. Dick grants a request by the state department of corrections, dismissing on procedural grounds the Title VII complaint of a fired black prison lieutenant, a 20-year veteran. He alleges he was fired for his use of force on an inmate, but a white captain who allegedly committed equal or greater violations of department police in the same incident, got to keep his job. The lieutenant’s claims of racial bias favoring the white captain fail because employees of different rank or status cannot be similarly situated.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv897, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Dick grants a request by the state to dismiss as moot a voting rights suit by black litigants that preceded legislative enactment of a new congressional map containing two first-ever majority-black districts. The litigants do not oppose the new congressional map but argue their case is not moot due to pending legislation in the Western District of Louisiana. State officials have sufficiently shown the earlier redistricting conduct challenged by litigants will not recur with the state’s voluntary enactment of a new congressional map with two black-majority districts.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv211, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Government
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J. Dick denies pre-trial requests by nine litigants to exclude evidence of drug use by two welders killed in a Louisiana paper mill explosion in 2017. The decedents are not involved in a negligence suit against the owners of the mill, where three workers were killed and seven others injured by the blast during “hot work” activities near a flammable tank. The evidence of drugs on the two men who also tested positive for drug use in post-mortem exams is material to the issue of what caused the deadly accident.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 3:18cv613, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Negligence, Discovery
J. Dick affirms a bankruptcy court ruling a “mom and pop” repair company proved its exception to the Chapter 13 protection of a homeowner, who converted a final payment of insurance proceeds for flood damage to his own use, causing substantial damage to the contractor. The contractor testified he was forced into personal debt from neck surgery after the homeowner failed to pay him. The homeowner “knowingly breached his clear contractual obligation to pay” the contractor when he kept the final check. Affirmed.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv625, NOS: Bankruptcy Appeal 28 USC 158 - Bankruptcy, Categories: Bankruptcy, Construction, Damages
J. Dick refuses to dismiss excessive force claims against a deputy who allegedly shot a woman’s son during a police search for his twin brother. Video captured by a neighbor’s doorbell camera shows the deputy fired into the apartment even though he was not in a position to observe whether the minor had a firearm. Further, another officer can be heard asking the shooting officer if the decedent had a firearm, indicating she did not see the weapon.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv11, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Dick denies a request to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction a chemical plant worker’s complaint the negligence of a tank valve manufacturer resulted in the spraying of extremely hot liquor, causing him severe burns and the loss of sight in both eyes. Although the manufacturer is not incorporated in Louisiana, the disabled worker has alleged sufficient facts to show the valve-maker availed itself of the privileges of conducting business in the state.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv505, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Commerce, Tort, Product Liability
J. Dick denies summary judgment to a Baton Rouge casino hotel, declining to dismiss a Texas gambler’s negligence claims related to a piece of wire she allegedly consumed at the gaming hall. A factual dispute remains concerning where and when the guest ingested the wire, while her limited food intake and the timing of her abdominal pain are enough to present a factual issue as to the casino hotel’s breach of duty.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv304, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Tort, Damages
J. Dick orders a Louisiana corrections officer to pay $12,500 in attorney fees to a state prisoner who was burned and stabbed by another inmate as the guard watched “and did nothing.” The inmate was awarded $10,000 in compensatory damages following a bench trial, and is entitled to the maximum under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv29, NOS: Prison Condition - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Evidence, Damages, Police Misconduct
J. Dick grants a request by the creator of a technology to manufacture fiber-glass plastic pipes used in large scale water projects, dismissing claims of anti-trust violations by a supplier of the pipes. The pipe supplier claims an anti-trust injury from the inventor’s alleged breach or termination of a license agreement, which does not support an anti-trust injury.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv259, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Antitrust, Corporations, Construction
J. Dick grants summary judgment to a Louisiana State University police officer, dismissing malicious prosecution claims by an intoxicated motorcyclist who tested negative for alcohol but positive for ketamine, an anesthetic that can induce sedation, pain-relief and amnesia. The undisputed facts are that the litigant drove recklessly, illegally turned around to avoid a sobriety checkpoint, did not yield to an attempted traffic stop by the officer and then crashed his bike in a single-vehicle accident resulting in his injuries. When deposed, the operator claimed to have no recollection of the events surrounding the 2018 incident, adding there is nothing that could jog his memory.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv12, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Malicious Prosecution, Immunity
J. Dick grants remand on jurisdictional grounds to a construction company seeking to recover an arbitration award total of $711,000 from a bankrupt church. The church unsuccessfully argued the contractor’s attempt to garnish FEMA funds allotted to the church presents federal questions requiring federal jurisdiction. Simply because the contractor’s claim involves a federal grant, as the church alleges, does not in and of itself raise a federal question. In addition, there is no federal question raised in the contractor’s state court suit.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv332, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Arbitration, Enforcement Of Judgments, Jurisdiction
J. Dick, ruling in a 91-page decision after a seven-day nonjury trial in December 2023, finds the state House and Senate electoral maps enacted by the Louisiana legislature violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Black litigants satisfied their burden of proving the electoral maps drawn by state legislators unlawfully dilutes black voting strength.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv178, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections, Government
J. Dick grants a request by a movie production studio and the director of the film, “Emancipation,” dismissing a supporting actor’s claims he was struck in the face by a cable-suspended camera hanging in a dangerous manner while on the movie set. The actor's allegations of negligence and intentional misconduct resulting in injury are woefully insufficient to state a claim that falls outside the exclusive remedy of Louisiana’s worker’s compensation laws.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv168, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Tort, Workers' Compensation
J. Dick grants summary judgment to a chemical plant and against a 5-year employee diagnosed with hypertension who was fired for excessive absenteeism. The worker who admits he did not take his blood pressure medication until five years after his diagnosis requested accommodations for his condition that were unreasonable. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require an employer to allow an employee to miss work or come in late without prior notice or explanation, nor does it require a business to rewrite its attendance policy to accommodate an employee’s excessive absenteeism.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: January 25, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv282, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Employment Discrimination
J. Dick denies a request for a preliminary injunction by operators of a youth group home on their argument that a local zoning law prohibiting more than four unrelated individuals from living together in a single-family home violates disability discrimination laws. While the operators’ evidence shows four residents would not make a group home financially viable there is no evidence that financial viability can be reached with 10 residents in a proposed group home. The operators have not shown a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits of their case, a key requisite for a preliminary injunction.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv408, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Housing
J. Dick grants summary judgment to a railroad and against a black foreman of a track maintenance crew who sued his employer for racial discrimination after he was fired for two track use violations that put company employees at risk of injury or death. The foreman failed to provide specific evidence that similarly situated white comparators were treated more favorably. The litigant’s argument a white foreman’s rear-end collision, albeit occurring at work but not on the track, is nearly identical to exposing an entire work crew to a potential train collision.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Dick, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv373, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Transportation, Employment Discrimination
J. Dick denies summary judgment to the Republican governor-elect of Louisiana on his argument as the state’s current attorney general that "Black Voters Matter" does not have standing to represent black voters in a voting rights suit against the state. The organization concedes it does not have associational standing in the case but that it meets the constitutional requirement for injury-in-fact by presenting evidence that the state’s allegedly discriminatory voter redistricting maps have required a diversion of organizational resources from its broader voter registration and community empowerment initiatives.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv178, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Evidence
J. Dick denies a request by the Louisiana Secretary of State to turn over jurisdiction of a voting rights redistricting case to a three-judge court, on the argument that federal law requires a tribunal for a constitutional or statutory challenge to the apportionment of a state legislative body. The law does not support the secretary’s argument and there is no decision in the Fifth Circuit that supports his “strained interpretation” of the law. The decision comes one day after a mixed ruling on proposed experts for both sides in a lawsuit challenging redistricting plans that allegedly dilute black voters’ voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv178, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Jurisdiction
J. Dick denies a request by 53 death row prisoners for a preliminary injunction ordering the state pardon board to hold clemency hearings under outgoing, term-limited Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, dismissing their argument that they “face a real possibility of death if this preliminary injunction is not granted." The prisoners fail to demonstrate harm is imminent as a result of the cancellation of scheduled clemency hearings, and there is no evidence they will face execution before they are able to apply for clemency.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:23CV1494, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Constitution, Due Process, Jurisdiction
J. Dick orders judgment in favor of class-action litigants and against the state department of corrections, ending a yearslong litigation of medical treatment claims at Louisiana’s maximum-security prison in Angola. “The attitudes of those in medical leadership” at the corrections department and the sprawling 18,000-acre prison farm “easily demonstrate that injunctive relief is required in this case.”
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 3:15cv318, NOS: Prison Condition - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Health Care
J. Dick denies the insurance company's motion motion to vacate the appraisal award following the damage to the insured's property caused by Hurricane Zeta. The insurance company's appraiser had the opportunity to to participate in the appraisal process, but chose not to, so there is no basis for vacating the award.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv318, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Property
J. Dick affirms a bankruptcy court ruling denying a creditor’s counsel request for more time to file proof of a claim against the debtor in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The creditor’s lawyer said he did not file his client’s claim timely because of a calendaring error, and pleaded “excusable neglect.” The district court ruling disagrees: “Neglect is the inadvertent failure to do or not to something. Counsel for [the creditor] made the conscious decision to remove deadlines from his calendar on an erroneous ill-advised assumption. This is not excusable neglect — it is a bad decision.” The bankruptcy court’s decision is affirmed.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv664, NOS: Bankruptcy Appeal 28 USC 158 - Bankruptcy, Categories: Bankruptcy, Civil Procedure, Constitution