33 results for 'judge:"Vance"'.
J. Vance grants the unopposed request for summary judgment to a Toyota manufacturer and a sales company, dismissing product liability claims by the driver of a 2014 Lexus ES350 who alleges injuries from the car’s airbag failure to deploy when he crashed into a guard rail. The Toyota companies presented certified medical records taken at the hospital where the litigant was treated after the accident, in which the treating physician stated that he reportedly “drank a significant amount of alcohol and then crashed his car on purpose [in] an attempt to end his life secondary to depression and suicidal thoughts after a break-up 5 months ago.” Furthermore, the litigant has failed to present evidence sufficient to establish the essential elements of his defective airbag claims.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv4607, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Evidence, Vehicle, Product Liability
J. Vance grants a request by the Uber rideshare company for a stay, but not dismissal, of a passenger’s lawsuit pending arbitration of negligence claims she was run over by the driver of the hired car. A case may be dismissed in favor of arbitration only if all the issues and claims raised are subject to arbitration. The passenger’s claims against two additional litigants, the driver of the Uber and an insurance company, may be litigated without arbitration.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1775, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Tort, Negligence
J. Vance denies a property manager’s request to strike a former tenant’s claim he violated Louisiana law by failing to notify him for almost one year that his social security number and other personal data had been stolen, resulting in major corporations pursuing him for fraudulent purchases. The ex-landlord argues the former tenant knew his allegations were false based on correspondence between the litigants’ attorneys that included letters to the state’s attorney general. However, the correspondence does not clearly show the ex-tenant's state law claim is defective.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1450, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fiduciary Duty, Negligence, Privacy
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J. Vance finds for BP on an oil spill cleanup worker's claims following the deadly explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The worker fails to show the discovery he seeks will be important to develop the expert causation evidence required to help him demonstrate the chemical dispersant COREXIT can cause allergic rhinitis or chronic sinusitis in the general population. Since he cannot prove a necessary element of his claims against the oil giant, his claims must be dismissed.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1043, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Environment, Evidence, Tort
J. Zainey denies summary judgment to an ex-defendant whose murder conviction was vacated on constitutional grounds after he spent more than 28 years in prison. The former defendant cannot rely on the "self-flagellating” post-conviction admissions of the New Orleans District Attorney in 2021 to fulfill his burden of proof in his civil rights suit against the DA's office, alleging prosecutorial misconduct by prior regimes. When the DA joined the defendant’s post-conviction appeal, he sought justice for the ex-defendant and he did so “at the risk of his own office’s coffers, the protection of which would have better served his own office."
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 22cv15, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Malicious Prosecution
J. Vance denies a request by an insurance company to dismiss hurricane damage claims by an antique shop in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans. Because the insurers have not explained why dismissal, rather than a stay, is warranted, the court declines to dismiss the case pending arbitration.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv4343, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Insurance
J. Vance grants an unopposed motion by surplus line insurance companies to compel arbitration and stay proceedings initiated by a commercial property owner in Louisiana, alleging failure to mail appropriate payments on hurricane damage claims and breach of insurance contract. The parties' policy contains a valid, enforceable arbitration agreement.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 2:23-cv-03415, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Insurance, Damages
J. Vance denies a request by a mental health clinic to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction the disability discrimination claim of a paraplegic social worker, who alleges the clinic withdrew a job offer after learning she used a wheelchair for mobility and provides services to clients from the back of her handicap van, which is driven by her personal nurse. Each of the clinic’s objections are non-jurisdictional and, therefore, not properly asserted. As the employer’s objections relate to the substantive adequacy of the litigant’s Americans with Disabilities Act claim, its objections must be raised in a separate request challenging the merits of her claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 2:23-cv-02129, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination
J. Vance partially grants the deputy's and sheriff's motion to stay discovery pending a ruling on the anticipated motion for summary judgment in the patient's complaint alleging that deputies who arrived on scene for his medical emergency tased him multiple times while he was confused and disoriented. The deputy intends to file a motion for summary judgment on his entitlement to the immunity defense. All discovery is stayed pending a ruling on the motion for summary judgment or an order from the court permitting limited discovery that may be necessary to determine the deputy's entitlement to qualified immunity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1005, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Discovery, Police Misconduct
J. Vance grants BP Exploration & Production's motion to exclude the clean up worker's general causation expert in his lawsuit alleging he was exposed to crude oil and dispersants as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leading him to suffer from a variety of health problems. The expert's "failure to identify the level of exposure to a relevant chemical that can cause the conditions asserted in plaintiff's complaint renders his opinion unreliable, unhelpful, and incapable of establishing general causation." Because the worker's only expert is excluded, the worker fails to establish general or specific causation, so his complaint is dismissed with prejudice.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 2:13cv1019, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Experts
J. Vance grants BP Exploration & Production's motion to exclude the clean up worker's general causation expert in his lawsuit alleging he was exposed to crude oil and dispersants as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leading him to suffer from a variety of health problems. The expert's "failure to identify the level of exposure to a relevant chemical that can cause the conditions asserted in plaintiff's complaint renders his opinion unreliable, unhelpful, and incapable of establishing general causation." Because the worker's only expert is excluded, the worker fails to establish general or specific causation, so his complaint is dismissed with prejudice.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 2:13cv1003, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Experts
J. Vance grants BP Exploration & Production's motion to exclude the clean up worker's general causation expert in his lawsuit alleging he was exposed to crude oil and dispersants as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leading him to suffer from a variety of health problems. The expert's "failure to identify the level of exposure to a relevant chemical that can cause the conditions asserted in plaintiff's complaint renders his opinion unreliable, unhelpful, and incapable of establishing general causation." Because the worker's only expert is excluded, the worker fails to establish general or specific causation, so his complaint is dismissed with prejudice.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 2:17cv31232, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Experts
Vance grants BP Exploration & Production's motion to exclude the clean up worker's general causation expert in his lawsuit alleging he was exposed to crude oil and dispersants as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leading him to suffer from a variety of health problems. The expert's "failure to identify the level of exposure to a relevant chemical that can cause the conditions asserted in plaintiff's complaint renders his opinion unreliable, unhelpful, and incapable of establishing general causation." Because the worker's only expert is excluded, the worker fails to establish general or specific causation, so his complaint is dismissed with prejudice.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 2:17cv3024, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Experts
J. Vance grants remand to a truck-stop casino and against its insurer arising from a breach of coverage claim of property damage from a lightning strike. The casino successfully argued that the amount due for repairs under the insurance policy is not in controversy because the insurer had already paid for repairs before suit was filed, and thus the only amounts at issue in its petition are statutory penalties and attorney fees. The insurer failed to offer summary judgment-type evidence that supports its argument that the disputed mount exceeds the jurisdictional minimum of $75,000.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv3709, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Jurisdiction
J. Vance denies a request by a New Orleans area property manager to dismiss a former tenant’s state law data breach claim of sensitive personal information, resulting in theft by fraud. The landlord learned of the breach in December 2021 and notified those affected in July 2022. State law requires notification within 60 days of discovery of the breach — not six months, as the tenant alleges.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1450, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Landlord Tenant, Consumer Law
J. Vance denies a request by the owner of a tugboat to exclude the testimony and report of a maritime surveyor for a utility company suing for property damage, after five empty barges being pushed by the vessel crashed into its piling in an inland waterway. The tugboat owner’s objections to the expert surveyor’s reliance on Google Earth satellite photos of the piling before the incident, the expert’s survey of the piling, and a contractor’s observations, do not demonstrate that the basis for the opinion was unreliable. The vessel owner may explore the utility expert’s conclusions more fully on cross-examination or with countervailing expert testimony.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv5285, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Evidence, Maritime, Experts
J. Vance grants summary judgment to a dredging company and against a seaman suing for living expenses and medical treatment after he was allegedly injured when a walkway flipped over on his employer’s vessel. The seaman intentionally concealed or misrepresented medical facts when he stated in his medical history questionnaire that he had never experienced any back pain or injuries, leg injuries, back injuries, herniated discs or recurrent neck or back pain, and that he never had an MRI or other surgery.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4271, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Health Care, Maritime
J. Vance grants summary judgment to an officer of a New York-based real estate company, denying breach of contract and detrimental reliance claims by his cousin, a Louisiana real estate developer, finding that the latter litigant has failed to create an issue of fact as to whether his out-of-state cousin promised, “by word or conduct,” that he would pay him half of the proceeds from work redeveloping Charity Hospital in New Orleans.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: July 19, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv2282, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Real Estate, Contract
J. Vance denies summary judgment to Marathon Oil Company on the argument that its agreement with the LLOG Exploration Company obligates LLOG to defend and indemnify Marathon from claims raised in a land contamination suit related to oil and gas operations on the property. The only reasonable interpretation of the oil companies contract is that the allocates liability for claims arising from conduct that occurred before Jan. 1, 1991, to Marathon and not LLOG.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1295, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Environment, Indemnification, Contract
J. Vance grants a request by two residents of Washington State, a woman and her husband, dismissing, on jurisdictional grounds, a complaint by her brother, also of Washington State, who sued them alleging they stole funds from their mother’s life insurance policy that were intended for him. The self-represented brother fails to support his allegation that his sister and brother-in-law are residents of Louisiana, after they presented documentation to the contrary, including their Washington State driver’s license and the brother-in-law’s concealed pistol permit. The litigating brother’s response, that their deceased mother was “domiciled” in Slidell, Louisiana, is irrelevant. The suit is dismissed for a lack of diverse citizenship among litigants, required for federal jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv265, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Insurance, Jurisdiction
J. Vance grants a request by a state regulatory board and a trade group of car and truck dealers, dismissing an anti-trust suit by electric car maker Tesla alleging that they violated federal antitrust laws by conspiring to exclude Tesla from operating in Louisiana. Tesla repeatedly points out that many of the commissioners are members of the trade group representing some 350 car and truck dealers across the state. “But federal courts across the country have concluded that “[m]ere membership in associations is not enough to establish participation in a conspiracy with other members of those associations.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv2982, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Commerce, Government
J. Vance grants summary judgment to an insurance company, ruling against the owner of an office building destroyed by fire on the policyholder’s denial-of-coverage complaint. To the extent the insured argues that its policy required the building owner “only to attempt to maintain a centrally monitored, automatic fire alarm,” that argument is foreclosed by Fifth Circuit precedent governing a similar insurance policy provision that required the insured to maintain a fire suppression system “in complete working order” throughout the term of the insurance policy.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv736, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Discovery
J. Vance dismisses a State pretrial detainee’s civil rights claims against the Jefferson Parish Sheriff as “frivolous” and without merit. The ruling also adopts the findings of a magistrate judge’s report, allowing the detainee to proceed on claims that he couldn’t walk after three Kenner City police officers threw him on the ground and beat his ankles with “a long black stick.” The defendant’s excessive force complaint is stayed, pending resolution of criminal charges he slashed a woman’s face with a razor.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vance, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv197, NOS: Prison Condition - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Constitution, Police Misconduct, Prisoners' Rights