25 results for 'judge:"Vitter"'.
J. Vitter finds for a two-member limited liability corporation in Louisiana, holding two Texas-based LLCs jointly liable for the outstanding balance of a $4 million loan. Although the obligation was vested to one LLC by operation of a merger, the original borrower-LLC was never released from its obligation under the promissory note. Furthermore, while the original borrower validly allocated its obligation under the promissory note to the other Texas LLC in the merger, thereby making it the primary obligor of the note under Texas law, nothing in Texas law supports that original borrowing LLC extinguished all liability via the merger.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1707, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Corporations, Banking / Lending, Contract
J. Vitter grants summary judgment to a transportation company involved in moving large steel containers by truck, rail and ship, finding a truck driver has failed to present proof the company played a role in loading a container that caused the operator’s truck to tip over, resulting in his injuries.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv797, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Evidence, Discovery
J. Vitter grants a request by two domestic insurers and two foreign insurers who jointly provide a surplus lines policy, staying a failure-to-cover suit filed by an apartment complex owner pending arbitration of claims related to fire damage. Although the owner does not dispute his policy’s arbitration provision regarding the foreign insurers, he argues state law prohibits arbitration clauses as to domestic insurers. However, the state law he cites does not apply to surplus line policies.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv7066, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Insurance, Contract
J. Vitter grants a request by a driver suing a sheriff's department, excluding the testimony of a veteran narcotics officer with “expertise in olfactory science” who claims a deputy could smell marijuana coming from the litigant’s car because the drug has an unmistakable odor that “becomes part of the user’s life.” None of the the opinions by the expert meet federal standards for reliability and relevancy, as his opinions do not assist the trier of fact and are not the product of reliable principles and methods. “No expertise is needed to understand that the opening and closing of a car door may allow odors contained within the vehicle to escape.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1275, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Police Misconduct
J. Vitter denies a request by the owner of an offshore oilfield platform to exclude the testimony of an injured worker’s liability expert because his opinions are allegedly based on insufficient facts or data. The expert’s testimony will help determine the facts in dispute at the non-jury trial. "It is the role of the adversarial system, not the court, to highlight weak evidence."
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1222, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Maritime, Experts
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Vitter denies summary judgment to the owner of an offshore production platform on the argument it is not responsible for injuries a rig worker allegedly sustained on a chartered supply vessel carrying him to an oil platform. Two site leaders on the platform at the time of the incident testified that the rig owner has control over both the timing and the means by which a crew change occurs.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv122, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Employment, Maritime, Tort
J. Vitter grants a request by a bank to dismiss a landscaping business’ complaint the creditor did not timely process its application for a federally guaranteed pandemic recovery loan in 2021 before the Small Business Administration ran out of funds. The ruling agrees with the bank’s assertion the business disingenuously refused to admit it earned far more than the loan program’s maximum of $1 million in gross revenues required to qualify for a 30-day notification by the bank, information the business concealed by redaction from its lawsuit. "The [c]ourt will not tolerate such gamesmanship."
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1324, NOS: Banks and Banking - Other Suits, Categories: Evidence, Business Practices, Covid-19
J. Vitter grants summary judgment to a minority-owner of a joint venture of general contractors formed to obtain construction work on prison buildings in New Orleans, dismissing the majority-owner's demands for a total of $6 million in capital contributions it made on behalf of its estranged minority partner. The ruling finds the joint venture agreement requires an executive committee's approval of the need for capital contributions to bind the two contractors and partners. The language of the joint venture agreement makes it clear the minority partner is not in default of the contract since the executive committee did not unanimously approve the majority partner’s capital contribution.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv5323, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Evidence, Government
J. Vitter denies a request by a motorist arrested on marijuana and weapons charges to overrule a magistrate judge’s decision in a discovery dispute in his civil rights case against a deputy and sheriff. His request for an order requiring the sheriff's office to turn over 255 reports is disproportionate to the needs of the case; the sheriff need only turn over 84 of the requested records. The motorist, whose charges were resolved by pretrial diversion, has not provided evidence to support his accusations the sheriff's office is deliberately withholding documents.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1275, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Discovery, Police Misconduct
J. Vitter grants summary judgment to a sheriff, dismissing the wrongful death and excessive force claims brought by the sister of a transgender inmate who alleges he died in custody after being beaten in his cell by deputies. There is no evidence to support her allegations the deputies used force on or before his death. The undisputed evidence, contained in the autopsy report, shows that the inmate died of natural causes, specifically a Covid-19 infection. The autopsy further states that there was no evidence of trauma.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 22cv3734, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Wrongful Death
J. Vitter denies an insurer's request to dismiss a policyholder’s coverage claims on grounds he failed to add two additional named insureds to his suit. The insurer “appears to misunderstand” the rules of civil procedure it alleges its insured is violating. The failure to add a person deemed a required litigant to the suit does not mandate the dismissal of the entire action; rather, the proper remedy in such a scenario is for an order that the “absent-yet-required" person be made a litigant in the case.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv6331, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Insurance, Damages
J. Vitter denies a request by a Baton Rouge-based land and real estate services corporation whose name includes the legally protectable word “Rampart” for a court order barring a New Orleans property management company from using the same word due to the likelihood of public confusion. The litigant-corporation's evidence of actual confusion consists of a FedEx driver’s conflation of its office with that of the New Orleans company and seven phone calls received by the corporation at its Baton Rouge office. The corporation fails to meet the evidentiary burden for the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv6895, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Corporations, Patent, Trademark
J. Vitter denies summary judgment to university's board of supervisors, refusing to dismiss allegations it knew a college football player had physically harassed one female student before a second woman alleged he punched her so hard in the stomach he fractured her ribs. The two women have raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether the board exercised substantial control over the football player, who was ultimately expelled following his arrest for beating the woman and repeatedly disobeying court orders.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Vitter, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv242, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Evidence, Assault
J. Vitter grants a Texas-based corporation’s motion to dismiss, for lack of jurisdiction, a breach of contract suit filed by a Louisiana businessowner who alleges he paid $55,000 for services to his web-based Amazon ecommerce store. The Texas business’s limited contacts with Louisiana do not satisfy jurisdictional requirements. The contractual dispute is ordered to arbitration as requested by the Texas corporation.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv3847, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Vitter denies a request by a mortgage lender to dismiss breach of contract claims brought by a mortgage note holder related to a default on a $292,027 mortgage loan and the resulting foreclosure of a New Orleans property. Because the litigants incorporated federal housing regulations into both the mortgage and the note, the note holder has stated a plausible breach of contract claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1594, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Housing, Foreclosure, Contract
J. Vitter denies a request by a construction company to dismiss claims of breaches by its estranged partner in a joint venture to obtain a public contract for a prison building project in New Orleans worth more than $144.9 million dollars. The former business partner has not met its burden of proving that the construction company’s legal claims have expired. The loans at issue in the suit are sufficiently intertwined with and dependent upon the underlying joint venture agreement such that the ruling finds that the litigation is one for breach of their agreement and not an “action on money lent.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv5323, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Government, Contract
J. Vitter denies a request by an onshore physician to dismiss, on jurisdictional grounds, the medical malpractice claims against by the employer of a seaman on an offshore vessel who alleges that the doctor’s communications with an onboard medic resulted in a misdiagnosis and delay in treatment for a stroke. The activity giving rise to the seaman’s injuries has a sufficient connection to traditional maritime activity to support the exercise of the court’s admiralty tort jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1348, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Admiralty, Health Care, Jurisdiction
J. Vitter denies summary judgment to an oilfield company on its argument that the employer of a seaman who fell ill aboard its offshore diving support vessel is contractually required to indemnify and defend it against his claim that a shipboard medic misdiagnosed him with seasickness when a hospital determined that he actually suffered a stroke. The vessel owner points to no evidence the seaman’s employer failed to purchase appropriate insurance as required under their agreements.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1348, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Maritime, Indemnification
J. Vitter grants a request by a foreign insurer to arbitrate bad faith claims by its insured alleging that the insurer paid only $1.7 million of its $3.7 million in estimated damages from Hurricane Ida in 2021, and 158 days after an inspection by the insurer’s adjuster. The property owner argues its bad faith claims against the London-based insurer falls outside the arbitration clause of international law. The substance of the insured’s bad faith claims arises from alleged failures of the insurers to adequately adjust, investigate and pay the claims. The property owner’s pending litigation is stayed while an arbitration tribunal determines whether penalties and fees are warranted under Louisiana law.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4426, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Arbitration, Insurance, International Law
J. Vitter declines to dismiss, on jurisdictional grounds, an engineering company’s lawsuit against the general contractor on a $144.9 million jail construction project for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. The engineering outfit alleges that the contractor improperly enriched itself by secretly settling a contract dispute with the Sheriff’s taxing district for a payment of $2.7 million. The contractor unsuccessfully argued that the joint venture should be added to the suit. The ruling disagrees. The estranged partners can adequately represent the interests of the joint venture in the contracts case.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv5323, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Settlements, Partnerships
J. Vitter denies summary judgment to a company that owns an offshore diving vessel on its argument that it cannot be held vicariously liable by its seafaring employee for a shipboard medic who allegedly misdiagnosed the seaman as seasick, three days before a hospital found he suffered a stroke. His employer unsuccessfully argued that because the medic was an independent contractor and the company had relinquished all control over his work, there can be no implication of vicarious liability. The ruling holds the vessel owner had a “non-delegable duty to provide prompt and adequate medical care to its seamen.”
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: July 11, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1348, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Employment, Health Care, Maritime
J. Vance denies summary judgment to the sheriff of Jefferson Parish on his request to dismiss wrongful death claims against his office, arising from his deputies’ restraint of a youth with autism. A reasonable jury could conclude that the sheriff’s office’s training policies are inadequate regarding the use of force or restraint on individuals with intellectual disabilities, including autism.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv80, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Health Care, Police Misconduct
J. Vitter denies summary judgment to the sheriff of Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans on his arguments that he cannot be held individually liable by the parents of an autistic teenager on wrongful death claims, arising from his suffocation by deputies outside of a laser tag game center. The sheriff says he cannot be liable because he was “not physically present” on the scene on the day of the youth’s death. However, the parents correctly point out that the Fifth Circuit has held that police supervisors can be held liable for failure to adopt policies and to supervise or train subordinates. The sheriff does not dispute that the autistic youth’s parents make multiple allegations in their 80-page complaint concerning his failure-to-train subordinates.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv80, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Discovery