51 results for 'judge:"Cain "'.
J. Cain dismisses a family's civil rights case against police officers who shot the decedent, a wanted suspect, 14 times in his brother's home. The officers saw a gun on the floor after their decedent had been shot in the wrist and tased, while video evidence shows the decedent reaching across his body with his left hand and pulling the object he has retrieved toward his midsection. A reasonable officer in these circumstances could have believed the decedent had retrieved the gun and determined lethal force to be necessary.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv249, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
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. 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
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Cain awards more than $2 million, including attorney fees, to a Louisiana church after finding that its insurer acted in bad faith in its adjustment of a hurricane damage claim. Most of the insurer���s expert's report is "not credible" and the court gives very little weight to her opinions and assessment of damages. It is ���incredible��� that the insurer���s expert would not be able to report the correct wind speeds for Hurricane Laura ���almost three years post-storm considering the abundance and ease of finding that information.���
Court: USDC Western District of Tennessee , Judge: Cain, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv4014, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Experts
J. Cain denies a request by an internet service provider to dismiss defamation counter-claims by a contracted telecommunications installer, arising from allegations that the installer performed poor work and failed to complete its job. The contractor���s claims lack sufficient factual allegations to establish a claim for defamation and interference with its business relationships. Because the case is in its ���infancy,��� the contractor will be allowed to amend its counterclaim to address deficiencies noted in the ruling.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv436, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Construction, Defamation, Business Expectancy
J. Cain denies summary judgment to an insurance company for a trucking company, finding the insurer has not provided sufficient evidence that the driver of a tractor-trailer was an independent contractor, thereby triggering the policy���s independent contractor exclusion. The driver was carrying a load of paper towels eastbound on Interstate-10 in Louisiana when a front tire blew out, causing him to lose control and cross into oncoming traffic in the westbound lanes striking a passenger vehicle.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 2:19cv1478, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Employment, Tort, Vehicle
J. Cain grants partial summary judgment to an insurance company in a breach of insurance contract by two southwestern Louisiana homeowners who allege their carrier���s payments for damages from Hurricane Laura in 2020, were inadequate and untimely. Specifically, the insurer seeks summary judgment on its argument that the insured may not recover repair costs in excess of the $72,292 for which they have submitted proof and may not rely on estimates to prove the amount of damages for any repairs that have been completed. The homeowners both testified, however, that certain repairs have yet to be addressed, including the garage, attic and kitchen. They have therefore created an issue of fact as to the completion status of repairs. They are limited to the costs reflected in their invoices for completed repairs but may rely on estimates for other work.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1381, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Experts
J. Cain rebukes the self-described ���leading insurer of religious organizations��� for its ���systemic failure��� to settle disputes with its insureds following a a non-jury trial, awarding a small-town church over $1.9 million for its ���grossly mishandled��� hurricane damages claim. The insurer ���failed to pay the church what was due under the policy, and every payment it made was untimely.��� The ruling excoriated CM for its ���repeated mishandling��� of claims and its failure to resolve claims in this district. The insurer settles the least number of cases precertification ��� only approximately 20%, compared to 80-100% of all cases settled by other carriers.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv2472, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Settlements, Damages
J. Hicks dismisses a demolition subcontractor's fraud counterclaim regarding a general contractor's breach of contract allegations for delayed progress. The subcontractor failed to plead sufficient facts to establish required elements of a fraud by silence or omission claim. The subcontract did not create any fiduciary duty in what "was a customary arm���s length business transaction." The subcontract specifically stated that the information provided was not guaranteed to be accurate, therefore the subcontractor's fraud by silence or omission claim, alleging that the general contractor should have known the actual conditions of "lead contaminated non-friable asbestos material," fails.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: 5:20cv471, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Fraud, Contract
J. Cain denies summary judgment to a nationwide employment agency, ruling in favor of a branch manager who sued her bosses for disability discrimination after she was fired shortly after her diagnosis of a headache disorder requiring treatment with three spinal taps. Her employer alleges she was terminated for poor performance. Given the short duration of the employee���s condition, the court is unable to determine that she was actually disabled. She may prevail based on pre-termination statements made by her employers. Her case fails if it is shown that her condition was "objectively transitory and minor."
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1621, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination, Labor
J. Cain grants the U.S. government���s motion to dismiss a neo-Nazi prison gang member���s million-dollar suit against a federal prison in Louisiana, arising from injuries sustained in a razor slashing attack by an inmate from a notorious Mexican gang, despite the litigant declaring his rival gang affiliation to a prison screening officer. The litigant-prison gang member fails to overcome the government���s assertion of immunity from liability.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1184, NOS: Federal Employers’ Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Government, Damages