45 results for 'court:"Louisiana Supreme Court"'.
[Consolidated.] J. Crichton finds that the Council of the City of New Orleans has the procedural capacity to sue to seek a declaration that the mayor has acted unlawfully in transferring assets that rightfully belong to the city to private parties regarding a 2020 modification of an agreement between the mayor and certain beneficiaries of a land trust. Under the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the council has the power to conduct investigations of “any office, department or board administering the affairs of the City.” Therefore, the council has a right to sue on the contention that the Law Department and the mayor are in direct conflict with the council, and that the suit is “necessary for the assertion or protection of the rights and interests of the city." Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Crichton, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 2023-C-01106, Categories: Civil Procedure, Government
[Consolidated.] J. Genovese finds that the statute that revives certain prescribed child sex abuse claims for a limited three-year period is in conflict with the due process protections in the state constitution. In this case, plaintiffs claimed that they were sexually molested by a Roman Catholic priest at various times between 1971 and 1979 when they were minors. Plaintiffs' prescribed causes of action cannot be retroactively applied because it would divest defendants of their vested right to plead prescription in violation of the state constitution. Reversed and vacated.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Genovese, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 2023-CC-01194, Categories: Constitution, Due Process
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court finds that the court of appeal should not have reversed defendant's conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated criminal damage to property, and illegal discharge of a firearm for shooting at a pickup truck containing law enforcement officers as they fled after conducting a "trash pull" narcotics investigation at defendant's home. The ambiguous references made to the officers conducting the trash pull as part of a narcotics investigation do not constitute impermissible references to other crimes under jurisprudence. Although the state improperly impeached defendant with the facts surrounding a prior conviction for interfering with a police officer, the error was harmless based on the testimonial and physical evidence showing defendant fired his weapon at a fleeing vehicle in the street. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 2023-K-00008, Categories: Evidence, Firearms
J. Griffin finds that an architect and contract administrator do not have a duty to protect an employee of a subcontractor from injury under the parties' construction contract. Under the clear and unambiguous language of the General Conditions and Design Agreement, the architect's “undertaking of periodic visits and observations by [Architect] or his associates shall not be construed as supervision of actual construction,” and the architect "will not be responsible for nor control the construction means, methods, safety precautions and programs.” Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Griffin, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 2023-C-00928, Categories: Construction, Negligence, Contract
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J. Hughes finds that the district court properly dismissed a third-party asbestos abatement company's Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act claim against a school after the school terminated its contract with the general contractor when finding asbestos fibers in the school. Although the abatement company could have stated a cause of action under contract law, there is no cause of action under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. In this case, the state is a customer acting in furtherance of its governmental function of maintaining school buildings in good repair and free
from health hazards. Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Hughes, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2023-CC-00794, Categories: Education, Evidence, Asbestos
J. Weimer finds that the district court should not have denied defendant's petition for post-conviction relief on his convictions for first degree murder. The state improperly suppressed exculpatory evidence when it did not disclose serology notes related to blood found on a jacket at the murder scene which do not match the DNA of the victims or defendant. Further, the state did not properly disclose that a jailhouse informant, who testified that defendant admitted to the crime, received special treatment regarding probation for his testimony. Reversed and vacated.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Weimer, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2021-KP-00812, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Griffin answers a certified question that prescription is interrupted when another suit that is commenced is sufficient to fully apprise a defendant of the nature of the claim of the plaintiff, and what is demanded of the defendant. Under statute, prescription is interrupted when a defendant knows what legal demands are made on him or her from the description in the petition. In this case, a former Alcohol and Tobacco Control employee claimed that he was fired in retaliation for submitting written complaints describing violations in his state suit before filing a complaint in federal district court asserting substantially similar facts.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Griffin, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2023-CQ-00257, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment, Employment Retaliation
J. Windhorst vacates the $10 million award in exemplary damages to a car driver who was injured in an accident with an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer truck. The statutory purpose of exemplary damages is to punish and deter and should be assessed on the truck driver's conduct instead of the
plaintiff’s injuries. In this case, the truck driver was driving impaired with a level of Xanax beyond the therapeutic range during the morning rush hour. However, the truck driver's financial situation is greatly disproportionate to the jury’s exemplary damage award. Based on the truck driver's financial situation, the amount of compensatory damages awarded to the car driver, and other exemplary damage awards, the $10 million exemplary damage award is excessive. Therefore, an award of $1.5 million dollars is sufficient to satisfy the objectives of an exemplary damage award. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Windhorst, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-CA-593, Categories: Evidence, Negligence
J. Weimer finds that the trial court should not have set aside defendant's conviction for domestic abuse battery involving strangulation based on the improper denial of a cause challenge of a juror. In this case, defendant did not contemporaneously object to the jurors during voir dire. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure art. 800(A), defendant is required to object contemporaneously in order to assign as error a ruling of a trial court refusing to sustain the challenge of a juror for cause. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Weimer, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2022-K-01824, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Jury, Battery
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court suspends attorney Albert A. Bensabat III from the practice of law for three years. Bensabat was arrested on DUI and careless operation of a vehicle charges, and pled guilty to DUI. Further, Bensabat admitted that he did not reconcile his trust account on at least a quarterly basis.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-B-00620, Categories: Contract, Attorney Discipline
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court suspends attorney J. Antonio Florence from the practice of law for a period of one year and one day. Florence neglected a legal matter, failed to address fee disputes in four matters, made false statements and provided false evidence to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel during an investigation, and was found in contempt of court for challenging a judge's authority during a hearing.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-B-00592, Categories: Contract, Attorney Discipline
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court suspends attorney Janeane Gorcyca Abbott from the practice of law for thirty days. In this case, Abbott neglected her client’s legal matter, failed to communicate with her client, and failed to inform her client that she had a potential malpractice claim for which she should seek independent counsel. Abbott also misled her client and made false statements to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel during its investigation.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-B-00852, Categories: Contract, Attorney Discipline
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court suspends attorney Tim Fields from the practice of law for three years. The record shows that Fields did not properly supervise his non-lawyer staff, resulting in the conversion of $4.2 million belonging to third parties. He intentionally continued to convert $1.8 million in third-party funds in order to pay older third-party debts, failed to maintain a trust account for several years, lied on his trust account disclosure statements that he did not handle client funds, allowed nonlawyers to sign trust account checks, charged clients for inappropriate office expenses, settled a client’s personal injury claim without the client’s knowledge or consent, and lied to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel during its investigation.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 2023-B-00343, Categories: Contract, Attorney Discipline
J. Griffin finds that the court of appeal should not have determined defrayment of operational and equipment expenses to be part of the city’s obligation to fund the Shreveport City Marshal’s operation and maintenance expenses. Statute only requires that the city fund the operation and maintenance expenses of the physical offices of the Marshal. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Griffin, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 2023-C-00182, Categories: Administrative Law, Municipal Law, Contract
J. McCallum finds the $10 million award for an employee's mesothelioma suit should be reduced to $5 million. An appellate court must consider relevant prior general damage awards as guidance in determining whether an award is an abuse of discretion. In this case, based on the evidence presented at trial regarding the employee's physical and mental suffering, the award of $10 million is "greatly disproportionate to the mass of past awards for truly similar injuries." Affirmed as amended.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: McCallum, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-C-00170, Categories: Evidence, Damages, Asbestos
[Consolidated.] J. Genovese finds that the trial court properly declared that the gross negligence standard of the statute should not be applied by a medical review panel when the medical treatment occurred during a declared state of public health emergency. Under the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, a medical review panel applies its medical knowledge to determine whether a health care provider upheld the medical standard. The standard of care applied by a medical review panel when giving their expert opinion is limited to their expertise relative to a medical standard of care, not a legal one. Since the medical review process is not a civil proceeding, the Louisiana Health Emergency Powers Act has no application in the medical review panel process. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Genovese, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-C-00483, Categories: Negligence, Medical Malpractice
J. Weimer finds that the court of appeal should not have increased a restaurant's percentage of fault for a trip and fall from 80 percent to 85 percent. In this case, the patron who suffered the trip and fall did not appeal or answer the appeal. Therefore, the 20 percent of fault allocated to him by the jury cannot be reduced. The evidence supports that the configuration of the tables, chairs, and fence camouflaged the ledge, and the restaurant had notice of the ledge and could have easily taken measures to reduce the danger of the ledge. Further, the patron was not engaging in risky behavior but was only attempting to sit across from his wife when the accident happened. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Weimer, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-C-00027, Categories: Evidence, Negligence
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court finds that the court of appeal should not have determined that there was insufficient evidence to support the delinquency adjudication of a juvenile for burglary involving a firearm and theft of a firearm. In this case, the state presented evidence that the tactical vest stolen from the deputy’s vehicle was found in the juvenile's attic, and screenshots from the juvenile's phone showed the rifle stolen from the deputy’s vehicle. There was also text message evidence sent twelve hours after the burglary where the juvenile was attempting to trade the rifle. Therefore, the state's evidence is sufficient to permit a reasonable inference that the juvenile was a principal in the commission of the delinquent acts. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2022-CK-01654, Categories: Evidence, Juvenile Law, Theft
J. Genovese finds that while the trial court should not have determined that the phrase "in any way interested in" in the statute was facially unconstitutionally overbroad, the phrase was unconstitutionally vague as applied to the chairman because it violated the chairman's federal and state constitutional right to due process. The Board of Ethics alleged Ethics Code violations against a Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority chairman whose real estate development firm was hired as a project consultant for a public housing project. Under Murtes, “no member of the legislature or officer of the executive department of the state shall be in any way interested in any contract" was determined to be so broad, general and vague as to fail to define the offense by this court. The phrase at issue prohibits no specific action by the chairman. Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Genovese, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-CA-00398, Categories: Evidence, Contract
J. Crain finds that Judge G. Michael Canaday violated the Code of Judicial Conduct when he engaged in improper ex parte communications and inappropriately granted a state motion to release documents from seal without holding a hearing related to a criminal defendant's indigency. Judge Canaday's conduct resulted in the defense strategy being revealed in a second-degree murder case and gave the impression of favoring prosecutors. Therefore, Judge Canaday is publicly censured.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Crain, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-O-00735, Categories: Civil Procedure, Judiciary
J. McCallum vacates the trial court's order to remit funds of $2.7 million into the court’s registry because it unconstitutionally intrudes upon the Parish School Board's delegated responsibility to appropriate funds under Crooks. The funds were collected through the enforcement of an ordinance titled "School Bus Safety Enforcement Program for Detecting Violations of Overtaking and Passing School Buses." Vacated in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: McCallum, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 2022-CC-01713, Categories: Constitution, Class Action
J. Griffin finds that the decedent's purported lost notarial testament is absolutely null. When an original notarial testament is lost, a duplicate testament can prove a valid will was executed. Under statute, a notarial testament must be signed by the testator on each page and at the end, accompanied by the signatures of the witnesses and notary on the attestation clause. In this case, the unsigned copy of the lost notarial testament and the narrative affidavits fail to meet the statutory requirements. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Griffin, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 2022-C-01763, Categories: Evidence, Wills / Probate
J. Crichton finds that Article 930.10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows the judicial branch to exercise the governor's power to pardon a final conviction, is unconstitutional. The statute permits a court to create a “post conviction plea agreement” for the purpose of “amending the petitioner’s conviction,” by overturning a defendant's final conviction, and then, accepting their guilty plea and imposing the agreed upon sentence. Article 930.10 allows a court to overturn a final conviction solely because a defendant and the district attorney jointly requested the court to do so, and this violates the doctrine of separation of powers. In this case, the district court should not have denied the Attorney General’s motion to vacate defendant's post-conviction plea agreement as unconstitutional. Further, the district court's decision overturning defendant’s second degree murder conviction is vacated. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Crichton, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 2022-KK-01827, Categories: Constitution, Judiciary, Murder
J. Crain finds that refusals to engage in illegal or environmentally damaging activities are "disclosures" under the Louisiana Environmental Whistleblower Statute and is a protected action. The statute was enacted pursuant to a constitutional mandate to protect the environment, and "disclosures" encompass a refusal to act. Further, the statute gives protection to an employee who reports to his supervisor an activity of the employer that he or she reasonably believes is in violation of an environmental law, even when reporting violations of environmental law is a part of his or her normal job responsibilities.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Crain, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 2023-CQ-00246, Categories: Employment, Environment, Contract