110 results for 'court:"USDC Middle District of Louisiana"'.
J. Dick grants, in part, a request by an insurer to deposit $325,000 in annuity proceeds into the court’s registry and be dismissed from the case on grounds it is a disinterested stakeholder. The insurer's requested $9,400 in attorney fees is reduced to $6,500, as the requested amount is excessive. The insurer will then be dismissed from the case.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv601, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Insurance, Attorney Fees
J. Bourgeois denies an insurer's request to compel a property owner to provide more than a one-word denial that it filed separate damage claims two to six months after Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana in 2021. If true, the insurer’s allegations of tardiness would contradict the property owner’s breach of contract suit alleging the insurer failed to pay the amount due within 30 days after receipt of satisfactory proof of loss, as required by state law. The property owner denied both of the insurer’s requests for admissions, and the denials are “sufficient even if they are false.” However, if the insurer ultimately proves the denied matter is true, the property owner may be subject to sanctions.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Bourgeois, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv820, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Damages, Discovery
J. Wilder-Doomes grants a request by an insurer of a 28-acre mixed-housing development, compelling a chemical manufacturer of a termiticide and mold spray to produce documentation related to its purchase of a product that it repackaged as “Mold-Care.” The manufacturer failed to satisfy its burden that it could properly withhold production of its “Master Repack Agreement” as confidential business information. The manufacturer is ordered to produce unredacted copies of the agreement to the insurer for its state-law product liability lawsuit against the Tennessee-based chemical company.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Wilder-Doomes, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv431, NOS: Property Damage Product Liability - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Property, Product Liability
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
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J. Johnson grants a request by a city-parish, compelling an alleged rape victim at a Louisiana college to supplement “vague” and “evasive” responses about her communications with an online “group chat” of women who allege they were sexually assaulted by the same predatory student at three universities. Because counsel for the litigant previously agreed to provide most of the information sought, the alleged rape victim must provide the Lafayette government with a privilege log, including a reason why certain information should be redacted.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv338, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Evidence, Discovery
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
J. Jackson grants a request by a Texas-based electrical contractor, finding its Louisiana competitor in civil contempt of a nearly two-year-old court order barring its use of allegedly stolen trade secrets obtained from the litigant’s former employees. The competitor claims it was “blindsided” by its employee’s deposition testimony that he used tools and programs from his ex-employers to build materials for his new bosses. The competitor “may not rely on its supposed ignorance” of its employees' activities to avoid a finding of contempt. The competitor must immediately cease using all replicas of the litigant-contractor's protected information.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv267, NOS: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - Property Rights, Categories: Employment, Sanctions, Trade Secrets
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. Jackson denies an offshore oilfield worker’s request for remand of his slip-n-fall some three miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The worker unsuccessfully argues removal of his suit from state court was improperly based on federal jurisdiction over the Outer Continental Shelf lands in the Gulf of Mexico. Although he argues he was off-duty when he fell, the worker would not have been injured “but-for” his employment on the platform, where the vessel was moored and engaged in oil and gas activities in federal waters.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv00250, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Maritime, Tort, Jurisdiction
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. DeGravelles grants a request by foreign and domestic insurers, ordering a stay of a nonprofit condominium owners’ suit for recovery of repairs for wind and hailstorm damage, pending arbitration of claims. The condo owners fail to support their argument the arbitration provision is unenforceable.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv279, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Damages, Contract
J. DeGravells denies a second request for summary judgment to Walmart, finding a shopper shows a genuine issue of material fact as to the store’s knowledge of a liquid in an aisle prior to her slip and fall accident. An employee-witness's contradictory statements, including whether the woman slipped on water or a reddish liquid resembling “congealed meat juice,” must be considered by a jury.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv488-, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Jury, Discovery
J. DeGravelles denies summary judgment to the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, finding a motorcyclist has adequately alleged the railroad failed to properly inspect a railroad crossing, resulting in his single-vehicle accident with injuries. According to regulations, the railroad must conduct an inspection of railroad track crossings once a month. In the motorcyclist’s case, the railroad’s own exhibits prove that on-foot inspections “never occurred.”
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv309, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Evidence, Jury, Transportation
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. Jackson denies a magistrate judge’s recommended amount of $84,000 in contractual damages for a prevailing contractor’s failure-to-perform judgment against a fabricator of countertops. The recommendation would put the prevailing litigant in “a better position” than it would have been if the counter-top maker had performed as promised. stead, the prevailing contractor is awarded $68,000 in contractual damages and $46,000 in attorney fees.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Papillion, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv781, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Damages, Attorney Fees, Contract
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. DeGravelles orders the state of Louisiana to pay intervenors in a black voting rights suit, including several voters and a candidate for a state Supreme Court seat, the amount of $36,000 in reasonable attorney fees. The intervenors prevailed in their request to lift a stay of all Louisiana Supreme Court elections, pending reapportionment. The black plaintiffs were not "the driving force" behind the opposition to lifting the stay; state officials were, notably the state Attorney General who has since been elected Governor of Louisiana, along with its Secretary of State, who did not seek reelection. Both officials were heavily involved in the litigation surrounding whether the stay order would be lifted, and thus should have
known the intervenors would request attorney fees.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv479, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, Attorney Fees
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. DeGravelles grants a request by an ophthalmology practice to dismiss a retina specialist’s fraud claim for lack of detail. The physician is given more time to address deficiencies in his complaint. His fraud claim is based on the practice’s alleged misrepresentation that the business was relatively debt-free during their contract negotiations. The doctor’s fraud claim may be reasserted on amounts he may be owed that are found in the discovery.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv3158, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Health Care, Discovery