48 results for 'judge:"Doughty"'.
J. Doughty grants unopposed requests by an insurance claims adjuster and an inspection company, dismissing negligence claims filed by a manufacturer of welding products. The manufacturer fails to plausibly allege either business owed it a duty under Louisiana law related to the hiring of the two companies for damage assessments after hurricane-driven rainfall allegedly damaged 10 welding machines. The manufacturer also does not allege any fraud or intentional misrepresentation against either company and does not oppose their dismissal from the suit.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1103, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property, Damages
J. Doughty grants a request by the former wife of a businessman whose two brothers and a national baby products manufacturer sued his former spouse for breach of contract and unjust enrichment related to the couple's alleged failure to reimburse to the Louisiana-based company a total of $1.7 million for unauthorized personal expenses on company credit cards. The two brothers and the baby products-maker have not made a clear showing of minimum contacts to the state sufficient to hale their brother's ex-wife into a Louisiana court. The former spouse says she is domiciled in Florida and she was never party to a contract in Louisiana.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv452, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to private operators of a Louisiana prison and two corrections officers sued for the wrongful death of a convicted felon who suffered a fatal asthma attack. Although deliberate indifference is an “extremely high standard to meet," prior to his death, “he had two asthma attacks” that prison guards “clearly ignored.” The seriousness of the inmate’s medical needs in this case “should not be called into question when the result of the incident his death.”
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv299, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Wrongful Death, Prisoners' Rights
J. Doughty denies a request by a parish governing body to dismiss claims of vicarious liability for deliberate indifference to the medical needs of a pre-trial detainee, a former California resident who was moving cross-country in a U-Haul truck with a hired helper when the two men were arrested and jailed on narcotics allegations that were later dismissed. After a jail nurse recorded a high blood pressure rate requiring hospitalization, the litigant requested medical attention; however, he was allegedly strip-searched and placed in a holding cell for hours and ignored. The day of his release from jail, he allegedly collapsed in a hotel hallway from a stroke.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv899, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to three natural gas pipeline companies on their argument they are statutory employers under Louisiana law and, therefore, immune from a Texas-based contract worker’s personal injuries claims arising from his fall from a catwalk collapse. She did not have personal or corporate knowledge of the trio’s legal relationship and control of the injured worker at the time of her testimony. Therefore, her testimony will not be considered. The pipeline companies are unable to prove they are statutory employers barred from the worker’s suit under Louisiana law.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv328, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Evidence, Tort
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J. Doughty grants a request by presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a preliminary injunction barring the Biden Administration from violating the candidate’s constitutional right to free speech by discouraging social media platforms from publishing his anti-Covid-19 vaccine messages. Kennedy and other litigants have produced evidence of “a massive effort by the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content.” The administration argues it was trying to protect the public health by discouraging Kennedy and others from spreading disinformation.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Doughty, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv381, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Government, Covid-19
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to an insurer on its argument that a criminal act exclusion provision of its law enforcement coverage policy precludes its payment of a $421,000 judgment against a sheriff's office after a jury found a deputy liable for failing to stop a fellow officer from striking an detainee. The deputy was not found to have committed a criminal act and, therefore, has no connection his fellow officer’s state law criminal charge.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv866, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Insurance, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty grants summary judgment to an online delivery-service platform, dismissing claims in a class action that the company did not act in good faith when it offered new contract terms to certain restaurants. The service did not force the litigant-restaurants to sign a new contract with the higher rate. Instead, it offered the restaurants three new options, to which they could have opted out, but voluntarily decided to continue using. Although a higher rate is inconvenient, in this case, it is still below the industry standard and would not cause substantial hardship or detriment to the litigating restaurants.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 2:19cv552, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Class Action, Contract
J. Doughty grants a request by the state, dismissing Title VII claims for damages by a white former police captain who alleges he was forced to resign by the agency's black superintendent after declaring he purge the district he commanded of “racist policing." Specifically, the ex-captain alleges the superintendent engaged in acts calculated to force his resignation including re-assigning him to a "career-ending position," authorizing internal affairs investigations of time-barred allegations, having him placed under surveillance and allowing leaks about the internal probes that falsely portrayed him as racist. The white ex-trooper's allegations are “indeed concerning” but he has failed to sufficiently allege facts showing he was compelled to resign.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: January 25, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv453, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Damages, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty finds for a Louisiana sheriff’s insurance plan and against the program’s surplus line insurance company. The company provided no evidence the sheriff’s plan failed to properly notify it of an indemnity claim for a $421,000 judgment in favor of an arrestee who was knocked unconscious by a deputy. Because the policy’s notification provisions are ambiguous, the meaning that provides coverage must be employed and the sheriff's plan provided notice in accordance with its insurers policy.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv886, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Indemnification, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty grants a general contractor’s request and dismisses a shopping center’s breach of contract claim, arising from a contract dispute over $586,000 worth of storm-related roofing repairs. The shopping plaza is ordered to amend its complaint to address deficiencies in a related fraud claim against the roofer. It is self-evident that anything the plaza could get by prevailing on a declaratory judgment claim could not be obtained via the breach of contract claim. Furthermore, there is a likelihood of overlap between its declaratory judgment and fraud claims.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv1191, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Fraud, Contract
J. Doughty denies a request by an international helicopter manufacturer to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction product liability and injury claims by a pilot allegedly forced to land his aircraft in a field during a crop dusting operation. The ruling rejects the chopper-maker's argument it has insufficient contacts with Louisiana to merit jurisdiction. Louisiana has a great interest in adjudicating the case because of the high rate of helicopter use for crop dusting and offshore work. Further, all states have a shared interest in having the jurisdiction to hold corporations accountable when their products cause harm to consumers, and the corporations' contacts with the state are sufficiently like the helicopter-maker's contacts with Louisiana.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 6:22cv6055, NOS: Tort Product Liability - Real Property, Categories: Corporations, Product Liability, Jurisdiction
J. Doughty grants a request by two insurers to dismiss all claims by a Louisiana couple arising from unspecified damages to their home. The litigants are not named insureds, additional insureds, or third-party beneficiaries under the policy; therefore, they lack standing to enforce the insurance contract. Furthermore, because they have not sufficiently alleged the breach of contract claim, their bad faith claim also fails.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: 6:23cv803, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Contract
J. Doughty grants summary judgment to a city police chief and dismisses due process claims by a detective fired for repeatedly lying during an internal probe into whether he intentionally delayed reporting a police brutality criminal investigation to influence the outcome of the city mayoral election. The fired detective cannot establish any acts by the police chief that can be classified as arbitrary and capricious, and, therefore, his due process claim is dismissed.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv828, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Due Process, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty denies a request by the Postmaster General to dismiss a claim by a white female employee that she was fired in retaliation for filing a race-based discrimination complaint with the E.E.O.C. Although the local postmaster has clearly articulated legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for termination of the 26-year postal veteran from a temporary position related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be inferred from the “slightly ambiguous” record that her termination and the filing of her E.E.O.C. complaint were within a few days of each other. Therefore, a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding the retaliation claim.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv3882, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Covid-19, Employment Retaliation
J. Doughty finds that the wife fails to prove that her estranged husband, now deceased, intended his purchase of a Rolls Royce to be a gift or donation to her. The Rolls Royce, purchased for $315,000, largely remained at the husband's house and he insured it in both his name and his wife's name, which suggests he intended to maintain a form of possession over the car. Witnesses also testified that the husband stated he was just letting his wife use the car and it was not hers.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv335, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Wills / Probate, Conversion, Contract
J. Doughty denies requests by a woman suing Walmart for a trip-and-fall to exclude as highly prejudicial and irrelevant, evidence of prior or subsequent accidents like the incident at the chain store. The ruling agrees with Walmart’s argument that such evidence is “wholly relevant” in determining damages. The woman and her husband were involved in a car accident nearly one year after the slip and fall incident. That suit is currently pending in state court. Both suits are for personal injury claims for several related injuries, such as cognitive issues, depression and pain in the limbs.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv50, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Health Care
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to a seaman seeking to dismiss a vessel owner’s limit on his accidental injury claims to the vessel’s market value of $500,000 after the accident. Based on the evidence submitted, the ruling cannot conclude that the seaman communicated to the vessel owner that his damages could exceed $500,000 without an exhaustive quantum analysis, especially a damage model that evolves over time given the progression of the seaman’s medical treatment.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv2354, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Maritime, Tort, Damages
J. Doughty grants a request by a Louisiana sheriff, finding a woman’s request for $107,354 in attorney fees — atop a $10,000 settlement judgment in her favor for her arrest without probable cause — was “unreasonably excessive.” The award against the Sheriff is slashed to $35,696, with a private law firm receiving $31,275 and the ACLU receiving $4,421. The woman was arrested outside the sheriff’s office after she unsuccessfully attempted to file a police misconduct complaint. She videotaped her verbal altercations with deputies until one seized her phone.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv5205, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Attorney Fees, Police Misconduct
J. Doughty denies a pretrial request by a baby products manufacturer that its competitor should be precluded from introducing any expert testimony or opinions beyond the scope of the expert reports already submitted for trial of the competitor’s patent infringement suit. A litigant may object at trial to any expert testimony or opinions it deems is beyond the scope of the expert’s report or outside the scope of the expert’s deposition. However, the baby products makers must be judicious in making such objections. The trial court will subtract any time spent resolving unfounded objections from the trial time allocated to the litigant that presents or prolongs an unfounded objection.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 3:17cv821, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Jury, Patent, Experts
J. Doughty finds in favor of the developer, manufacturer and seller of a medical device used as an alternative to open heart surgery, dismissing sex discrimination and hostile workplace claims by a fired manager. The employer has met his burden of proving a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for terminating the manager’s employment.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv4022, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Doughty denies a request by three car passengers who survived a collision with a tractor-trailer to stay an order depositing a policy limit $3 million from the trucking company's insurance company into a court registry pending resolution of claims against the company and its truck driver. The trucking company and its insurer successfully requested the deposit of the insurance proceeds, according to the rules of civil procedure. Halting deposit of the funds would be improper. Legal custody of the separately represented two minor children of the deceased car driver remains in dispute. The ruling resolves the insurer’s liability regarding the $3 million of its policy, it does not resolve further potential liability incurred by the trucking company and its operator. The ruling adopts the recommendations of a magistrate judge's report.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv529, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure, Insurance, Damages
J. Doughty denies a request by a baby products manufacturer to dismiss allegedly misleading photographs of a “tear-free” shampoo rinse pail submitted by a rival inventor in support of his patent infringement suit. The manufacturer unsuccessfully argues that the inventor’s “misleading” photographs of the baby pail along with his “sham affidavit” is part of his effort to make new patent claim construction arguments to support his lawsuit. The court is “very familiar with this product and there is no possibility” that the judge can be misled by the photographs, which were compared with the actual baby buckets at issue in the case.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 3:17cv82, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Jury, Patent, Discovery
J. Doughty grants a pre-trial request by the biological child of a Louisiana resident, finding the state’s “Dead Man Statute” bars her stepmother from introducing text messages and oral conversations with her father regarding a $315,000 Rolls Royce Phantom he allegedly gave to his wife one week before he died. The stepmother unsuccessfully argues that the statute’s hearsay prohibition does not apply to her suit against the stepdaughter for posthumous conversion of the luxury car to cash. The stepmother failed to comply with certain procedural requirements that would allow her to introduce the documents and a video as evidence of her ownership. Further, applying the Dead Man’s Statute to the conversion suit would encourage other litigants to “forum shop.”
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv335, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Conversion, Contract