The Supreme Court of Louisiana’s recent decision in Rismiller v. Gemini Ins. Co., 2020-0313 (La. 12/11/20), will impact all stages of civil litigation. In Rismiller, the Court held that, like biological and adopted children, children who have been given in adoption fall within the enumerated class of beneficiaries who may bring a wrongful
General Litigation
New Jersey Maintains “Unavailability” Exception to Allocation of General Liability Coverage in Asbestos Cases – Could Impact Coverage for Asbestos Claims in Louisiana
In asbestos-related injury claims, some states, including Louisiana, base an insurer’s liability for defense and indemnity on the amount of time an insurer is “on the risk.” For instance, if a claimant was exposed to asbestos for a ten year period and the insurer issued policies covering five of those ten years, the insurer is…
Fifth Circuit Reaffirms Difficult Burden of Proving Contra Non Valentem
In Griffin v. Hess Corporation, 2017 WL 5125657 (5th Cir. Nov. 3, 2017) (unpublished) the U.S. 5th Circuit reaffirmed the difficult burden of proving that prescription should be excused under the Louisiana jurisprudential exception of contra non valentem non currit preaescriptio. Contra non valentem “means that prescription does not run against a person…
Court Denies Temporary Restraining Order to Halt Construction of Bayou Bridge Pipeline
After contesting the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, environmental advocacy groups have turned their attention to the proposed Bayou Bridge pipeline in South Louisiana. The Bayou Bridge pipeline is a 162-mile-long, 24-inch-wide proposed pipeline which will cross the Atchafalaya Basin to connect facilities in Lake Charles, Louisiana to crude oil refineries in St. James…
5th Circuit Provides Bright-line Rule for 30-day Removal Clock After Receipt of Deposition Transcript
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “adopt[ed] a bright-line rule [on January 11, 2018]: Section 1446(b)(3)’s removal clock begins ticking upon receipt of the deposition transcript” as opposed to running from the date of the deposition testimony. The decision in Morgan v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc., et al, No. 17-30523, __ F.3d __ (5th…
Fifth Circuit Provides Guidance on Removability of Mass Actions under CAFA
On January 9, 2018, a split panel of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order from the district court, denying a motion to remand a matter removed under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”). The 2-1 decision In Warren Lester, et. al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et. al., No. 14-31383,…
Injured Plaintiffs’ Recovery of Imaginary Medical Costs
In Louisiana, the collateral source rule mandates that a tort plaintiff be awarded the full value of his medical expenses against the tortfeasor, including any amounts written off by the provider, when that plaintiff paid some “consideration” (money) for the benefit of the written-off amount. In other words, even though a person may have health…
On First Impression, U.S. 5th Circuit Recognizes its Jurisdiction to Review Summary Judgment Denials on Legal Issues Even After a Jury Trial
The US Fifth Circuit recently published an opinion in Feld Motor Sports, Inc. v. Traxxas, LP, recognizing that it had jurisdiction to review a district court’s denial of a motion for summary judgment on a legal issue. This ruling was the first of its kind in the 5th Circuit, who now joins the 1st,…
United States Supreme Court Reverses California Supreme Court Decision that Extended the Jurisdictional Reach of State Courts
The United States Supreme Court recently issued an opinion which significantly limits the ability of a state court to assert personal jurisdiction over non-resident defendants. This ruling is hardly a surprise and is consistent with the Court’s recent decisions in BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell, 137 S. Ct. 1549 (2017) which reaffirmed the court’s…
A How-To Guide for Determining Whether a Contract is Maritime
In the recent U.S. Fifth Circuit case of In re Larry Doiron, Inc., 849 F.3d 602 (5th Cir. 2017), the Court considered an often pivotal question in many offshore personal injury cases: is the contract governing the relationship of the parties a maritime contract?
While this issue is not new to the offshore oil…