Raymond Ward, who blogs at Appellate Law and Practice, an excellent overview of federal appellate decisions, offers free access to the materials he presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s "Bridging the Gap" seminar offered last week in New Orleans. The materials include a concise and eminently useful outline of appellate procedure here,…

A recent case out of Louisiana’s Fourth Circuit, Meyers v City of New Orleans, 2005-1142 (La.App. 4 Cir. 5/17/06) 932 So.2d 719, writ den., 2006-1530 (La. 9/29/06) — So.2d —-, 2006 WL 2820822, found that a “settled” lawsuit had abandoned before the settlement was completed, leaving the plaintiff with no case to settle.

Louisiana civil procedure generally provides that a lawsuit is “abandoned” if no party takes a step in the prosecution or defense of the case for a period of three years. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 561 and Clark v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,  2000-3010, p. 5-6 (La. 5/15/01); 785 So.2d 779, 784 (La.,2001). Acts in the prosecution or defense of the case sufficient to interrupt abandonment typically require some positive action by a party reflected in the Court’s records and directed toward defending or prosecuting the case on the merits. The abandonment is self-effectuating, meaning that it occurs without any need for action by the Court or a party, but a party is entitled to an Order recognizing the abandonment and dismissing the case.Continue Reading Abandonment of a “Settled” Case?

From Naked Ownership (hey, it’s a genuine Louisiana legal phrase), a law blog maintained by Al Robert, Jr., Ernest Svenson, Raymond Ward, and Todd Slack, comes this post on changes to the Uniform Rules governing Louisiana Courts of Appeal. A copy of the new rules can be viewed here. 

As e-discovery continues its relentless assault…

The Louisiana legislature amended Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:4207 to provide additional time delays in which judges must render a judgment in cases taken under advisement and rule on applications for a new trial, as well restrictions regarding the manner in which the judgment must be rendered.
Continue Reading Louisiana Legislature Sets Time Limits for Rulings on Cases Taken Under Advisement and Applications for New Trials

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – September 8, 2006 – Fifteen partners from Baton Rouge-based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman (Kean Miller) will be listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.). Published biennially since 1983, The Best Lawyers in America is widely regarded as an important referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. The list is compiled through an exhaustive peer-review survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate their professional peers.

The referral guide is subscribed to by more than 4,000 of the leading law firms in the U.S. and abroad, and by more than 1,000 of the world’s largest corporations. Because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, Best Lawyers is a reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals.Continue Reading FIFTEEN LOCAL LAWYERS RECOGNIZED AS “BEST IN AMERICA” – National Peer Review Directory Lists Fifteen Partners at Kean Miller Law Firm

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1916 no longer applies strictly to jury cases. House Bill No. 414, effective August 15, 2006, amended Article 1916 to apply to judge and jury trials, and to establish time delays for the preparation and execution of judgments, including contradictory motions, exceptions and compromise agreements. (Link to House Bill)

Former Article 1916 made a distinction between jury trials in which a general verdict was reached and those resulting in a special verdict. In the case of a general verdict, the judge was required to sign a judgment within three days of the verdict. For special verdicts, the judge was allowed unspecified time for deliberation, but was required to sign a judgment.

Amended and reenacted Article 1916 extends the three day rule for judges in jury trials and no longer makes a distinction between general and special verdicts. Regardless of the nature of the verdict rendered, judges must prepare and sign a judgment within ten days of the jury’s verdict. Alternatively, amended Article 1916 gives judges express authority to order counsel for a party to submit a judgment for signature by the court within ten days of the verdict.Continue Reading Louisiana Legislature Enacts New Rules on the Preparation and Execution of Judgments

Gordon D. Polozola was awarded the Michaelle Pitard Wynne Professionalism Award at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana State Bar Association. The award was given to Gordon for his commitment to upholding the quality and integrity of the legal profession and his consideration toward peers and the general public. The award is presented annually…

In-house attorneys and their outside counsel know that the discovery provisions in the current Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are out of touch with modern business practice in the age of electronic documents and data. The United States Supreme Court recently approved amendments to the Rules that will help bring the discovery rules regarding electronic data into the modern era. Absent Congressional action, these amendments will go into effect on December 1, 2006. This blog article summarizes the much-discussed “safe harbor” provision and other changes that should make life a little easier for corporate counsel who must balance the risk of litigation with the realities of modern business.
Continue Reading Electronic Evidence Update for In-House Counsel