General Litigation

Subscribe to General Litigation via RSS

Most commercial leases for multi-tenant properties contain clauses which regulate the tenants’ use of the leased premises. Many tenants will require a landlord to grant the tenant the exclusive right to operate a certain business or sell a certain product to avoid competing with other tenants. These provisions are appropriately referred to as exclusive use clauses. For the landlord to satisfy its obligations under an exclusive use clause of one lease, the landlord is required to incorporate provisions in its other leases prohibiting the other tenants from using the leased premises for the restricted purpose. These clauses are commonly referred to as prohibited use clauses.
Continue Reading COMMERCIAL LEASES: EXCLUSIVE AND PROHIBITED USE CLAUSES

During a presentation at the Defense Research Institute’s Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Seminar in New Orleans on Friday March 9, 2007, Dr. Pamela Williams of ChemRisk, Inc. indicated that she was preparing to publish a study on the potential for exposure to benzene from products containing trace (less than 0.1%) levels of benzene. Her study will likely conclude that measured airborne concentrations of benzene during the handling or use of petroleum-derived products in the United States have typically not exceeded workplace standards since at least the early 1980’s. The Williams’ study will also likely conclude that indoor air modeling shows that workplace exposures are likely to be minimal during the application of products containing trace levels of benzene. Finally, the Williams study will likely conclude that petroleum-derived products containing trace levels of benzene are not expected to produce 8-hour TWA airborne concentrations that exceed current regulatory standards under typical product use scenarios.
Continue Reading New Trace Benzene Study To Be Published

Much of the time of a construction lawyer is spent assisting clients in finding solutions to the many problems that befall the typical construction project. These problems range from simple contract preparation and negotiation to the more fact-intensive work of constructive defect litigation, surety claims, liens, and payment issues. Each construction project, no matter how…

A case now pending in federal court in New Orleans may have an important impact on potential claims against the federal government for coastal land loss in Louisiana.

Judge Duval has set the claims of numerous plaintiffs against the Army Corps of Engineers for trial beginning September 8, 2008. Plaintiffs contend the Corps contributed to flooding of their property in St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.Continue Reading Claims Against Corps of Engineers Set For Trial

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