In our prior post, we began our review of a wrongful death action that followed the tasering of Othello Pierre by two St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s deputies after he caused a disturbance at a Fourth of July party and attempted to flee the scene. We now examine the approach taken…
On July 4, 2008, Othello Pierre attended a party at his uncle’s house in St. Martin Parish. Pierre’s uncle called 911 when Pierre got into a violent argument with a cousin. Two deputies with the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Department responded. A third deputy and distant relative of Pierre was…
When a court award damages, the judges commonly look to whether or not that pain and suffering can be attributed to the defending party, the amount of time a victim suffered, and how much pain and suffering occurred. The cause is perhaps the most important aspect of whether or not…
Officers of the Court are expected to follow a specific level of professionalism and truthfulness that trumps any personal feelings they have on a case. One unfortunate case highlighted today involves the dissolution of a 22-year marriage and the unfortunate deceitful behavior of the husband and his attorney. Unbeknownst to…
In 2005, a New Orleans detective investigated a case regarding a robbery and shooting at a local meat market. An armed assailant was seen fleeing the scene of an attempted murder. After investigation and contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a man was arrested who was known simply as…
This post is a follow up regarding the worker’s compensation claims in a maritime case previously discussed in “Maritime Injury: The Jones Act.” The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also addressed the complicated worker’s compensation aspects of this case in addition to the rejection of the use of The Jones…
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit addressed an injury case that involved a crane mechanic who was injured on an offshore drilling rig. The man was injured when he fell through an uncovered ladder hole on the top portion of the crane cab which was about fourteen feet…
On September 9, 2008, George Alonzo visited the Safari Car Wash on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metarie. While exiting the restroom in the car wash’s waiting area, Alonzo fell and sustained injuries. In a lawsuit against the carwash, he alleged that he slipped in a puddle that had been caused…
It seems that in such a technologically dependent society, where digital information is everywhere, unauthorized access to computer databases (commonly referred to as “hacking”) is an all too common occurrence. However, as the recent Third Circuit decision in Reilly v. Ceridian Corp. illustrates, a company’s security breach that results in…
A sheriff candidate for Concordia Parish, James Whittington, sued his opponent, Sheriff Randy Maxwell, for malicious prosecution and violating both his Fourth Amendment and First Amendment rights. During the sheriff election campaign, Whittington ran several ads in the local newspaper including several that described misconduct that had allegedly taken place…