In litigation, “discovery” is the legal procedure by which parties obtain evidence from other parties or non-parties. Examples of common discovery tools include depositions (a witness’s out-of-court testimony) or requests to produce documents or other things. In Louisiana, attorneys must sign discovery requests, responses, and objections to discovery requests. This…
Countless lawsuits are decided under the legal standard of summary judgment. Summary judgment occurs when lawyers request a court to decide whether there are enough facts in dispute to even proceed with a lawsuit. The party requesting summary judgment must show that there is simply no dispute of any material fact…
Being an employee aboard a ship in the Gulf of Mexico can be hard work, and it can also be dangerous work. For Mark Baldwin, who worked as a sandblaster and painter for Cleanblast, LLC, danger presented itself when he was assigned to the vessel Brody Paul and serviced oil…
Even a minor car accident can result in injuries causing pain and disability. Some injuries are more difficult to prove than others. When a personal injury lawsuit resulting from a car accident goes to trial, a jury often makes determinations as to the extent of the injuries and the credibility…
In litigating or defending against claims, timing and rule compliance matters. A failure to timely bring a claim can forfeit your right of recovery. A failure to comply with the time limits and requirements of discovery rules can have a similar effect. When parties fail to take steps to prosecute…
In Louisiana, you cannot “disinherit” your children. What does this mean exactly? It means that upon death, Louisiana law will allow a decedent’s children to share in his or her estate, even if the decedent left those children out as beneficiaries. The left-out children are called “forced heirs,” and will…
If your unlucky enough to slip and fall at a business the first person you would think about suing is the business itself. However, businesses today contract out many aspects of cleaning and other maintenance and in doing so also alleviate their responsibility for negligence on their property. The following…
Accidents happen, and sometimes it takes years before the effects of those accidents show up. So what happens in Louisiana if you are exposed to a toxic chemical and go through the traditional lawsuit process including resolving all of your claims but later develop cancer? Can you come back and…
It seems rare in insurance coverage litigation for a court to wholeheartedly agree with an insurer that the coverage requested is not in fact provided for in the contract for insurance. Yet, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit did just that, upholding a decision out of the…
A Luddite is a person who is opposed to technological innovation. A Luddite will refuse to learn about new technology and will not incorporate it into their skills, either at work or at home. Having this mindset has obvious drawbacks for workers in today’s world, but what happens to the…