Articles Posted in Civil Matter

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On television, legal cases are almost always decided by a dramatically discovered fact or through emotional testimony. In reality, many cases are decided by court rules or procedural technicalities. This might be true even if the substantive legal arguments would produce a different result. Such a scenario is demonstrated by the case of Pickett v. International Paper Company, a workplace asbestos exposure case involving both Webster and Morehouse Parishes.

Two procedural rules were at issue in the Pickett case. One of these was venue. In legal terminology, venue refers to the location of the proper legal location in which a case should be filed – in other words, the court in the proper parish. Under Louisiana’s rules of civil procedure, proper venue is typically determined by where an alleged defendant lives, is located, or conducts business (LSA-C.C.P. art. 41). That rule embodies an aspect of fairness to the party who must defend itself against a claim of wrongdoing. If there are jointly responsible defendants, the venue rule need only be satisfied as to one of them. If a defendant is a business or corporation that does not have an actual place of business in the state, a plaintiff may file suit in the parish where the plaintiff lives (LSA-C.C.P art. 42).

The second rule that helped determine the outcome of the Pickett case was presciption. Under Louisiana law, an injured party has one year from the date the injury was sustained to file a lawsuit. That one-year limit is often called the prescriptive period. If not filed within one year, that particular claim is barred by the passage of time. In certain cases, the prescriptive period may be essentially paused. However, in most cases the one-year limit applies.

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For those struggling to visualize the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil leak being faced by Louisiana and other Gulf Coast residents, the Times-Picayune has released a helpful graphic depiction of the various elements involved in the matter.

Using information from the US Coast Guard, NOAA, BP and Transocean, Dan Swenson provides the following

We would encourage our readers to check out the full article accompanying the graphic as it outlines with great detail the situation in New Orleans, Venice and other areas in the Gulf Coast that are waiting anxiously to understand what fate will befall them in the face of this environmental disaster.

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Folsom Police responded to calls recently reporting an erratic driver on Highway 25. Unfortunately they were not able to get to the scene before the dangerous driving led to an accident. The driver at fault, Lesley Myers of Angie, was reportedly traveling south through Folsom at high speeds when his 1993 Pontiac Bonneville crashed into a horse trailer near the intersection of HIghway 25 and Broadway Street and then struck a northbound truck.

According to an article in the St. Tammany news, this was no ordinary traffic accident. In fact,

When the call came in, it was reported that Myers was in possession of a gun and that he was holding the firearm as he stood in the center of La. 25.

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In the predawn hours of an October 21, 1995, election day, Elizabeth Cazes arrived at a polling place on Antonio Road in West Baton Rouge where she was scheduled to work as election commissioner. She entered the building using a set of concrete steps at the front entrance of the building that were dimly lit by a single light bulb at approximately 5:20 a.m.

About a half hour later, Ms. Cazes came back outside to post an election sign. As she descended down the stairs, Cazes slipped and fell when she placed her foot on a cracked off portion of the bottom step. Cazes broke her fall with her right hand causing a severe fracture to her right wrist which required multiple surgeries and an external fixation device to be applied to her arm. Ms. Cazes filed suit against the Parish of West Baton Rouge (the “Parish) and the West Baton Rouge Parish Council (the “Council”), who were identified as the owners of the polling place. Cazes alleged that the stairs were defective and that the Parish and Council were strictly liable for her injuries. The trial court found for Cazes, and the Parish and Council appealed.

In an effort to make the voting process as pleasant as possible for all Louisiana citizens, state law requires that the owner of a polling place provide a “reasonably safe place for all voters and election commissioners expected to frequent the premises.” Burgess v. City of Shreveport, 471 So.2d 690, 693 (La. 1985). A polling place owner who allows his facility to fall into disrepair risks a legal claim from in injured voter under a theory of strict liability. Under this theory, an injured plaintiff is required to show: (1) the property which caused the injury was under the control of the defendant; (2) the property’s condition created an unreasonable risk of harm to persons on the premises; and (3) the defect in the property was a cause of the injury. See Oster v. Dept. of Transp. & Development, 582 So. 2d 1285 (La. 1991). When the polling place owner is the government, Louisiana law further requires the plaintiff to prove that the owner knew or should have known of the defect, and that it had a reasonable amount of time to repair the problem but did not do so. La. R.S. 9:2800.

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For those Louisiana residents, whether they live in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans, Mandeville, Lake Charles, Shreveport or Alexandria, that have questions dealing with Chinese Drywall, feel free to look at our Chinese drywall information section. This blog section focuses on the timeline of this toxic wallboard in America. Whether featuring Chinese drywall symptoms or Chinese drywall lawsuits, our posts hopefully will help people both in Louisiana and a variety of Gulf Coast states like Texas, Mississippi and Florida better understand this complex issue.

If you have any questions on the complex legal issues that exist with this matter, including “How do I know if I have Chinese drywall?” or “How to Identify Chinese drywall in your home?” feel free to contact our firm. It is important to take action as soon as possible in order to secure your legal rights. Click here to contact us today.

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The St. Mary’s Parish Council has recently voted unanimously to ban pit bulls within unincorporated areas of the parish.

As reported in Franklin’s Daily Iberian, the ordinancemakes it illegal to: 


own, possess, keep, exercise control over, maintain, harbor, transport or sell any pit bull…in the designated areas of St. Mary Parish. It also provides restrictions and stipulations to any owner currently owning the breed as of the bill’s starting date of July 1.

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Medical malpractice claims and recovery based on those claims are regulated by Louisiana statute. As such, the law places limits on the time an injured party has to file a claim. Once a claim is filed, the review process is subject to intermediate deadlines. As the following case demonstrates, a misstep in either the overall time limit or one of these intermediate points can be hazardous to a malpractice claim.

The case of Carter v. Ochsner Clinic Foundation, 978 So.2d 562 (La. Ct. App. 2008), involved a plaintiff, Janet Carter, whose mother died because of an improperly placed catheter. Ms. Carter sued both the doctor and the clinic involved in her mother’s treatment. Unfortunately for Ms. Carter, her attorneys’ work also proved to be a little sloppy.

Ms. Carter’s mother passed away on July 14, 2005. Under Louisiana law, a claim for a wrongful death resulting from medical malpractice must be filed within one year of the death (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:5628). Technically, the law requires a plaintiff to file a claim within one year of the malpractice or one year of discovering malpractice. However, the Louisiana courts have reasoned that when a person dies, the potential malpractice is readily evident. Thus, the statute of limitations begins to run on the date of death.

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Schools Tackle Prom Drinking Risk

Schools around the country attempt to confront the issue of student drunk driving, especially in the spring around prom season. One way to try to prevent teen drinking and driving is to talk to kids about the dangers while they are still young. Many high schools bring in a speaker, often a family member of someone killed by a drunk driver, or even a sorrowful drunk driver himself. There are also a variety of groups dedicated to educating young people about the dangers of alcohol and automobiles. Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and even student groups of Students Against Drunk Driving can help spread this message to students.

But a Baldwin high school, West St. Mary, located in St. Mary Parish, chose an even more attention-grabbing method. Instead of an assembly, the school involved students, Baldwin fire rescue workers, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s deputies, Louisiana State Troopers and even a hearse from a local funeral home to put together a mock car accident.

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When a person is injured by the poor or defective condition of public property (such as a cracked sidewalk or a pothole in the roadway), he or she may be able to recover from the municipality responsible for maintaining the property. Under Louisiana law, actions in against city governments for require the plaintiff to show the following: (1) the thing that caused the injury to the victim was under the city’s control; (2) the thing was defective due to a condition that created an unreasonable risk of harm to the victim; (3) the city had notice of the defect, yet did not take corrective action within a reasonable period of time; and (4) the defect was a cause in fact of the victim’s injury. LSA-R.S. 9:2800.

Ordinarily, the notice requirement means that someone must have reported the problem to the city (“actual notice”) or the defect must have existed long enough for it to have been discovered as part of the city’s regular maintenance operations (“constructive notice”). This is often a significant hurdle for injured victims, as dangerous conditions are frequently overlooked by the public and the victim generally has no information about whether the condition existed long enough that the city should have discovered the problem.

However, the law provides an alternative:

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Car accident claims often hinge on whether or not the defendant owed a duty to the injured party. If a duty was owed, it was breached, and the breach caused an injury, liability for negligence exists. However, if there was no duty, the claim is cut off.

The important question is then, when does a duty exist? Generally speaking, people and entities have a duty to act reasonably in every particular circumstance. Reasonableness can be difficult to define and it often depends on the relationship between the parties. For example, a taxi cab driver may have a duty to exercise more care in driving their fares than someone dropping a friend off at work. Sometimes state or federal laws and regulations help to define when a duty exists. If a party has violated a legally defined duty, bringing a successful negligence claim against them may be easier.

One such instance of a legally defined duty applies to those that operate commercial vehicles. According to Regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “extreme caution” must be taken when commercial vehicle drivers find themselves in treacherous road conditions.

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