Articles Posted in Civil Matter

What happens if the trial court makes a mistake? The case can work its way through the court of appeals and even the state supreme court just to be sent back to trial court to begin again. This case involves a lawsuit filed in Louisiana court by a transportation company (“Star”) against another corporation (“Pilot”). Star is a national trucking company and Pilot owns a collection of truck stops that supply fuel to Star.

In 2014, the trial court decided to deny Pilot’s motion to dismiss the case for forum non conveniens, to grant Star’s motion in limine to exclude a certain promissory note from evidence, and to deny Pilot’s exception of prematurity and motion to stay proceedings pending arbitration. Forum non conveniens is a power the court can decide to use to dismiss a case where another court would be better suited to hear the case. A motion in limine is a motion filed by a party to a lawsuit which asks the court for an order or ruling limiting or prevent certain evidence from being presented in the case. Pilot appealed these decisions as well as applying for a supervisory writ challenging the rulings. A writ of supervisory control is issued to correct an erroneous ruling made by a lower court either when there is no appeal or when an appeal cannot provide adequate relief and the ruling will result in gross injustice.

In 2015 the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal denied Pilot’s writ application and Pilot sought a review of this decision in the Louisiana Supreme Court. The appeal was continued pending the decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court. The issue was then sent back to the court of appeals for an opinion.

Patricia Jolynn Paulsell-Lathrop (Ms. Paulsell) was injured in a motorcycle accident on June 13, 2005. She, consequently, needed extensive medical care. Her health insurance company covered some of the medical costs. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals- Medicaid Program (DHH) covered some additional costs. According to DHH, Ms. Paulsell received $69,131.92 in medical assistance payments from June 13, 2005 through December 8, 2008.

On December 11, 2008 Ms. Paulsell settled a lawsuit she had with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) seeking damages for her motorcycle injury.

Here is where it gets a little tricky- according to La.R.S. 46:446(B) DHH must be given notice within 30 days of any settlement stemming from an event that caused an injury requiring DHH assistance by any person who received DHH benefits; failing to provide notice of the settlement causes the benefits recipient to be responsible for total payments received.

Many people in Louisiana have been in a situation where they are striving to earn a promotion at work. Employers typically reward loyal, qualified employees in these circumstances, but sometimes there is more than one employee who may be right for the job. The ultimate choice may leave other employees feeling spurned or, in some situations, questioning if the decision was made for the wrong reasons.

This is where Brian Toval, a former employee of the Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, apparently found himself in 2011. Toval, who is black, had initially been hired as a medical technologist, but within three years he had risen to senior systems analyst in the hospital’s IT department. However, apparently all was not right, because in 2008 he expressed some complaints to his supervisors – both of whom were white – about some circumstances of his employment. It seems nothing ever came of those complaints, and then in 2010 Toval expressed interest in a soon-to-be-created project team lead position. He did not get promoted to that position. Instead, the position was filled by a white employee – without the position ever being announced or any interviews being conducted. Two days later, Toval filed a complaint with human resources, but the HR department ultimately determined that his complaint was unfounded. In the months that followed, Toval claimed that he experienced retaliation through humiliation, a heavy work load, and excessive scrutiny of his job performance. In June of 2011, Toval took medical leave to address mental health conditions, but before doing so he filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. His complaint to the EEOC claimed that he had been discriminated against in the promotion process due to his earlier complaints from 2008. While Toval was on medical leave he accepted employment elsewhere and resigned from the Children’s Hospital, but that did not stop him from taking legal action.

In September of 2013, Toval filed a lawsuit in federal court based on discrimination claims. However, the trial court granted the Children’s Hospital’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing all of Toval’s claims. The trial court reasoned that dismissal was appropriate for two reasons. First, the EEOC had not conducted a full investigation of Toval’s claims. Second, Toval was unable to rebut the hospital’s non-discriminatory reasons for why he had not been chosen for the promotion. Toval appealed the case to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Everyone likes to be paid what they think they are worth at their jobs. But, sometimes employers take actions that make employees question their value and question whether or not the employer has ulterior motives. That seems to have been the thought process for the former coach of LSU’s women’s tennis team, and he filed a lawsuit as a result.

The plaintiff, Anthony Minnis, was the first black head coach of any sports team in LSU’s history. He was hired in 1991, and by the end of his contract Minnis was earning a salary of $85,000. Throughout his tenure he had received multiple awards, despite the fact that the team he coached had only achieved a winning record in three seasons out of 20. And, in the final three years of his contract, the team had experienced three straight losing seasons. This did not stop Minnis from questioning his pay, to which LSU responded that his salary was based on the team’s performance and comparable salaries for other women’s tennis coaches in the Southeastern Conference. His performance reviews throughout his term of employment were mixed, and in 2008 Minnis had in fact received a written reprimand due to his job performance. His response to that reprimand was to accuse his immediate supervisor of being a racist, although he could not support that claim with any facts. Minnis’ employment situation with LSU seemingly came to a head in February of 2012, when he was said to have been involved in a serious incident that jeopardized the health and safety of a team member. In June of 2012, LSU announced that the school would not renew Minnis’ contract. His replacement was a white, female coach who was offered a salary of $115,000.

It did not take long for Minnis to take action. In November of 2012, he filed a lawsuit based on various state and federal claims, including claims of disparate pay, discrimination, a hostile work environment, and retaliation.  These claims included, Title VII, Title IX discrimination under state law.  About two years later, in October of 2014, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana granted LSU’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed all of Minnis’ claims. He appealed that ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.