New Orleans Court Finds Defendant Driver Not in Course and Scope of Employment

On February 28, 2018, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans ruled on a case in which it had to consider the factors for determining when a defendant driver is in the course and scope of employment. The case is a personal injury suit arising from a pick-up truck colliding with a Regional Transit Authority bus. The …

Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal Upholds Summary Judgment in Favor of Best Western Plus Houma Inn in Slip and Fall Case

In a  February 28, 2019 judgment, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a Terrebonne Parish judge’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of a hotel in a slip and fall case. In this case, the plaintiff alleged he sustained injuries when he tripped over an elevated curb near the hotel’s entrance. The case is Primeaux v. Best …

New Orleans Court Affirms Verdict in Case of Bicyclist Injured in French Quarter

In the recently released decision of Antippas v. Nola Hotel Group, LLC, Docket No. 2017-CA-0798 the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a New Orleans district court’s decision to award $105,000 in damages to a bicyclist injured when a hotel valet opened a car door in front of her in the French Quarter on Burgundy Street. The jury found …

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument On Availability of Punitive Damages Under General Maritime Law – Big Potential Impact on Injured Louisiana Maritime Workers

On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of The Dutra Group v. Batterton. The main question of the case is whether a Jones Act seaman can recover punitive damages in a personal injury suit based on the unseaworthiness of the vessel that he worked on. The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the …