New Orleans Court Finds Lyft Driver Cannot Collect from Underinsured Motorist Carrier in Car Accident Personal Injury Case

Published by The Pellegrin Firm December 13, 2019

In a ruling dated November 27, 2019, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans affirmed a district judge’s decision to grant summary judgment for Progressive Insurance Company in the case of a Lyft driver seeking underinsured motorist coverage though his wife’s policy, which covered him as a resident relative of her household.

New Orleans Uber-Lyft-Rideshare Law

Published by The Pellegrin Firm July 27, 2019

The new world of Uber and Lyft has given us great new cost-effective ways to get around the New Orleans area. Also, these rideshare services provide hundreds if not thousands of people with a secondary or primary income on a flexible schedule. However, Uber and Lyft vehicles are still exposed to the usual risks and liabilities of driving. An accident with or in an Uber or Lyft rideshare vehicle can cause temporary or permanent disability and possibly hundreds of thousands in losses.

Defendants Delay Injured Plaintiff’s Day in Court by Removing Case to Federal Court for Second Time. Federal Court Remands Case to State Court for Second Time

On June 25, 2019, Judge Lance Africk of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana remanded a car accident case to the Civil District Court of the Parish of Orleans for the second time, finding the defendants still did not make a sufficient showing that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000. The case arose from a car …

“Only an Insurance Company Could Come Up With the Policy Interpretation Advanced Here”

In a ruling dated July 2, 2019, a panel of the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected Cincinnati Insurance Company’s position that it did not owe coverage for exemplary damages in a drunk driving case because drunk driving is an intentional act and not an accident.  The first sentence of the Fifth Circuit’s opinion states: …

U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Punitive Damages for Unseaworthiness

On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision on punitive damages in unseaworthiness cases. The case is Dutra Group v. Batterton, No. 18-266. In deciding the case, the Court looked toward two of its precedents: Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19 (1990), and Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U. S. 404 (2009). Miles …

What Counts as an “Accident” for Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Purposes?

On June 5, 2019, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lafayette handed down a ruling that is very instructive to injured workers and their attorneys. In order to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under Louisiana law, a claimant must allege injury due to an “accident.” An accident is defined, per Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1021, as “an unexpected …

Federal Court in New Orleans Remands Car Accident Lawsuit to Orleans Civil District Court

In a ruling dated June 20, 2019, Judge Ivan Lemelle of the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that a lawsuit removed to federal court by the original defendants must be remanded back to state court after an amendment by the plaintiff that destroyed diversity. It is uncontroverted that the accident involved three vehicles: the plaintiff’s, the original defendant’s, and a …

Can Intoxication Be Established by Circumstantial Evidence in Civil Car Accident Cases in Louisiana?

Maybe. But that circumstantial evidence, taken as a whole, must exclude every other reasonable hypothesis with a fair amount of certainty.  Rando v. Anco Insulations Inc., 2008-1163 (La. 5/22/09), 16 So. 3d 1065, 1090. The Louisiana Supreme Court recently granted writs in a case to answer how convincing circumstantial evidence of intoxication has to be to survive summary judgment. The …

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Finds that Expert Testimony Not Necessarily Required to Show Medical Causation in Jones Act Case

In a decision dated May 23, 2019, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that expert medical testimony on causation is not necessarily required in Jones Act negligence cases. The court reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer on the basis that the seaman could not show medical causation without expert …