News from March 2016
Tidewater Marines sues insurance company for allegedly unpaid ship repairs
NEW ORLEANS — A marine company is suing XL Specialty Insurance Company for claims that it failed to honor a construction agreement and pay for over almost $2 million in an allegedly defective ship.
Attorneys deny identity fraud accusations in alleged BP oil spill scam
HOUSTON – A Louisiana resident says she is one of about 45,000 Vietnamese Americans wrongly listed as a claimant in a lawsuit against British Petroleum following the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf, and has since filed a petition against two Texas attorneys and two law firms, alleging the lawyers inflated the number of claimants in the hopes they would land a $2.3 billion settlement for their clients.
Grain company accuses customer of failing to pay demurrage expenses
BATON ROUGE – A Georgia firm is suing a customer for shipping charges it incurred during the transport of grain from Argentina to Morocco via chartered vessels.
Tulane player alleges discrimination because of learning disability
BATON ROUGE – A member of the Tulane University football team and his parents are suing over treatment he allegedly received from members of the athletic department.
Buyers allege RV is defective
ALEXANDRIA – A Kentucky couple is suing an RV manufacturer, claiming the trailer they purchased in 2015 was defective.
Louisiana woman alleges Nissan Pathfinder is defective
NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana woman is suing a vehicle manufacturer and a car dealership over claims they sold her a defective vehicle.
Real estate firms petition court to confirm arbitration award
NEW ORLEANS – Two real estate firms are petitioning federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana to confirm an arbitration panel’s award in its favor.
Nevada Bar files complaint against attorney barred from representing Deepwater Horizon spill claimants
NEW ORLEANS—An infamous Las Vegas attorney has been accused of misconduct by the Nevada State Bar Association for his involvement in an apparent kickback scheme in a 2010 British Petroleum oil spill settlement.
NAACP members oppose Terrebonne Parish president's motion to intervene in minority voting lawsuit
BATON ROUGE — At a Terrebonne Parish Council meeting last week, members of the NAACP spoke out against President Gordy Dove’s motion to include the parish as an intervener in a lawsuit against the state, and they did not hold back.
St. Tammany fracking opponents will appeal to LA Supreme Court
BATON ROUGE – An activist group says it will appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court after a circuit court ruled against it in a fracking case earlier this month.
Labor law prof says NOLA Taxicab Legal Fund may be trying to 'heat things up' in Uber suit
NEW ORLEANS – Creating "a level playing field" and finding "a way to heat things up" could be what's behind postcards sent to New Orleans UberX drivers this month, a labor law professor said recently.
Nelson urges Deepwater Horizon claims administrator Juneau to hurry up
Patrick Juneau, the administrator of the claims center for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, has come under fire again.
Boat engineer blames Odyssea Marine Inc. for slip-and-fall injuries
NEW ORLEANS – A former chief engineer for Odyssea Marine Inc. is suing the company for alleged negligence that caused him to fall and injure himself aboard the vessel Count.
Seaman who was exposed to tracer dye alleges it caused him cancer
NEW ORLEANS – A seaman who was an alleged victim of a prank claims that his employer and co-worker are responsible for the cancer he later developed.
More merchants could join suit against Southeast Louisiana Drainage Project
NEW ORLEANS – A lawyer says he hopes more New Orleans business owners will join a lawsuit alleging a drainage project has damaged their livelihoods.
State AG Jeff Landry does away with district attorney private contracts
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana State Attorney General Jeff Landry has severed
ties with district attorneys who were previously contracted to provide legal
services to the state under private contract.
Confidence in judiciary up in the air after fraud conviction of Orleans Parish judge
NEW ORLEANS – A professor of law says it is hard to determine if the conviction of an Orleans Parish judge for fraud has undermined public confidence in the judiciary.
Man blames insurance company over alleged wrongful termination of benefits
NEW ORLEANS – A former field service engineer is suing Reliance Standard Life Insurance, alleging the company denied benefits.
Attorney Frank Simoneaux inducted into LSU’s Hall of Distinction
BATON ROUGE — A local attorney and four other Louisiana State University (LSU) alumni were inducted into the prestigious LSU Hall of Distinction on March 4.
Owners of two barge boats allege breach of contract from renters
NEW ORLEANS – The owners of two charter barges for rent are filing suit against a renter and cleaner for allegedly not paying invoices and violating contract terms.