Daniel Fisher News
No evidence oil drillers caused oyster deaths, Fifth Circuit finds
NEW ORLEANS - The ancient doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (“the thing speaks for itself”) couldn’t rescue a lawsuit by Louisiana oyster farmers who blamed oil and gas drilling activities for a sudden die-off of their crops.
Louisiana Supreme Court finds $10M in asbestos case too much
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - The Louisiana Supreme Court cut a $10.5 million jury verdict in an asbestos lawsuit in half, saying an analysis of whether a jury abused its discretion must include an examination of awards in similar cases.
Jurors in $7 billion case would be out to get us, BP and Shell tell U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - BP and Shell have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a lawsuit by a Louisiana parish over coastal flooding, saying they can’t get a fair trial in a place where any jurors know they have the opportunity to pump billions of dollars into their troubled local economy by ruling against the oil companies.
Fifth Circuit swats attempt to delay smelly-dump trial
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Defendants accused of creating a public nuisance by operating a smelly dump in Louisiana can’t delay a trial while they wait to see if a court certifies a class action over the same questions, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a decision that dismissed the defense theories as wrong.
Law lifting statute of limitations doesn't save 50-year-old sex assault case
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana law that suspended the statute of limitations for childhood sex-assault plaintiffs didn’t help a man who sued the Catholic Church over abuse he says he suffered in the mid-1960s.
Justices: La. appeals court had no right to reduce sex-abuse verdict
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana appeals court abused its discretion when it cut a jury verdict in a sexual assault case by 80%, the state Supreme Court ruled, citing evidence the mentally disabled child’s life was altered by the experience.
Journalism professor accused of racism who lost job also loses defamation suit
GRETNA, La. (Legal Newsline) - A journalism professor who lost a prestigious job at Arizona State University after being accused of racism by former students on Twitter and in a school newspaper lost her case after a Louisiana appeals court ruled the comments were protected under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Bar not liable for death of woman who ran into truck
LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana bar wasn’t responsible for the death of a young woman who ran headlong into a truck exiting the parking lot after getting into a fight with her girlfriend, an appeals court ruled, upholding a jury verdict for the defense.
Witnesses to refinery explosion don't deserve money for mental distress, Louisiana court says
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Four people who witnessed a loud explosion at a nearby refinery that sent flames shooting 55 feet into the air didn’t prove the “genuine and serious mental distress” necessary to win damages under Louisiana law, the state’s highest court ruled.
Court allows Louisiana man to claim full medical bill even though hospital only gets half
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A man who claims he was hit by a garbage truck and sued for medical costs that are twice what his hospital billed can actually collect, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled, rejecting Progressive Insurance’s argument the plaintiff would never actually incur those costs.
Baby dies after swallowing penny; Court rules doctors aren't liable
LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) - Caregivers who spent more than an hour trying to save a 9-month-old who swallowed a penny aren’t liable for his death from a rare complication of the procedure to remove it, a Louisiana appeals court ruled.
Father can sue over death of daughter he hadn't seen in four decades
LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana man is the rightful plaintiff in a lawsuit over the death of his mentally disabled daughter even though he didn’t visit her for more than 40 years, a Louisiana appeals court ruled in a decision hinging upon the meaning of “abandonment” under the state’s civil code.
Asbestos plaintiff corrects memory after 17 years, saving lawsuit
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A onetime dockworker who couldn’t recall asbestos exposure in 2004 but recovered the memory by the time he was deposed again in 2021 salvaged a lawsuit over the death of his wife, who allegedly succumbed to lung cancer caused by asbestos dust the worker brought home on his clothes.
Latest opioid ruling puts MDL judge further out of step on public nuisance
A federal judge soundly rejected the “public nuisance” theory behind most opioid litigation, further isolating the judge in charge of thousands of similar lawsuits who has consistently ruled in favor of plaintiffs on this very question.
ABC News to face lawsuit after video of football team chanting N-word gets Black coach fired
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - ABC News must defend itself against a defamation suit by a high school football coach who was fired from his job after a video emerged of his team chanting the N-word at a pregame locker room rally.
Nonexistent 'Kill Switch' dooms lawsuit over girl's go-kart accident
SHREVEPORT, La. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who argued the operators of a go-kart track could have protected her daughter from injury if they had activated a “kill switch” stopping all the karts has no case partly because such a device would defy the laws of physics, a Louisiana appeals court ruled.
Hospitals in Louisiana can fire unvaccinated workers, thanks to court ruling
BATON ROUGE, La. (Legal Newsline) - Louisiana hospitals can fire employees who refuse to get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, the state’s highest court ruled, rejecting arguments the vaccine mandate violated their right to privacy and refuse medical treatment.
Louisiana high court slashes $1.9M verdict to man who bear-hugged a huge, out-of-control fire extinguisher
The Louisiana Supreme Court slashed a judge’s award of $1.9 million in damages to a man who “bear-hugged” a 245-pound fire extinguisher cylinder and accidentally caused it to discharge, creating a spinning menace that left him with extensive injuries and psychological trauma.
Father must establish paternity to sue over daughter's death, Louisiana court rules
SHREVEPORT, La. (Legal Newsline) - A father whose daughter died of sickle-cell anemia at age 20 can’t sue the state of Louisiana for medical malpractice because he failed to establish paternity within a year of her death, an appeals court ruled.
New Orleans casino liable after contractor runs over woman; Flagman walked past but didn't warn
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans is liable for injuries a woman suffered after a contractor hired to remove birds from the trees in front of the building ran over her with a motorized high-lift platform, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled, rejecting the casino’s arguments it wasn’t responsible for the actions of an independent contractor.