John O'Brien News
Case against Orleans DA moves forward; Exonerated man says suppressed evidence put him in jail decades ago
NEW ORLEANS - The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office could face liability for allegedly suppressing evidence that could have kept a man who ended up serving almost 25 years out of prison.
Friends and family - not the general public - have the right to freely visit New Orleans cemeteries
NEW ORLEANS - The battle for New Orleans' famous cemeteries appears dead, with the last of three lawsuits filed by tourism companies rejected by a state appeals court.
Wrongful-death defendant challenges theories on what happened to man found dead in excavator
NEW ORLEANS - Doubts about what led to the tragic, unwitnessed death of a 50-year-old Ponchatoula man in a small excavator should cause the ensuing lawsuit to be tossed, the machine's maker is arguing.
Company fights $3.7M award to those who braved Hurricane Ida to save its breakaway barges
NEW ORLEANS - A company on the hook for nearly $4 million because its barges broke free during Hurricane Ida has posted a $4.5 million bond while its appeal is decided.
Developer mad at St. Tammany Parish can push claims of racial segregation
NEW ORLEANS - An insurance company caught in a battle between St. Tammany Parish and a developer that wanted to build affordable housing next to an affluent community has seen its obligations to pay any damages trimmed, though not entirely eliminated.
Jefferson Parish avoids lengthy landfill trial with late settlement
NEW ORLEANS - Days before what looked to be a lengthy trial began, Jefferson Parish settled mass tort claims in two lawsuits alleging toxic fumes and noxious odors from the Jefferson Parish Landfill.
Meraux house-fire lawsuit over A/C appears to be extinguished
NEW ORLEANS - A jury verdict for LG Electronics should stand, a Louisiana appeals court says, as the company has defeated claims its window-unit air condition did not contain a defect that started a house fire.
Big verdict for garbage truck driver hit by train struck; New trial ordered
BATON ROUGE - A split Louisiana appeals court has struck an $8 million verdict for a garbage truck driver who got stuck crossing train tracks in Baldwin and was hit by a BNSF train.
LSU pays man $120K - not a penny more - after rubber snake sends him stumbling
BATON ROUGE - Louisiana State University won't have to pay extra after forking over six figures to a man injured when a prank backfired.
Defendants in Jefferson Parish smelly landfill case can tell jury odors came from elsewhere
NEW ORLEANS - A month ahead of trial, a New Orleans federal judge is figuring out what a jury can hear when Jefferson Parish residents claim a Waggaman landfill emitted toxic odors and chemicals over two years.
Troubled plaintiffs firm wins chance to keep hurricane-damage fees despite FBI probe
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge didn't fully explain why he was taking attorneys fees from hurricane-damage lawyers facing an FBI criminal investigation over how they handled claims.
Louisiana firms face dismissal motion in dispute over Hurricane Maria claims
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Louisiana lawyers were late to get to court to litigate a fee-splitting agreement that went sideways, their former business partners claim.
Sexual abuse claims from decades ago allowed; Dissenting justice says defendants now 'defenseless'
NEW ORLEANS - The Louisiana Supreme Court has changed its mind on a key legal issue affecting individuals who were sexually abused as children and are now seeking compensation.
Lawyer in hot water over insurance claims deserved a hearing, Fifth Circuit rules
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A lawyer who worked at a Houston law firm that has run afoul of the law will get a second chance to show he shouldn't have been suspended for nine months.
Troubled hurricane firm has one less lawsuit to worry about
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - The law firm accused of filing hurricane-damage lawsuits on behalf clients who didn't consent to them has defeated claims from a rival firm.
Woman suing over son's COVID vaccination at school hits road block
GRETNA, La. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued a Louisiana school district for vaccinating her son against COVID-19 without her consent should have presented her case as a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Lawyer sees bodycam footage, quits wrongful death case against cops
BATON ROUGE, La. (Legal Newsline) - Bodycam footage has led the attorney of a woman suing Port Allen, La., over a fatal police shooting to withdraw from the case, though his client is proceeding as her own counsel.
Lawyer wants to fight AOB scheme allegations in arbitration
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - An attorney for a Houston firm accused of sneaking into homeowners' lives to take a cut of insurance proceeds says their lawsuits against him are subject to arbitration clauses they signed with a roofing company.
Experts fail to make claim for safer forklift design in case of lost leg
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A federal appeals court has ruled against a man who lost his leg in a forklift accident, finding he failed to prove there was an alternative, safer design.
Troubled hurricane lawyers continue to mess with former clients, rival firm says
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana law firm says McClenny Moseley & Associates, which is under fire for an alleged scheme to take fees from homeowners who weren't aware they had hired it, is hassling hundreds of former clients who have jumped ship.