NEW ORLEANS — A federal court granted in part and denied in part a motion for leave to file a supplemental and amended complaint in a lawsuit involving a February 2017 shooting that killed Kala Bienemy, a New Orleans mother of five.
The family requested the leave to name a "recently identified property manager" and to add a survival action.
On Aug. 29, Judge Janis van Meerveld of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled the family can file the amended complaint within seven days. The amended complaint will include the identification of the property manager. It will also substitute “Gulfway” for Chateau D’Orleans Apartments, one of the defendants.
However, the judge denied proposed amendments to add an unidentified security company, its insurer and one of the alleged perpetrators of the murder, Erroll Krish, as defendants.
“Plaintiffs’ attempt to add an unidentified security company and its unidentified insurer is not appropriate at this time," the judge wrote. "If discovery reveals the identity of a security company that may bear liability, plaintiffs may seek to amend their complaint to name the security company at that time.”
Further, the plaintiffs’ request to add Mr. Krish as a defendant was described as “curious” by the judge.
The family of the deceased filed suit against Chateau D’Orleans Apartments in February. The plaintiff alleged the defendant knew the apartment complex was was dangerous, yet the property managers “intentionally and willfully failed to maintain the premises adequately or to provide a safe environment for the tenants.”
According to court documents, three other motions to dismiss filed by Michaels Development, IRMC and Michaels CSC are currently pending before a federal judge.
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, Civil Action No. 18-5574