In Matte v. Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Co., the Louisiana Court of Appeal agreed with the decision of the 13th Judicial District Court, Parish of Evangeline that the City of Ville Platte (City) was not liable for a car crash. The crash in question occurred on August 20, 2008,…
In some instances, employers and individuals can waive uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage in order to decrease their insurance rates. According to LSA-R.S. 22:1295(1)(a)(ii), rejection of the coverage must be made on a form approved by the commissioner of insurance. If the form is properly completed and signed by the…
In a Wal-Mart parking lot in Minden, Louisiana, two mothers and two children were hit by an oncoming car rented two days previously from a local Enterprise. The families sued based upon their injuries and several insurance companies got involved. One insurance company, Safeway, was for Peaker, the individual driving…
Even when a case goes to federal court, that body must still try to interpret state law if that is the governing policy in the matter. While this may seem confusing, cases involving local matters can get to federal court for a number of reasons. Of the most common are…
Settlements are an important part of the legal process. They save time, money, allow the parties to negotiate their own terms, and, above all, they keep the parties from having to go to court to litigate their claims. In the case of settling with insurance companies, the companies like to…
On July 12, 2008 a ten-year-old girl was driving her parents golf cart with some friends in a nearby cul-de-sac in the Parish of East Baton Rouge in the State of Louisiana. While on her excursion, she encountered a neighbor boy who was six-years-old. Because the boy was so close…
Recently, in the State of Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit, a case was decided that effectively laid out the requirements of a settlement agreement. These requirements are especially important because many cases are settled before they get to court. In fact, settlement is often preferable because it…
Wrongful death cases get very complicated when they involve insurance companies and employers. In a recent case, an individual was killed in the scope of his employment with Dunham-Price, Inc. He was driving a concrete truck at the time. The individual’s family brought a wrongful death case against the Department…
Respondeat superior or, more simply, vicarious liability is a principle by which an employer can be found liable for the actions of its employees. It allows plaintiffs injured by people who are at work to collect money for their injuries from the often deeper pockets of the enterprise itself. However,…
In Louisiana, like many other states, there are certain restrictions on the period in which you may bring a lawsuit. There are several practical reasons for these restrictions. First, it is important to restrict the period so that people are not in constant fear of being sued for actions that…