Recent Case Results

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Kimberly Creel v. Ford Motor Company

(July 2009)

Keith W. McDaniel, Lance B. Williams, and Quincy T. Crochet recently prevailed on a Motion for Summary Judgment, which was granted in favor of Ford Motor Company.  The single-vehicle accident at issue occurred in 1998, but plaintiff did not file a lawsuit until more than two-and-a-half years later.  The Court rejected plaintiff’s argument that the doctrine of contra non valentem should apply, and dismissed her claims as prescribed pursuant to Louisiana’s one year liberative prescriptive period.  Kimberly Creel v. Bridgestone-Firestone, Inc., et al., 2009 WL 2044264 (S.D. Ind. 7/8/2009).  Read More >

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One River Place Condominium Association, Inc. v. Axis Surplus Insurance Company

(June 2009)

Peter Wanek, Kyle Kirsch, Sid Hardy, and Kevin Kress recently obtained a favorable jury verdict for Axis Surplus Insurance Company following a seven day trial in federal court in New Orleans.  Axis insured One River Place, a luxury condominium high-rise building in downtown New Orleans on the Mississippi River, under a property insurance policy issued to its condo association.  The property suffered damage during Hurricane Katrina.  Axis adjusted the claim and made payments for damages that it found to be caused by the high winds of Hurricane Katrina.  Read More >

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Toga Society, Inc. v. Harry Lee, et al.
(April 2009)

Thomas P. Anzelmo and Kyle P. Kirsch won a victory in favor of Jefferson Parish in the case entitled Toga Society v. Harry Lee, et al. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana where plaintiff maintained “that it is entitled to total damages in the amount of $436,057.24 for its losses for three "parade" years--those being 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06.” Toga Society v. Harry Lee, et al., 2005 WL 1578726, at p.1 (E.D. La. 2005). Jefferson Parish after taking over twenty depositions brought a Motion for Summary Judgment on damages which was granted by the district court. The district court found “that the only damages to which Toga is entitled to $3,485.00 in security costs paid in 2002 for its 2003 parade. The rest of the claims are specious at best and without any support in admissible evidence.” See Toga Society, 2005 WL 1578726, at p.7. This ruling was affirmed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit on appeal. See Toga Society v. Normand, 2009 WL 909431 (5th Cir. 2009).

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Ankesheiln v. USAA
(March 2009)

Peter Wanek and Thomas P. Anzelmo tried a case in the Civil District Court in New Orleans, LA. The case involved a rear-end auto accident and liability was stipulated to. Representing the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Carrier (USAA), the defendant argued that the accident was a minor one and could not have caused the serious low back injuries alleged by the plaintiff, and also that the plaintiff’s back complaints, which gradually became worse in the years following the accident, were related to his degenerative disc condition and not the accident. The plaintiff eventually had a two level fusion of the lower two vertebrae in his back and claimed related medical expenses in excess of $200,000. Incidentally, prior to trial, the excess UIM carrier settled two days before trial for $200,000.

In closing, the plaintiff requested that the jury award $1,010,000.00 including approximately $209,000 in medical expenses. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff but awarded only $47,000 in general damages and $20,000 in past and future medical expenses. USAA had tendered $10,000 prior to trial and with a credit for payment made by the primary carrier ($10,000), the net judgment was $47,000.

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DiMaggio v. Ford Motor Company

(February 2009)

Bob Maxwell and Philip Dominique recently obtained a defense verdict for Ford Motor Company in a two week jury trial arising from the death of two people in a rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer.  Plaintiffs claimed that Explorers manufactured from 1991 - 2001 were defective in handling and stability characteristics.  The jury rendered a unanimous defense verdict for Ford and a judgement of $1.28 million against a co-defendant who caused the accident.

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Martin v. Davis et al.
(January 2009)

Thomas P. Anzelmo and Kyle P. Kirsch won a victory in favor of the City of Westwego and Officer Michael Davis in the case entitled Martin v. Davis, 2009 WL 152648 (E.D. La. 2009). The plaintiffs sued the City of Westwego and Officer Davis for excessive force alleging that the decedent’s Civil Rights were violated when he was shot a killed while Officer Davis was responding to a domestic violence 911 call. The District Court dismissed plaintiffs’ claims on summary judgment finding that Officer Davis’ actions were objectively reasonable in light of the fact that “Davis was facing a fleeing irrational man who had just fired a gun, who would not comply with simple commands and who was aggressively approaching Davis and his gun while asking to be shot.”

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Whelen v. Chief Penouilh, et al.
(January 2009)

Thomas P. Anzelmo, Kyle P. Kirsch and Jason B. Thrower won a victory in favor of Jean M. Llovet and Dr. Green in a case entitled Whelen v. Penouilh, 2009 WL 86667 (E.D. La. 2009). The plaintiff sued the defendants alleging his Civil Rights were violated when the defendants allegedly failed to provide him adequate medical care for his diabetes which he claimed led him to become legally blind. The District Court dismissed plaintiffs’ inadequate medical care claims against Llovet and Dr. Green because plaintiffs Complaint, as amended by his testimony at the Spears hearing, was insufficient to establish a §1983 claim since his medical records and testimony on cross-examination established that “he received constitutionally adequate medical care . . ..”

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Singleton v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department, Wal-Mart, et al.
(January 2009)

Donna Wood and Lannie Gwartney successfully defended the appeal of a trial court ruling dismissing plaintiff’s civil rights claims against Wal-Mart, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department, and individual officers for refusing to grant plaintiff immediate access to a Wal-Mart store in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The United States Fifth Circuit affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment, opining that making Singleton wait in line with the other patrons at most interfered with a potential, but speculative, contract, and was not sufficient to state a 42 U.S.C. § 1981 claim. They further agreed with the trial court that Wal-Mart was not a state actor, and thus, the denial of plaintiff’s § 1983 claim was correct. Finally, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Singleton’s § 1985 conspiracy claim because he did not brief the issue adequately, and because, in any event, the underlying claims had been dismissed.

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Dollar Thrifty Auto Group, Inc. et al. v. Bohn-D.C., L.L.C., et al.

(January 2009)

Donna Wood succeeded in obtaining the dismissal on summary judgment of Dollar Thrifty’s suit against Bohn-DC, L.L.C., d/b/a Don Bohn Dodge for damages to eight of Dollar Thrifty’s vehicles, which had been left at Bohn for repair, and sustained flooding as a result of Hurricane Katrina.  The Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed, finding that Hurricane Katrina was unquestionably an Act of God, and therefore, Bohn did not owe or breach a duty to Dollar Thrifty to move their vehicles out of the way of the flooding under these circumstances.  Donna Wood and Lannie Gwartney opposed plaintiffs’ writ application, and the Louisiana Supreme Court denied plaintiffs’ request for review of the dismissal.

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White v. City of Kenner
(December 2008)

Mark Hanna and Gene Rhee, representing the interest of the Kenner Police Department, prevailed through motion practice resulting in the dismissal of the plaintiff’s suit.  Lloyd White was allegedly injured when he was a passenger in a vehicle which collided with an 18-wheel truck.  White claimed that another vehicle’s movement had caused the driver of his vehicle to collide with the truck.  The Kenner Police Officer who investigated the accident determined that the other vehicle was not involved in the accident and did not memorialize any information pertaining to the other vehicle or its driver in the police report.  White subsequently filed suit, naming the City of Kenner through its Police Department, claiming he was deprived of the right to sue the other driver because of the officer.  Specifically, White claimed that the officer breached his duty under La. R.S. 32:398(D) which sets forth the criteria for investigating an accident.  White also claimed the officer violated La. R.S. 14:133 by filing a police report which contained allegedly “false statements.”  In affirming the 24th Judicial District Court’s judgment, the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal held that the officer, in complying with his statutory duty to investigate the accident, was within his discretion in determining that the other vehicle was not involved in the accident and further found that the officer did not knowingly or intentionally file any false documents.  The Louisiana Supreme Court denied writs to review the Fifth Circuit’s ruling.