Louisiana Supreme Court Decisions 2012
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0097
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter came before the Supreme Court following the granting of motions for summary judgment in the district court. The district court dismissed the claims of an electrical utility company for indemnity from…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0232
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in this matter was whether a sheriff acted within statutory authority in deducting a commission in connection with the collection of a two-millage assessment that was initially approved by voters in 2003. Upon…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0513
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2003, insurance agency Plaintiff Kennedy, Lewis, Renton & Associates, Inc. ("KLR"), secured a property insurance policy with Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation ("Citizens") for Plaintiff Kirk…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0703
Justia Opinion Summary: This writ application involved the proper interpretation of La. R.S. 40:1299.47(A)(2)(c), and whether the running of the statutory ninety (90) day grace period in which prescription is suspended in a medical malpractice…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-CC-0622
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to determine whether the district court or the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) has subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate a claim by a putative class of…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-CQ-0453
Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court accepted a certified question presented by the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit. The question presented sought "binding instructions from the Louisiana Supreme Court regarding the…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-K-0466
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to determine whether the court of appeal erred in ordering the return of $144,320 to Tina Beers after finding the State did not establish probable cause for forfeiture of…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-O-1500
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter arose from a recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana regarding the failure of Justice of the Peace Stacie P. Myers (Point Coupee Parish, District 4) to comply with the financial reporting…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-O-1501
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter arose from a recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana regarding the failure of Justice of the Peace Thomas Threet (Calcasieu Parish, Ward 6) to comply with the financial reporting requirements…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-O-1946
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter arose from a recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana regarding the failure of Justice of the Peace Luann Landry (St. Bernard Parish, Ward E) to comply with the financial reporting requirements…
Date: November 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-KA-1578
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, a grand jury indicted Defendant Michael Garcia for first-degree murder of Matthew Millican (Matt). During his arraignment defendant pled not guilty. During trial on the merits, the presentation of the State’s…
Date: November 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2835
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari in these consolidated cases to resolve an issue of first impression: whether a member of a putative class was entitled to the suspension of prescription provided for in La. C.C.P.…
Date: November 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-CC-0152
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to consider two separate, but related issues: (1) whether the suspension of prescription provided for in La. C.C.P. art. 596 extended to a putative class member who filed…
Date: October 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2839
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on whether an alleged biological father could bring a wrongful death and survival action for his illegitimate child, where the father did not file a timely avowal…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CC-1509
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case concerned Defendants’ entitlement to trial by jury. Specifically, whether the Court’s holding in "Beauclaire v. Greenhouse" mandated that a resolution in accordance with…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-2796
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether defendant could be guilty of second degree murder for leaving her two small children home alone in the middle of the night, during which time a fire broke out…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0078
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the writ of the City of Bossier City to determine the proper interpretation of La. R.S. 33:2501(C)(1); specifically, whether the statutory authority of the Bossier City Municipal Fire and Police…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0204
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether plaintiffs' dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit filed in federal court after the defendant has made a general appearance of record was a "voluntary dismissal" for purposes of La. C.C.…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0239
Justia Opinion Summary: This criminal matter presented the res nova issue of whether a second arrest without a conviction for the charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (DWI) constitutes "a second violation of R.S. 14:98," which…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0307
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether the court of appeal erred in holding the district court erred in finding that a governmental entity proved a sufficient public necessity for expropriating property. Upon review, the…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0341
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's (DOTD) writ application to consider whether the Office of Workers' Compensation hearing officer erred in requiring a vocational…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-C-0588
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue on appeal before the Supreme Court in this case concerned whether a written settlement agreement compromising a contested property insurance claim constituted a "proof of loss" under La. Rev. Stat.…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-K-0233
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in this case to determine whether the court of appeal erred in overturning Defendant’s conviction for aggravated burglary. Jerome Bryant, Jr. argued that the State failed to…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-O-1342
Date: September 28, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-KA-0574
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant James C. Magee was indicted by a grand jury for the first degree murder of Adrienne Magee, the first degree murder of Ashton Zachary Magee, the attempted first degree murder of S.M., and the attempted first…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2566
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court was whether court of appeal erred in affirming the trial court's ruling granting summary judgment. That judgment confirmed and quieted title to a tax purchaser on the basis that the…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2638
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant James Mercer, was injured in an accident during his employment with Defendant, Nabors Drilling, USA, L.P. Claimant received workers' compensation disability and medical benefits. As a result of his accident,…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2648
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Petitioner Peter Vizzi, M.D. filed an open account against the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government (LCG) for expenses incurred following his treatment of Quinton Contrell Sam. Sam allegedly committed…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2678
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Henry Marange filed a disputed claim for compensation against his employer, Custom Metal Fabricators, Inc. asserting he injured his back in a work-related accident. Custom Metal answered the petition, and denied…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2711
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Plaintiff Tanya Lato Ponceti, and her seven-year-old daughter, Kaitlynn, lived in The Woodlands, an apartment complex in Mandeville, Louisiana owned by First Lake Properties, Inc. While Kaitlynn was riding her…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CA-2226
Justia Opinion Summary: During its 2010 Regular Session, the Louisiana Legislature enacted Act 749 (Act), comprising La. Rev. Stat. 17:4041 through 17:4049, known as the "Red Tape Reduction and Local Empowerment Waiver Program." The Act…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CC-2377
Justia Opinion Summary: In February of 2009, a vehicle driven by Antoine Ellis ran a stop sign and struck a vehicle owned and operated by Ann Bernard. Norell Bernard and Andrea Bernard were guest passengers in Ann Bernard's vehicle at the time…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CK-1701
Justia Opinion Summary: The state filed a delinquency petition in the Juvenile Court for the Parish of Orleans charging Defendant with distribution of heroin in violation of La.R.S. 40:966(A)(1). After a hearing, the court adjudicated Defendant…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-1174
Justia Opinion Summary: The state charged Defendant Courtney Savoy by bill of information with simple escape from the Winn Correctional Center in January of 2007. After trial by jury, Defendant was found guilty as charged and sentenced to the…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-1609
Justia Opinion Summary: The state charged Defendant Mary Trahan by grand jury indictment with second degree murder in violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1 following the shooting death of her live-in boyfriend/husband. After trial by jury, she was found…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-2238
Justia Opinion Summary: The state charged Defendant Ricky Cure by bill of information with possession of heroin in violation of La.R.S. 40:966. After the trial court denied his motion to suppress the evidence, Defendant entered a plea of guilty…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-KA-0958
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court concerned whether the trial court erred in granting Defendant's motion to quash his indictment. In 2009, police found the victim, Ramon House, lying on the sidewalk, shot in the chest…
Date: July 2, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-CC-0043
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on a binding arbitration clause in an attorney-client retainer agreement and whether that clause was enforceable where the client filed suit for legal malpractice.…
Date: May 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2453
Date: May 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-CA-0908
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1797
Justia Opinion Summary: The Workers' Compensation hearing officer terminated Petitioner Gloria Clay's benefits, finding her employer had sufficiently proved the availability of jobs such that Petitioner was capable of earning at least ninety…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2078
Justia Opinion Summary: "This matter has a complicated and convoluted procedural history, which has ultimately resulted in a 'cobweb of litigation.'" This case has its genesis in 1994 when ANR Pipeline Company (ANR) first challenged the ad…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2382
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, an ambulance belonging to Advanced Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (“Advanced”) was traveling southbound on Louisiana Highway 23, a four-lane highway in Plaquemines Parish. Due to transmission problems, the…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CC-2093
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2007, Plaintiff Joseph Trascher filed a petition in the district court seeking an ex parte order to perpetuate his testimony, alleging that he had been diagnosed with asbestosis in August 2006, and that it was…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CC-2434
Justia Opinion Summary: On May 29, 2009, Plaintiff Rose McCann filed a petition for divorce against Defendant Walter McCann in the Family Court. A judgment granting the divorce was later signed in early, 2010, leaving the identification,…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CC-2716
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-0915
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Larry Thompson was charged by bill of information with possession with the intent to distribute a Schedule II Controlled Substance (cocaine). Defendant claimed to be visiting his girlfriend and a friend at a…
Date: May 8, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-KA-2302
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Rudy Trosclair pled guilty to sexual battery of a child under thirteen years of age, for which he was sentenced to serve thirty months imprisonment at hard labor "without benefit." Shortly after his…
Date: March 30, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1232
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider whether the doctrine of "contra non valentem" applied to suspend a ten year liberative prescriptive period applicable to an action by a mineral interest owner against the…
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-C-2605
Justia Opinion Summary: As a consequence of a June 2006 storm, the stormwater drainage and storage system (including the wastewater treatment facility) at the Lake Charles refinery of Defendant CITGO Petroleum Company (CITGO), was filled beyond…
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-KO-1724
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Glen Dale Nelson and Melvin Goldman were convicted by jury of one count of illegal use of weapons, four counts of armed robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Both received substantial…
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1003
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether a "statement made or action taken" language in La. R.S. 17:439(A) precludes a cause of action against school employees for negligent acts of omission and to…
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-2132
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted consolidated writ applications to address the majority opinion of the court of appeal which held the medical malpractice cap enunciated in La.R.S. 40:1299.42(B) was unconstitutional "to the…
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-1040
Justia Opinion Summary: In what the state termed as "particularly egregious and predatory acts of contractor fraud in New Orleans" following Hurricane Katrina, 63-year-old Defendant-Respondent John Colvin, a former elected state representative…
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-K-1044
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant-Respondent Aubrey Brown by bill of information with one count of simple burglary of a religious building, and one count of simple burglary. The two crimes were apparently unrelated and the…
Date: February 10, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-KK-2043
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a dispute as to the proper application of La. Const. art. I, sec. 17 as applied to this case. Specifically, the Court granted certiorari to determine whether a defendant…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-C-1140
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether the court of appeal erred in finding that the amendments to the state sex offender registration statutes did not apply to Defendant Jimmy Smith, because…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-KA-0614
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Terrance Carter was indicted in 2006 for the first degree murder of Corinthian Houston. After initially pleading not guilty, Defendant changed his plea to a dual plea of not guilty or not guilty by reason of…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-0898
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the Village of Moreauville breached its duty to keep its sidewalk in reasonably safe condition. Specifically, the issue was reduced to whether a one-and-one-quarter to…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1130
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Jerry Benoit worked for Turner Industries for twenty-seven years. For ten of those years he worked as a general laborer for a Lake Charles Citgo refinery, where Turner was contracted to perform general…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1141
Justia Opinion Summary: McLane Southern, Inc. is a Mississippi wholesaler of tobacco products that sells smokeless tobacco to retail establishments in Louisiana. The issue on appeal before the Supreme Court was whether the company was liable…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1170
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Plaintiff Laurie Jenkins entered into a contract with Chet Medlock for the sale, transfer and delivery of a metal building. The purchase price was to be paid in three equal installments. After the building was…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-C-1418
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue presented in this case arose in connection with a motion to rank creditors in a suit for executory process. DDS Construction, LLC developed a subdivision in Reserve. To fund that development, DDS obtained…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-CC-1579
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Dr. Kaleem and Nadeem Arshad initially requested a jury trial in their petition for damages. Shortly before trial, they filed a motion to strike the jury. In response, Defendant City of Kenner enacted a…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-KK-2201
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to determine whether the district court erred in sua sponte declaring that the jury waiver procedure described in the Louisiana Constitution (Article 1, section 17A) was…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-O-2182
Justia Opinion Summary: This case came before the Supreme Court on recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, which recommended District Judge Robert Burgess (of the 42nd Judicial District, Parish of DeSoto) be publicly censured…
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-O-2243
Justia Opinion Summary: This case came before the Supreme Court on recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, which recommended Justice of the Peace Herbert Williams (Parish of Plaquemines) be publicly censured and ordered to…
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