Louisiana Supreme Court Decisions 2016

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jeffrey Clark and a number of fellow inmates incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana (“Angola”) conspired to escape from prison. In furtherance of that plot, on the evening of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Dana Johno filed suit against Plaquemines Parish Government (“PPG”) and numerous other defendants alleging his house was unlawfully demolished by PPG and its agents after Hurricane Katrina. The plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was a tax exclusion, La. R.S. 47:301(14)(g)(i)(bb), which provided exclusions from state and local sales tax of charges for repairs on certain property that was delivered to customers out of state.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joseph Taylor was charged with possession with intent to distribute (“PWITD”) cocaine and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The state sought to introduce evidence of defendant’s three alleged prior convictions…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Rodricus Crawford was indicted by grand jury for the first-degree murder of his one-year-old son, committed while engaged in the perpetration of cruelty to juveniles and second degree cruelty to juveniles and…

Justia Opinion Summary: At the center of this appeal was a district court judgment declaring La. Child. Code art. 609 unconstitutional. La. Child. Code art. 609 required any statutorily defined “mandatory reporter” of child abuse “who has cause…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Robert McCoy was indicted by grand jury on three counts of first degree murder for the murders of Willie Ray Young, Christine Colston Young, and Gregory Lee Colston. After a trial, the jury found the defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Johnny Lee Harris was charged with the 2009 attempted armed robbery of Wayne Duplechain. He pleaded not guilty and proceeded to trial. During voir dire, the state opposed defense counsel’s exercise of peremptory…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found defendant Alden Morgan, committed armed robbery at age 17. Following return of the guilty verdict, the district court sentenced him to 99 years imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the sentencing provisions of La. C.Cr.P. art. 890.1 were replaced with new ones addressing sentencing. After numerous delays, defendant Sean Holloway was convicted and sentenced in 2014 for an offense committed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Richard Borja, was employed by St. Bernard Parish Government (“St. Bernard”) as a firefighter. In March of 2004, claimant filed a disputed claim for compensation alleging that he had injured his right knee and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Louisiana Supreme Court's review was a res nova issue of whether a claim for negligent credentialing fell within the purview of the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act (LMMA) and was,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Customers of an indoor trampoline park, of Sky Zone Lafayette, must complete a “Participant Agreement, Release and Assumption of Risk” document (“Agreement”) prior to entering the facility. The Agreement contains a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Customers of an indoor trampoline park, of Sky Zone Lafayette, must complete a “Participant Agreement, Release and Assumption of Risk” document (“Agreement”) prior to entering the facility. The Agreement contains a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Brandy Fecke, and her parents Stephen and Karen Fecke, and the defendant, the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College (“LSU Board”), sought review of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Marcus Reed appealed after being convicted for the murders of three unarmed young brothers. Reed received the death penalty. On direct appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court, Reed raised fifty alleged errors as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Louisiana Supreme Court's review was whether the duty to defend in long latency disease cases could be prorated between an insurer and its insured when occurrence-based policies…

Justia Opinion Summary: Both of the injured employees in these cases, Charles Morris and Charles Poole, were treated at the Lafayette Bone & Joint Clinic (“LB&J”); Morris was treated by Dr. Louis Blanda and Poole by Dr. John Cobb. Louisiana…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, defendant Ashaki Kelly was convicted of molestation of a juvenile and sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2014, the state charged defendant Dominick Sims by bill of information with one felony count of trafficking of children for sexual purposes, in violation of R.S. 14:46.3. During the course of pretrial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana recommended that James J. Best, a judge for the Eighteenth Judicial District, Parishes of Iberville, Pointe Coupee, and West Baton Rouge, be disciplined. The Commission alleged Judge…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana recommended that respondent, Justice of the Peace J. Roosevelt Gremillion, District Seven, Parish of Pointe Coupee, be removed from office and ordered to reimburse to the Judiciary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana (“Commission”) brought a formal charge against Judge J. Robin Free of the 18th Judicial District Court for the Parishes of Iberville, Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge. The charge…

Justia Opinion Summary: This matter involved the interpretation and application of the Uniform Local Sales Tax Code (ULSTC). Yesterdays of Lake Charles, Inc. (Yesterdays) and Cowboy’s Nightlife, Inc. (Cowboy’s) were cash-based bars or…

Justia Opinion Summary: This matter stemmed from a public works project for the construction of a gymnasium in Terrytown. JaRoy Construction Inc. served as the general contractor, and pursuant to statute, furnished a surety bond to Jefferson…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lamar Contractors, Inc. was general contractor on a construction project, and entered into a subcontract with Kacco, Inc. to provide metal framing and drywall work on the project. The subcontract included a “pay-if-paid”…

Justia Opinion Summary: Nelson Industrial Steam Company (“NISCO”) was in the business of generating electric power in Lake Charles. In order to comply with state and federal environmental regulations, NISCO introduces limestone into its power…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to determine whether the Alexandria Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board properly excluded a firefighter’s alleged failed breath alcohol test results,…

Justia Opinion Summary: David Caballero filed a Petition for Partition of Property against his former wife, Teresa Caballero seeking to partition the community property acquired during the marriage. The Family Court amended its judgment to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana recommended that Justice of the Peace Stacie Myers, Pointe Coupee Parish District 4 be removed from office. This recommendation stemmed from the justice of the peace failing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Following deliberations, a six-person jury found defendant Gerald Dahlem guilty on a fourth offense of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), and the trial court sentenced defendant as a habitual offender to 25 years without…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue before the Louisiana Supreme Court was whether the materials, machinery, and equipment that became part of an inland marine drilling barge during its reconstruction following a fire were exempt from sales and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted plaintiffs' writs in consolidated cases to review the appellate court's interpretation of the Medical Malpractice Act provision LSA-R.S. 40:1231.8(A)(2)(b) directing that a request for…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from post-operative injuries plaintiff Richard Dupuy sustained based on a hospital’s alleged failure to properly maintain and service equipment utilized in the sterilization of surgical instruments. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: "Grappling with whether a child should be moved from what is oftentimes perceived as the stable and long-standing environment provided by a non-parent who has been awarded custody as a domiciliary parent, the appellate…

Justia Opinion Summary: This matter comes before the Louisiana Supreme Court on the recommendation of the Judiciary Commission that respondent, Justice of the Peace Leroy J. Laiche, Jr., Second Justice of the Peace Court, Parish of Ascension,…

Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury indicted Robert Coleman with for the first-degree murder of 70-year-old Julian Brandon, Jr., and the attempted first-degree murder of Brandon’s wife, Alice. A jury later found Coleman guilty and voted for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari in this matter to determine whether the lower courts erred in allowing certain expert psychological testimony as to the victim’s intelligence quotient (IQ) and in admitting…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Quint Mire shot and killed Julian Gajan in 2011. They were hunting deer out-of-season. Defendant shot the victim three times with a semi-automatic shotgun, striking him in the head, neck, and torso from a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in this appeal centered on whether a statutory prescriptive period could be shortened by an administrative rule. This issue arose in a workers’ compensation case where the hearing officer refused to consider…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from a dispute between the City of Kenner and Kenner’s firefighters concerning the computation of retirement benefits under La. R.S. 11:233 and 11:2252. The dispute centered around four types of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether the Sledge Jeansonne Louisiana Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, and the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Act, could be applied…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Derrick Shepherd filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment and for Injunctive Relief. He filed a notice of candidacy qualifying form with the Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court’s office in which he certified that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this termination of parental rights case, the court of appeal overruled the juvenile court and sustained the biological parents’ peremptory exception of no right of action, on the basis the couple having custody of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on the allotment system of criminal cases in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court when the date of the offense is uncertain, specifically, whether…