Louisiana Supreme Court Decisions 2017
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-1034
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, 39-year-old D.A. accused her cousins William and Lionel Sergine of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Other family members, B.M. and M.S., also came forward to accuse William of sexually abusing them.…
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-CA-0596
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter arose out of a challenge to the validity of a municipal ordinance whereby citations based on traffic camera images, could be reviewed at an administrative hearing. The case went before the Louisiana Supreme…
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-CJ-1054
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court found clear and convincing evidence that supported at least one ground for termination of parental rights, but it nevertheless concluded termination was not in the best interest of the child. The…
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-KK-0705
Justia Opinion Summary: Acting pro se, defendant Reggie Thibodeaux was charged with several delony and misdemeanor drug offenses as well as with resisting arrest, moved to suppress the evidence. Defendant was represented by counsel; the trial…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1647
Justia Opinion Summary: Ron Warren, individually and on behalf of the Estate of Derek Hebert, filed a petition for damages seeking to recover for the wrongful death of his son in a recreational boating accident under general maritime law and…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CK-0939
Justia Opinion Summary: Baton Rouge police officers found two juveniles passed out at 1 a.m. in a truck parked at a McDonald’s restaurant. A strong odor of marijuana emanated from the open windows. Fifteen-year-old C.T. was seated in the front…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-0043
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, a Lafayette police officer investigating a possible car burglary, stopped defendant Calvin Noel, III, who was walking down the middle of the road. As the officer patted him down, defendant told him that he “had…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-0473
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether the court of appeal erred in reversing defendant Derek Dotson’s conviction for aggravated rape, finding that the trial judge abused his discretion in denying a challenge for cause of a…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-0750
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged defendant Fahim Shaikh with simple kidnapping, and indecent behavior with a juvenile. The charges arose from an incident involving 13-year-old A.G. on April 17, 2014, after she ran away from home while…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-0797
Justia Opinion Summary: An employee of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, while conducting a search of Tier C2 of Orleans Parish Prison, discovered a cell phone secreted in a crevice of the wall of the day room. An investigation, including a…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-1160
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged defendant Skylar Frank, a former Oakdale police officer, with felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, malfeasance in office, and obstruction of justice. The issue this case presented for review was…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-C-0698
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, plaintiff Nikola Vekic sought to buy three oyster leases which were jointly owned by Dragutin Popich and his daughters Mary Popich and Helen Popich Harris (collectively “the Popich family”). Although the parties…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-CC-0482
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Louisiana Supreme Court's review centered on whether the court of appeal erred in reversing the trial court’s ruling granting plaintiff’s special motion to strike defendant’s…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-KK-0448
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying issue in this case concerned the reasonableness of a warrantless search of a probationer’s residence by multi-agency state and federal law enforcement personnel. Two officers from the New Orleans District…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-KK-0557
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying issue in this case concerns centered on the reasonableness of a warrantless search of a probationer’s residence conducted by a multi-agency law enforcement task force. Two officers from the New Orleans…
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-OK-0081
Justia Opinion Summary: On March 27, 2015, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputy encountered a truck stopped in the middle of the roadway late at night. He found defendant Calvin Lewis inside attempting to restart the truck. Defendant, who…
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1443
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-K-0886
Justia Opinion Summary: During his second term as mayor of Jonesboro, the state filed a bill of information charging defendant Leslie Thompson with three counts of malfeasance in office by failing and/or refusing to maintain proper records and…
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-KP-1283
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Calvin King was tried by jury and convicted of second degree murder and armed robbery following the 2007 death of Javier Sanchez. The issue this case presented involved the trial court’s grant of a motion for…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-K-2140
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Chadwick McGhee was found guilty as a principal to the simple kidnapping of Jessica Guillot, in response to a charge of second degree kidnapping. Guillot disappeared in September 2013 after she was last seen…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-K-2144
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joseph Moultrie was found guilty as charged of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, based on approximately two ounces of crack cocaine found by officers in a barbeque grill in a driveway between two…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1855
Justia Opinion Summary: Tax sale purchasers of three condominium units brought actions to quiet title following the tax debtor’s failure to pay ad valorem taxes on the units. The district court found the tax sale purchasers had provided…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-2145
Justia Opinion Summary: In a suit for alleged age discrimination brought by plaintiff, James Robinson against his employer, the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System (ULL), the Louisiana Supreme Court granted review of the…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-2267
Justia Opinion Summary: In a workers’ compensation case, the claimant, Darvel Burgess, filed a Disputed Claim for Compensation after his employer, Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (“S&WB”), refused to pay a $13,110.02 outstanding bill for…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CC-0625
Justia Opinion Summary: The workers’ compensation claimant in this case, Paula Clavier, injured her neck, shoulder, and back while attempting to lift what she thought was a lightweight box, but which actually contained a heavy cast iron sink.…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CC-2078
Justia Opinion Summary: This case presents the res nova issue of whether an attorney, representing an incarcerated felon, is subject to the provisions of La. R.S. 44:31.1, when making a public records request to obtain information relative to a…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-0107
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Thayer Green was adjudicated a third felony offender and sentenced under the Habitual Offender Law to a term of life in prison without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence, for a home…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-K-0377
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved an alleged “agreement not to prosecute,” under which the defense claimed that in exchange for the defense providing the names of witnesses who would testify before the grand jury, the sharing of…
Date: June 29, 2017
Docket Number: 2017-CK-0182
Justia Opinion Summary: The state filed a petition alleging A.C., at the age of 14 years, committed the felony-grade delinquent acts of aggravated rape of a victim under the age of 13 years, and indecent behavior with a juvenile. Pursuant to…
Date: May 12, 2017
Docket Numbers: 2015-K-1845, 2015-K-1846
Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari review in two consolidated matters to examine the timeliness of a prosecution following defendant’s failure to appear in court after receiving actual notice and whether the…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-K-1120
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue presented for the Supreme Court’s review in this case was whether the court of appeal correctly found the evidence insufficient to support the jury’s determination that defendant committed money laundering…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-KO-1404
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, defendant Gary Howard was arrested in his girlfriend’s home pursuant to an arrest warrant for violating his probation and parole. Officers had received a tip that defendant could be found at that location, which…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-0745
Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted review to determine the applicability of La. R.S. 9:2795.3, the Equine Immunity Statute. The trial court granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Equest Farm, LLC, finding that…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1395
Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted review in this case to resolve a split among the appellate courts regarding the proper interpretation of La. Civ. Code art. 2331. Specifically, the question to resolve involved…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1534
Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted review of this succession case to determine whether the testament at issue iwass valid under Louisiana law, where the first two pages of the testament were initialed rather than signed…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1591
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1663
Justia Opinion Summary: In connection with its operation of a land-based casino in New Orleans, Jazz Casino Company, L.L.C. (Jazz) entered into contracts with various hotels for rooms made available to casino patrons on a complimentary or…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1809
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted review of this matter to determine whether the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (“LSPCA”) was subject to the Louisiana Public Records Law. More specifically, the issue…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CC-1857
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Todd Huval and Chad Boyer were former Louisiana State Troopers employed by the State of Louisiana, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of State Police. In 2007, they were terminated based on an…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CQ-1372
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit asked the Louisiana Supreme Court: “What is the meaning of ‘good faith’ as that term is used in the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, Louisiana Revised Statutes…
Date: May 3, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-KK-1518
Justia Opinion Summary: Although he bore various diagnoses, the 56-year-old respondent suffered from severe chronic mental illness involving at times paranoia, delusional and disordered thought processes, and mood instability. He had been in…
Date: March 31, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-0788
Justia Opinion Summary: Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana legislature in 2006 passed Act 853 and Act 567, which amended the laws governing compensation for levee servitude appropriations with a particular focus on…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2015-K-1949
Justia Opinion Summary: The Louisiana Supreme Court granted review of this matter to determine whether the appellate court erroneously applied the domestic abuse battery statute, La. R.S. 14:35.3. The appellate court determined there was…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1028
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Gerald Castille worked as a school bus driver for the St. Martin Parish School Board. During his first few years, plaintiff drove two "undesirable" routes, as they "required the assigned bus driver to travel…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1112
Justia Opinion Summary: A workers’ compensation claimant sought review of a judgment from the Office of Workers’ Compensation affirming the decision of the Medical Director denying his physician’s request for trial of a spinal cord stimulator.…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1232
Justia Opinion Summary: This medical malpractice case arose from the death of Lyric Pitts, seven month old daughter of plaintiffs David Pitts, Jr. and Kenyetta Gurley. A jury found in favor of defendant Dr. Rhoda Jones. Plaintiffs moved for a…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CA-0424
Justia Opinion Summary: This action arose out of the construction of a facility by United Plant Services (UPS), in Trout, to which Entergy Louisiana, LLC (Entergy) provided electric services. Entergy’s competitor, Concordia Electric…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-CC-1146
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs alleged that an infection developed after negligent medical treatment was provided by the defendants. Accordingly, they filed a Request for Medical Review Panel and, subsequently, a lawsuit. The Supreme Court…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-KK-0687
Justia Opinion Summary: Derroceus Abney was murdered on or about February 10, 2007. His body was found on or about February 23, 2007 hidden in an inoperable freezer. Investigators determined that the body had been moved to the freezer…
Date: March 15, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-KK-1412
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Corei Guidry was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute Tramadol, and…
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-0768
Justia Opinion Summary: This action for nullity was brought by a judgment creditor against a judgment debtor and his wife. At issue was whether the couple’s failure to file a codally-required joint petition to commence the termination of their…
Date: January 25, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-1097
Date: January 20, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-C-0570
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, plaintiff Kimberly Thibodeaux became pregnant with her fourth child. Dr. James Donnell was her obstetrician-gynecologist throughout her pregnancy. During the course of the pregnancy, plaintiff was diagnosed with…
Date: January 20, 2017
Docket Number: 2016-O-0921
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter arose from a recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana (“Commission”) that Judge Darryl Derbigny be publicly censured, ordered to reimburse the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judicial…
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