In two recent per curiam decisions, the Louisiana Supreme Court protected employers who exposed their workers to high probability of harm from known unsafe working conditions by applying the “inevitability” test for determining whether a work place injury caused by an employer was intentional. In both cases, the Supreme Court…
In a 4-3 per curiam decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court in Ramanda Houston v. PNK (Bossier City), Inc., d/b/a Boomtown Casino and Hotel and Boomtown Casino, 2013-CC-1991 (La. 1/27/14), granted a summary judgment dismissing the accident victim’s slip and fall case. The victim slipped on a walkway as she exited…
The Louisiana Record reports that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions over alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Specifically, the DOJ has found that the Committee on Bar Admissions requires disclosure…
No person can insure against his own intentional acts. Public policy forbids it. But public policy does not forbid one to insure against the intentional acts of another for which he may be vicariously liable. If the exclusionary language in the personal liability insurance policy applies to the intent of…
The intentional injury exclusion for injuries of a “a different kind or degree” or sustained by a “different person or property, than intended or expected” in personal liability insurance policies is enforceable and excludes coverage even if the seriousness of the injury is not intended expected or if a different…
When determining whether the intentional injury exclusion — “willful and malicious acts of any insured” — will preclude coverage in a personal liability insurance policy, it is immaterial whether the insured intended the actual resulting injuries. The act is “willful” if the actor has intentionally done an act of unreasonable…
When determining whether the intentional injury exclusion — “expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured” — will preclude personal liability insurance coverage, the subjective intent of the insured, as well as his reasonable expectations as to the scope of his insurance coverage, will determine whether an act is…
In McBride v. Estis Well Service, 12-30714 (5th Cir. 10/2/13), the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Jones Act Seamen may recover punitive damages for their employer’s willful and wanton breach of the general maritime law duty to provide a seaworthy vessel. Such breach reflects a reckless…
BATON ROUGE–Eleven neighbors of the Monolyte Labs Inc. chemical facility in Slaughter, Louisiana filed a lawsuit in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge on September 24, 2013 for injuries and damages that resulted from the November 9, 2012, explosion and fire that destroyed the facility and required a…
Sitting en banc, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal recently affirmed the highest general damage award to a minor child for the wrongful death of a parent in Louisiana. The jury awarded $2.5 million in general damages to the minor boy for the devastating loss of his non-custodial mother,…