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…
Louisiana Revised Statute 9:5629 provides that actions for the recovery of damages sustained in motor vehicle accidents brought pursuant to UM provisions in motor vehicle insurance policies are prescribed by two years reckoning from the date of the accident in which the damage was sustained. A timely filed suit against…
Louisiana’s No Pay / No Play statute, provides that an owner or operator of a motor vehicle who fails to own or maintain compulsory motor vehicle liability security can not recover for the first $15,000 of bodily injury damages and for the first $25,000 of property damage caused by a…
Louisiana Revised Statute 32:900 provides for the minimum compulsory auto liability insurance limits: $10,000 per person / $20,000 per accident regardless of the number of persons (prior to January 1, 2010) $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident (effective January 1, 2010) $25,000 per person/ $50,000 per accident for intrastate…
Bodily Injury Liability (BI) If an insured person is legally liable for an accident, BI coverage pays for injuries/death to people involved in the accident other than the insured driver. BI also pays for legal defense costs if you are sued. Property Damage Liability (PD) If an insured person is…
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,…
Last year before the November Presidential election, former Counsel for the Democratic Party and Executive Committee Member Randy Piedrahita quietly switched his voter registration to Republican. On June 11, 2013, at the Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon, Randy and two other former Democratic officials were formally welcomed into the GOP by…
In Louisiana State Police Troop G, 27 fatal crashes were investigated in 2012, with 22% of those Louisiana auto accidents involving impaired drivers. Louisiana’s DUI or DWI laws apply to operators of motor vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, vessel, or other means of conveyance. Under Louisiana law, La.R.S. 13:98.1, an operator or…