Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure provides that a court has wide discretion in granting a continuance (a postponement of the proceedings) in any case where appropriate. See La. C.C.P. art. 1601. But what constitutes appropriate grounds for a continuance? A court must take into account the specific facts of the situation in order to determine whether a continuance should be granted. A recent case in the Louisiana Court of Appeal explains this process.
The roof of Mr. and Mrs. Abington’s Baton Rouge home was damaged in Hurricane Isaac. The Abingtons contacted Mr. Spears of the Louisiana Roofing Company to replace the roof. The company not only failed to complete the roof repair, but subsequently caused more damage to the Abingtons’ home. After the Abingtons filed a lawsuit, the case was continued three times at the request of Mr. Spears. The first continuance was granted due to Spears’s failure to answer depositions and to answer discovery requests. The second continuance was granted so Spears could find a new attorney; Spears’s first attorney requested to withdraw from the case due to Spears’s volatile behavior, making her fear for her safety. The third continuance was granted to Spears’s new attorneys so they could get acquainted with the case.
Several days before trial, Spears filed a pro se motion for a continuance. (A pro se motion is one filed by the litigant himself, without the aid of an attorney.) The request was denied by the trial court. Two days before trial, he fired his second set of attorneys, and hired a new attorney who requested another continuance for trial preparation and to avoid a scheduling conflict. This request was also denied. At trial, no counsel appeared to represent Spears, so he once again asked the court for a continuance. The request was denied and the trial proceeded, resulting in a judgment in favor of the Abingtons.
People bring lawsuits in order to obtain compensation for wrongs they have endured. Even when there is no dispute about liability, determining the appropriate categories and amounts of damages can be complicated as it involves numerous legal and technical issues. Damages can encompass everything from past and future medical expenses to scarring to loss of enjoyment of life. However, there must be sufficient evidence from which a court can draw to support the award of damages. The following lawsuit that stemmed from a fight at a casino illustrates some of these principles.
There are multiple requirements and policies that claimants must follow in order to be eligible to recover on a claim under a National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) Standard Flood Insurance Policy (“SFIP”). 
The National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) is intended to provide affordable flood insurance on fair terms. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) is responsible for administering and regulating NFIP. There are multiple requirements and policies that claimants must follow in order to be eligible to recover on their claim. The following lawsuit looks at the requirements necessary to prove flood damages under the terms of a Standard Flood Insurance Policies (“SFIP”).
You may think that your company would be pleased if you try to comply with company policies. However, this is not always the case, especially when following policies can lead to adverse outcomes for the company, such as delayed flights or lost profits. 
It’s the subject of Lifetime Channel movies but something that no parent ever wants to believe would ever really happen. A teacher, a person in authority over minors, takes advantage of a student and engages in sexual misconduct. When this happens, is it ever appropriate to apportion some percentage of fault to the student? In a recent lawsuit out of Calcasieu Parish, the school board attempted to answer that question in the affirmative, but was taught a different lesson by the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. 
Insurance policies can be varied, complex, and at times unintelligible. Policies are generally purchased for a time of need. Yet in many cases, the insurance company worsens a stressful event by denying coverage. Coverage can be denied for many reasons including when the claimant is an “uninsured motorist.” In a recent case out of Pointe Coupee Parish, an employee faced this label and a denial of coverage. 
When you pay for a home to be built, it can be a stressful experience. That experience becomes even more stressful when you have fully paid for the construction of that home and the contractor ceases construction without even completing half of the construction. In such a situation, it takes an excellent lawyer to figure out who exactly is at fault for the failure to complete the job and how to get the money already paid back from the contractors.
It can be complex to determine the superiority of claims when a piece of property has a mortgage and various judgments against it. Superiority of claims means the order in which money is to be paid to different parties who are all owed money from the property or individual who owns it. Most people want their claim to be deemed more superior than others because it can help them receive money from the property before someone else, which is especially important in cases where there is a limited fund of money.
Employers have a duty to provide their workers with reasonably safe working conditions. Whistleblower statutes protect employees from retaliation when they report violations of this duty. However, not every imperfection constitutes an unreasonable danger.