Articles Posted in Civil Matter

It  costs money to file a lawsuit against a party who has wronged you, and it also costs money to defend yourself when another party brings a lawsuit against you. Imagine taking on those costs only to lose the case in the end — and then imagine having to also pay for the winner’s attorney’s fees.

The general rule in the United States, known as the American Rule, is that each party only pays their own attorney’s fees, regardless of who wins. This is unlike some other countries, such as England, where courts often require the losing party to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees. One leading policy behind the American Rule is to ensure that potential plaintiffs aren’t discouraged from bringing meritorious lawsuits out of fear that, if they lose, they will have to incur even more costs by having to pay the other side’s lawyer. There are exceptions to the American Rule, however. One common exception is where there is a statutory provision requiring the losing side to pay attorney’s fees to the winning party, as illustrated in a recent case in Baton Rouge.

In Heck v. Triche, the district court found (and the appellate court affirmed) that the defendant, Wayne Triche, was liable under state law — not federal law — for securities fraud. After this finding, however, the plaintiffs requested an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to Louisiana laws (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 51.712 & 51.714; Local Rule 54.2). The plaintiffs eventually submitted the documents needed for the district court to determine the reasonable amount of attorney’s fees. The district awarded attorney’s fees pursuant to a federal statute, 15 USC § 78r, in the amount of $121,800.

Discrimination can come in many forms and if you are faced with a potential workplace discrimination issue it is important to take your concerns to a good lawyer because the contours of discrimination cases can be very complicated.  Esma Etienne, a waitress and bartender, found herself in just such a situation when she alleged that the general manager at the Spanish Lake Truck & Casino Plaza in New Iberia, Louisiana refused to trust and promote qualified employees simply because their skin was of a darker shade.  According to Etienne, she was passed over for promotion to a managerial position at Spanish Lake because she was “too black.”  Based on this belief that she had faced discrimination in the workplace, Etienne filed a Title VII suit in the Western District for Louisiana Federal Court.    

In support of her claim, Etienne presented an affidavit from a former manager at Spanish Lake stating that the general manager did not trust darker skinned black people with certain responsibilities, such as handling money.  Further, the manager alleged that the general manager and his wife made several statements that Etienne was “too black to do various tasks at the casino.”  In response, Spanish Lake argued that it hired a more qualified candidate than Etienne and the decision was based purely on merit.  The district court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of Spanish Lake.  The court based its decision on its finding that Etienne had merely supplied circumstantial evidence, shifting the burden away from Spanish Lake and on to Etienne, and pointed to the fact that a majority of the managers at Spanish Lake were black.  The court seemed to believe that the fact that so many managers were black was dispositive under Title VII and that the allegation that the discrimination was based on shade of skin was insufficient.  The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals did not agree.  It reversed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Spanish Lakes and remanded the case for consideration by a jury.

The Fifth Circuit pointed out that while there had never been an explicit ruling in the circuit that color was an unlawful basis for discrimination in the workplace, the text of Title VII is clear that employment discrimination is prohibited on the basis of an individual’s “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”  It was improper for the district court to rely so heavily on the fact that Spanish Lake had hired numerous black managers when the issue at bar was discrimination based on skin shade.  Etienne was alleging that Spanish Lake discriminated based on the fact that she was too dark, not the fact that she was black.

Imagine growing up with a genetic disorder and having to struggle with the difficulties that these disorders bring to people and their loved ones. Nobody chooses to have a genetic disorder, and if severe enough the disorder can cause major setbacks in a person’s life. Even with protections in place like genetic non-discrimination laws, many people throughout the country are denied health care coverage by their insurance providers because they have genetic disorders. Insurance companies do not want to provide coverage to these people because they are more of a “risk.” This can be very frustrating for the individual, especially because health care is so expensive today.

In New Orleans, Louisiana, Jane Doe (“Ms. Doe”) grew up as a dependent on her father’s Blue Cross insurance policy. At the age of eight, Ms. Doe went to her doctor and her doctor noticed that she had some of the physical characteristics of Marfan syndrome. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. It can have drastic affects on multiple systems in the body including the skeletal, cardiovascular, nervous, and respiratory systems. The doctor submitted claims to Blue Cross with the International Statistical Classification of Disease (“ICD”)-9 code of 759.82 (diagnostic code for Marfan syndrome), and from 1993 to the late 90s different doctors who treated Ms. Doe submitted claims to Blue Cross with the same diagnostic code. Blue Cross stated that the only information they received from the various physicians was the ICD-9 code 759.82. Blue Cross did not receive any other medical information surrounding Ms. Doe’s claims, so it was difficult for them to determine how exactly the physicians came to their medical conclusions. In November 1994 Ms. Doe was tested for Marfan syndrome, but the results were inconclusive. Ms. Doe was never diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, and she was only monitored for the disease because of the symptoms she already displayed.

Around the age of 23, Ms. Doe left her father’s insurance plan and applied for her own coverage with Blue Cross. Ms. Doe was required to take a medical questionnaire as a part of her application, and the questionnaire did not have any questions relating to genetic information. When Blue Cross reviewed Ms. Doe’s application the underwriting department reviewed her prior claims while insured under her father’s policy. Because there were multiple Marfan syndrome claims, Blue Cross denied Ms. Doe her health coverage.

What happens if the trial court makes a mistake? The case can work its way through the court of appeals and even the state supreme court just to be sent back to trial court to begin again. This case involves a lawsuit filed in Louisiana court by a transportation company (“Star”) against another corporation (“Pilot”). Star is a national trucking company and Pilot owns a collection of truck stops that supply fuel to Star.

In 2014, the trial court decided to deny Pilot’s motion to dismiss the case for forum non conveniens, to grant Star’s motion in limine to exclude a certain promissory note from evidence, and to deny Pilot’s exception of prematurity and motion to stay proceedings pending arbitration. Forum non conveniens is a power the court can decide to use to dismiss a case where another court would be better suited to hear the case. A motion in limine is a motion filed by a party to a lawsuit which asks the court for an order or ruling limiting or prevent certain evidence from being presented in the case. Pilot appealed these decisions as well as applying for a supervisory writ challenging the rulings. A writ of supervisory control is issued to correct an erroneous ruling made by a lower court either when there is no appeal or when an appeal cannot provide adequate relief and the ruling will result in gross injustice.

In 2015 the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal denied Pilot’s writ application and Pilot sought a review of this decision in the Louisiana Supreme Court. The appeal was continued pending the decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court. The issue was then sent back to the court of appeals for an opinion.