Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
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.
Chris Loudermilk was driving a vehicle owned by his employer, Environmental Safety and Health Consulting Services Inc. (“ES&H”), when he was injured in an accident. Mr. Loudermilk filed a lawsuit against his employer and their insurance company, XL Speciality Insurance Company (“XL”). As Mr. Loudermilk was not the policyholder, XL filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the claim entirely. Prior to the accident, ES&H had executed a form expressly rejecting uninsured motorist coverage. This essentially meant that because of the rejection form, no lawsuit could go forward against XL. ES&H had in fact executed a valid form rejecting coverage for uninsured motorists, but when ES&H renewed their policy with XL for the time period covering the accident, two entities owned by ES&H were added to the named insured section of the policy. The question before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal was whether this slight change to the policy caused the uninsured motorist coverage rejection to become invalid resulting in a proper grant of XL’s motion for summary judgment and dismissal of the lawsuit.
Summary judgment renders a judgment in favor of one party when there are no material facts in dispute and judgment is proper as a matter of law. Summary judgment for lack of coverage can be granted if there is no reasonable interpretation of the policy which would result in coverage. See Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 634 So.2d.1180, 1183 (La. 1994). An insurance company can have a case dismissed at summary judgment if it can prove there is a policy provision which excludes coverage. See Simmons v. Weiymann, 943 So.2d 423, 425. (La. Ct. App. 2006). Louisiana Law allows an insured’s rejection of uninsured motorist coverage to remain valid for the life of the policy with no new rejection form needing to be executed unless there are changes to liability limits. See La. R.S.22:1295. The language of the statute also states however that the uninsured motorist rejection remains valid when a renewal is issued to the same named insured.
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. 
Usually when you hear the phrase “adverse employment action,” it brings to mind actions such as being demoted or fired. However, under certain circumstances, it can extend to more unique actions. This includes refusing to accept an employee’s rescission of resignation. 
If you are at school or work and notice several people who are soaking wet and wearing rain jackets, you would not have to be a detective or even a good lawyer to confidently make the judgment that it’s raining outside. Similarly, the legal concept of summary judgment used by courts is when the undisputed facts surrounding a claim lead to a court concluding the lawsuit as a matter of law, not facts. When that concept is applied to only certain elements or portions of a case or claim, it is called partial summary judgment. Partial summary judgment and its effects were of primary importance for a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, woman’s case.
Double jeopardy is not a television marathon featuring Alex Trebek, but protection against it is fundamental to the United States legal system. In the criminal justice system, double jeopardy means being put on trial for the same charge twice; the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution bans it. 
One bad decision can lead to a huge legal headache. The combination of a chaotic atmosphere and alcohol makes bars the perfect storm for mistakes that can later lead to huge liability. In a recent case, a man who punched another patron at a Tangipahoa Parish bar appealed a default judgment that awarded the victim over $100,000 dollars for personal injury damages and medical expenses.
Determining liability when someone is injured on someone else’s property is a complex endeavor. One of the major factors is determining whether the injury resulted from an unreasonably dangerous condition. 
Zoning issues can seemingly arise out of nowhere and affect the way you choose to use your property. It is important to stay up to date with local zoning ordinances and have a good lawyer to guide you with upcoming projects or changes that may be affected. It is equally important to also be aware of what happens when zoning changes do affect, and even cancel, these projects. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal for the State of Louisiana addressed this issue when a Terrytown, Louisiana property was rezoned by the Jefferson Parish Council on December 12, 2007.