for-the-love-of-money-1543612-1024x768Love gone bad, broken promises and loans not written down come to a head in the following case in Jefferson Parish.  In the case at hand, Mr. Palmisano and Ms. Nauman-Anderson had been romantically engaged for several months, during which time Mr. Palmisano allegedly credited Ms. Nauman-Anderson with nearly $26,000 dollars in loans. These loans were allegedly subject to an oral agreement at the time that they were advanced and no effort was made to memorialize the loans (put them in writing) until the romantic relationship between the parties had ended. Upon severing romantic ties, Mr. Palmisano provided Ms. Nauman-Anderson with a promissory note in order to commemorate their alleged agreement but Ms. Nauman-Anderson refused to sign the note, claiming that the loans were in fact gifts. In response, Mr. Palmisano brought suit for a breach of contract.

Following a summary judgment granted by the Twenty-Fourth trial court of Jefferson Parish the case was dismissed. In dismissing Mr. Palmisano’s suit, the trial court affirmed Ms. Nauman-Anderson’s theory that the Louisiana Credit Agreement Statute precluded claims against her.  See Louisiana Credit Agreement Statute, La. R.S. 6:1122

Ms. Nauman-Anderson claimed that the Louisiana Credit Agreement Statute provided a complete defense because the promissory note was unsigned and the statute does not allow an action to be maintained based on an oral promise.  Mr. Palmisano appealed the trial court’s decision to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit of Appeal.

ancient-painting-1550352-768x1024When a person feels wronged, they tend to turn to the judicial system in hopes to find a solution. An important part of making sure an appropriate solution is reached, is that both parties have a chance to plead their case. In a matter involving the sale of a painting, the defendants did not respond to a lawsuit brought against them but were still successful in having a judgment rendered against them annulled.

Amanda Winstead, is the owner Amanda Winstead Fine Art (AWFA), a fine art appraiser, consultant, and a broker. She has been buying and selling paintings from collectors in the New Orleans area since 1996. Stephanie Kenyon, is the president of an auction house located in Maryland, Kenyon & Associates, and Sloans & Kenyon.

In February of 2013, Ms. Winstead purchased an oil painting on canvas after winning the bid she submitted by telephone at an auction held by Sloans & Kenyon. Ms. Winstead forwarded a check to Sloans & Kenyon for the total cost of $21,500.00 via U.S. Priority Mail. The painting was never delivered to Ms. Winstead, and Sloans & Kenyon claimed to have misplaced it somewhere in the auction house.

hole-1576687-1-658x1024Sometimes what you do – or fail to do – before filing a lawsuit, can have a big impact on the final result, as Ross Lynch of Mandeville, Louisiana recently learned. Lynch owns property on Girard Street in Mandeville. Two of his neighbors own a lot directly adjacent to his property that is used by the City of Mandeville as a public parking lot. Overgrown grass and weeds were growing along the fence that separated the two lots. Until filing a lawsuit, Lynch never mentioned this problem to the neighbors or asked them to get rid of the overgrowth, which he considered to be an “obvious nuisance.”

In June 2010, Lynch entered the neighbors’ property without their permission in order to trim the grass and weeds. In the process, Lynch inadvertently fell into a four-foot deep hole that had been hidden by the dense growth. The hole was caused by a broken sewer pipe that belonged to the City of Mandeville. Lynch injured his foot and ankle and filed a lawsuit to get compensation for his injuries and reimbursement for medical bills, naming the property owners and the City of Mandeville as defendants.

Lynch argued that the property owners, as well as the City, had “constructive knowledge” of the dangerous hole on the property before he was injured because the overgrowth of weeds and grass had thoroughly hidden it and it therefore posed an unreasonable risk of danger. “Constructive knowledge” of a dangerous condition refers to the existence of facts that lead to an inference of actual knowledge of the condition.  See La.R.S.9:2800(D).  Lynch also argued that, because the property was used by the City as a public parking lot, it was under the control of the City, as well as of the property owners.

law-offices-1477311-1-1024x743The Court of Appeals in the Second Circuit of Louisiana recently took on a “case within a case.” This phrase is used in situations of legal malpractice against an attorney’s actions. For years a standard was set for these trials that required the client of the malpracticing attorney to prove the amount of damages by going through the original case they brought to the attorney. Jenkins v St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co set forth a new standard.  Jenkins v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 422 So. 2d 1109 – La: Supreme Court 1982.

In Jenkins the court decided that in situations where a plaintiff proves his prima facie case upon a showing that his former attorney is negligent (such as a showing that your attorney did not file your lawsuit in time) it makes more sense for the negligent attorney to carry the burden of overcoming the client’s accusations by proving they never could have won their original claim. Then the jury would be left with deciding causation and damages. Therefore, if the client can prove the attorney accepted the job and failed to timely assert the claim there is a prima facie case of negligence against the attorney. From here, the burden is on the negligent attorney to overcome the claim of legal malpractice.  To do this the negligent attorney will typically try to show that the client would have never won the lawsuit he was hired to pursue on their behalf.  Such a situation is shown in the facts below:

In May 2009 the Plaintiffs, suriving daughters of Brenda Noid, hired attorney Mason Oswalt for a medical malpractice/wrongful death claim arising from the death of their mother. On February 8, 2010 Oswalt filed the complaint naming a doctor, and St. Francis Medical Center as the Defendants. Oswalt received a letter dated February 18, 2010 from Patient’s Compensation Fund (“PCF”) saying Oswalt had until April 5, 2010 to pay a $300 filing fee. The payment was not done in time and the PCF notified Oswalt that the claim was not going to be considered. Oswalt sent a $300 check to PCF on May 6, 2010 asking that the Plaintiff’s claim be reinstated because the failure to pay was because of a clerical error. The PCF denied this request on May 12, 2010.

construction-workers-1215154-1024x738Construction contracts can be confusing because contractors often use many subcontractors to carry out the terms of the contract. This is why when a dispute arises those involved in construction contracts need the best lawyer possible to untangle contractual provisions especially in the context of payment to subcontractors.

The Dryades Young Men’s Christian Association and Ellis Construction, Inc. entered into a contract for a project known as the Dryades YMCA Natatorium and Wellness Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ellis then entered into a subcontract with Rotolo Consultants, Inc. (RCI). RCI formed a contract with Tymeless; Tymeless was a subcontractor of the first subcontractor, RCI. After performing the terms of its subcontract, Tymeless invoiced RCI. Although RCI made a partial payment, RCI did not pay Tymeless completely. In its lawsuit, Tymeless claimed that RCI was liable to it for the full amount of the contract, plus interest, attorney’s fees, and costs. In response to Tymeless’ lawsuit, RCI filed a dilatory exception of prematurity, based on the payment provision in its subcontract with Tymeless: “Payments are to be made as follows: 90% of Sub-Contractorís approved invoices or pay request will be paid subject to the conditions following, after payment by the Owner for Sub-Contractor’s work. Retention of 10% will be released upon satisfactory completion of this contract and release of final payment by the Owner.” RCI argued that because of this provision, “unless and until” Ellis paid RCI, RCI could not pay Tymeless the amount Tymeless wanted. The district court in New Orleans found that the contract had a “pay-if-paid clause” and dismissed the lawsuit filed by Tymeless.

On appeal, the issue was whether the provision in the subcontract was a “pay-if-paid” clause or a “pay-when-paid” clause. Most courts now treat pay-when-paid clauses differently than pay-if-paid provisions. A “pay-when-paid” clause creates a window of time in which the general contract has to pay the subcontractor. The general contractor has to pay the subcontractor within a reasonable time, even if the general contractor does not receive payment from the owner. A “pay-when-paid” clause can be interpreted in two ways: setting a condition before payment, or fixing a specific point in time at which payment is due. Most states hold the view that “pay-when-paid” clauses function as time mechanisms, and not as a condition precedent. The more restrictive “pay-if-paid” clause indicates that the general contractor is only required to pay the subcontractor if and to the extent that the general contractor has received payment from the owner for the subcontractor’s work. In other words, the risk of nonpayment is transferred from the general contractor to the subcontractor. Louisiana law aligns with the national viewpoint of a “pay-when-paid” clause; under Louisiana law, such a payment clause sets a reasonable time for payment. Southern States Masonry, Inc v. J.A. Jones Constr. Co., 507 So. 2d 198 (La. 1987). On the other hand, “pay-if-paid” clauses create a condition precedent to the subcontractor’s payment. Imagine Constr., Inc. v. Centex Landis Constr. Co., Inc., 707 So. 2d 500 (La. App. 1998).

freedom-of-speech-1058617-1024x900When the law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, then the law shall be applied as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature. If however there are multiple interpretations to a statute, the court will examine it in order to figure out what the legislative intent was behind it in hopes of clearing up any and all ambiguities. The Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal was recently faced with the task of interpreting a statute in order to determine whether or not it was properly applied at the trial level. The particular piece of legislation at issue is Louisiana’s Code of Civl Procedure Article 971. The issue rose within the context of a lawsuit brought by Chris E. Yount against Douglas Handshoe for defamation and several other related claims in which Mr. Handshoe was granted a special motion to strike pursuant to Article 971 asserting that his speech was protected under the First Amendment.

The defamation itself arises from a series of posts and comments authored by Mr. Handshoe and codefendant Jacke E. Truitt on www.slabbed.org, which is owned and operated by Mr. Handshoe and his company New Slabbed Media, LLC. On February 13th 2014 Mr. Handshoe published a drawing authored by Mr. Yount’s 13 yr old son on www.slabbed.org which had been used in Mr. Yount’s prior divorce proceedings in the 24th Judicial District Court. The captions authored by Mr. Handshoe clearly identified the author as a minor child and the divorce proceedings the child was involved in. The trial court found Mr. Handshoe’s blog posts were protected by his right of free speech under the United States and Louisiana Constitutions. Thus granting Mr. Handshoe’s special motion to strike dismissing all of Mr. Younts claims. Mr. Yount then filed for an appeal of the trial court’s ruling to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. Mr. Yount on appeal argued that the trial court erred in application of Article 971 because he is a private figure and the claims arise out of comments made in connection to a private rather than public issue.

The appellate courts decision hinges on the interpretation of Article 971.  That code article can be interpreted so that the special motion to strike will apply to any and all statements made in connection with any issue under consideration by a government body or alternatively that it will apply only to statements made in connection with public issues under consideration by a government body. Because the statute can be interpreted in multiple ways with adverse effects and absurd consequences the appellate court examined the purpose of the law to determine which of the above meanings conforms to the true purpose of the legislature. The court identified Article 971 as Louisiana’s Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute, lawsuits under this statute involve a civil complaint or counterclaim filed against non-governmental individuals because of their communications to a government body or electorate on an issue of some public interest. The special motion to strike was created to limit discovery, dismiss meritless claims quickly and award attorneys fees to the winning party regarding SLAPP claims.

anaesthetic-machine-1468043-951x1024Medical malpractice lawsuits can be extremely tough cases involving complex areas of medicine.  The best lawyers involved in medical malpractice lawsuits know that great experts are necessary to help prove their case.  The following lawsuit out of Jefferson Parish shows how a medical malpractice case can be effected if the right experts are not chosen to advocate on the Plaintiff’s behalf.

James Pertuit suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident on his farm on November 6, 2007. He was admitted to East Jefferson General  Hosptial and placed under the care of  a neurosurgeon. Approximately two weeks later, Mr. Peruit’s breathing tube was removed. After performing a neurological assessment that same evening, Mr. Pertuit’s doctor removed the  frontoventriculostomy tube from Mr. Peruit’s brain. After Mr. Peruit’s condition deteriorated, that same doctor placed a  new left frontoventriculostomny tube in Mr. Pertuit’s brain, but the patient’s brain damage was irreversible and unfortunately he died one week later.

Mr. Pertuit’s wife filed a claim of professional medical negligence against the doctor and East Jefferson General Hospital, claiming that they failed to meet the standard of care for her husband.  See La. R.S. 9:2794(A). Mrs. Pertuit, in order to establish her claim, employed as an expert witness, Dr. Joan Wojak, who is the director of neuroradiology at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette and an interventional neuroradiologist.

fireman-s-playground-1496789-1024x768Playgrounds bring great joy to young children.  Countless hours are spent sliding down slides, swinging on swings and traversing monkey bars throughout the state of Louisiana.  While it might come as news to some, playground equipment has certain set standards for what age range is appropriate to play on the equipment.  In a recent case involving a Baptist Church Aftercare program in Jefferson Parish these standards were discussed when unfortunately a young girl broke her arm while playing on their playground.

In September 2010, a 19-month old girl fell and broke her arm playing on a playset while in an aftercare program at Riverside Baptist Church. The playset was only meant for children 5 years old or older.  The parents of that child felt that Riverside failed in providing age appropriate equipment and therefore sued Riverside for damages in a negligence claim.

Personal injury can arise in many different scenarios, ranging from automobile accidents to medical malpractice cases. A common occurrence in these claims include the theory of negligence. The legal foundation for a negligence (failure to use reasonable care) theory in Louisiana involves five elements: (1) the defendant (the party being sued) had a duty to exercise reasonable standard of care; (2) the defendant failed to exercise this duty; (3) because the defendant’s lack of exercising this duty properly caused the injury; (4) the defendant’s ‘substandard’ care was within the scope of liability (i.e. even if the cause, were they legally liable for the cause); (5) did actual damages (injury or economic loss) occur. La. C.C. art. 2315. 

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Disputes between parties over a contract happen in the real world.  Even large sophisticated companies with legal departments and retained law firms have difficulty making air tight contracts that flow smoothly and are dispute free.

A company named 1100 South Jefferson Davis Parkway, LLC (South) was selling a property in New Orleans, Louisiana.  On November 28, 2008 South entered into an Agreement to Purchase the property (the Agreement) with Richard H. Williams (Williams) for $875,000.

The Agreement stipulated Williams had 30 days from the November 28, 2008 acceptance of South’s offer to inspect the property.  Williams was free to hire his own inspectors during this period, but was required to furnish the inspection reports on the property to South.  On December 18, 2008, Williams asked for an extension of an additional 30 days to inspect the property. South agreed to the extension and a new deadline for the completed inspections was set for January 19, 2009.

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To many the ownership of a home is a major part of the American dream. Many who have bought a home in the past have been enticed by the possibility of turning basic rent payments into eventual ownership of a home.  If you do enter into this type of agreement with a landlord make sure the contract is clear and you uphold your obligations.

In September 2013, Adrienne Brown and Roger Brown, Jr. responded to an advertisement stating a property in Chalmette, Louisiana was available for rent or rent-own.  On September 26, 2013 the Browns entered into a contract with the owner, Ellis Keys for a rent-to-own agreement. The property was to be sold in the amount of $100,000 at $750 per month until “paid in full.” The Browns were also required to maintain the property and forward mail to Mr. Ellis.

The relationship soured quickly. In early April 2014 Mr. Keys began the process of evicting the Brown for nonpayment of rent, nonpayment of contractually required late fees and not forwarding mail addressed to him which caused him to lose money.  After Mr. Keys notified them, the Browns had five days to vacate the property for failing to pay rent under La. C.C.P. art. 4701.

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