Scott J. Crichton

Barber Brothers Contracting Company, LLC v. Capitol City Produce Company, LLC; Frank Cushenberry; And Xyz Insurance Company C/W Frank Cushenberry and Robin Cushenberry, Individually and on Behalf of the Minor Children, Noah Cushenberry and Khloe Cushenberry v. Johnny Scott and Barber Brothers Contracting Company, LLC

Supreme Court of Louisiana · 2024-12-19

The case involved a lawsuit by Frank Cushenberry and his family against Barber Brothers Contracting Company for injuries from a vehicular accident on Interstate 10, where a Barber Brothers truck was involved. The Louisiana Supreme Court on rehearing affirmed the jury's award of $10,750,000 in general damages to Mr. Cushenberry, finding no abuse of discretion when considering the specific facts of the case, corrected the fault allocation to 80% for Barber Brothers and 20% for Mr. Cushenberry, and addressed prior inconsistent holdings on loss of consortium awards. The core reasoning emphasized reviewing damage awards based on the particular circumstances of the plaintiff rather than solely prior cases, and correcting a scribe error in fault assessment while upholding the trial court's jury instructions.

torts & liabilityprocedure

Louisiana Board of Ethics in the Matter of Michelle Barnett

Supreme Court of Louisiana · 2024-10-25

The case concerned whether Michelle Barnett, a Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals employee, violated the Code of Governmental Ethics (La. R.S. 42:1111(C)(2)(d)) by receiving a thing of economic value from a prohibited source through her husband's employment with Magellan Health Services, which held a contract with her agency. The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the court of appeal and Ethics Adjudicatory Board rulings that had found a violation and imposed penalties. The court held that the Board failed to prove Barnett received compensation for services rendered to a prohibited source, noting that the payments were for her husband's work and neither she nor her husband held an ownership interest in the contracting entity. The decision emphasized strict construction of the penal ethics statutes and application of the rule of lenity, resulting in dismissal of all charges.

criminal lawbusiness & regulatory

Huberto Martinez v. American Transport Group Risk Retention Group, Inc., Salah Dahir and Starr Carriers, LLC C/W Ada Licona, Rosa Rivera and Salbador Flores v. American Transportation Group Risk Retention Group, Inc., Salah Dahir, Starr Carriers, LLC, Allstate County Mutual Insurance Company

Supreme Court of Louisiana · 2024-10-25

This case arose from a 2019 motor vehicle accident in Louisiana involving a tractor-trailer that struck another vehicle, leading to consolidated lawsuits by multiple plaintiffs against the driver, his employer, and the employer's insurer, American Transportation Group Risk Retention Group, Inc., which had a $1,000,000 policy limit. After a jury awarded damages exceeding the policy limit and the trial court entered judgment for over $2.8 million without allocating fault or noting policy limits, the insurer sought a suspensive appeal and requested a bond limited to its remaining policy limits plus interest rather than the full judgment amount. The Louisiana Supreme Court held that the insurer could suspensively appeal by posting security equal only to its policy limits, as it was aggrieved under La. Code Civ. P. art. 2124(C) by the trial court's requirement of a larger bond. The court reasoned that Article 2124(B) and (C) must be read together, allowing supervisory review and adjustment of the security amount when the full judgment bond would exceed contractual policy limits established in the record. The matter was rendered as amended and remanded for further proceedings.

proceduretorts & liability

The Council of the City of New Orleans v. Edward Wisner Donation, the Honorable Mayor Latoya Cantrell, in Her Official Capacity and as Trustee, Michael Peneguy, Senator Edwin Murray, Major Chris Thornhill and Patrick Norton C/W the Council of the City of New Orleans v. Edward Wisner Donation, the Honorable Mayor Latoya Cantrell, in Her Official Capacity and as Trustee, Michael Peneguy, Senator Edwin Murray, Major Chris Thornhill and Patrick Norton

Supreme Court of Louisiana · 2024-03-22

The case involved a dispute between the New Orleans City Council and the Mayor, acting as trustee, along with other parties over the Edward Wisner Trust, a charitable trust established by a 1914 land donation that had grown to over $100 million in value; the Council sought declaratory and injunctive relief challenging a 2020 agreement that purported to extend and modify the trust after its original 100-year term. The Louisiana Supreme Court addressed whether the Council had procedural capacity to bring the suit in its own name under the city's Home Rule Charter. The Court reversed the court of appeal and held that the Council does possess such capacity, reasoning that the Charter grants the Council broad legislative and oversight powers, including the authority to initiate litigation to protect city interests in conflicts with the executive branch. The case was remanded for consideration of the remaining issues regarding the preliminary injunction.

procedureproperty

Creekstone Juban I, L.L.C. v. Xl Insurance America, Inc.

Supreme Court of Louisiana · 2019-05-08

This case involved a dispute between Creekstone Juban I, L.L.C., a Louisiana-based property owner, and XL Insurance America, Inc., over a commercial property insurance policy that covered flood damage to a retail complex. Creekstone filed suit in Louisiana state court after XL Insurance partially paid a claim but disputed additional amounts, prompting XL to seek dismissal based on a contractual forum selection clause requiring all disputes to be litigated exclusively in New York courts. The Louisiana Supreme Court granted writs to address whether La. R.S. 22:868(A)(2) barred enforcement of that clause. The court held that the statute does not prohibit enforcement of the parties' agreed-upon forum selection clause, reversed the trial court's ruling, and remanded for further proceedings under La. Code Civ. P. art. 121. The decision turned on the interpretation that the statute's restrictions on certain insurance contract provisions do not extend to the contractual choice of forum in this context.

business & regulatoryprocedure

State of Louisiana v. Lee Turner, Jr.

Supreme Court of Louisiana · 2018-12-05 · cited 17×

The case involved defendant Lee Turner, Jr., who was convicted by a jury of two counts of first-degree murder committed during an armed robbery and sentenced to death. On direct appeal, the Louisiana Supreme Court reviewed 32 assignments of error and found that the trial court had improperly restricted the defendant's ability to question prospective jurors about their willingness to consider a life sentence rather than automatically imposing the death penalty, known as a reverse-Witherspoon challenge. The court therefore vacated the death sentences while affirming the convictions on all other grounds and remanded the matter to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

criminal lawprocedure

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Scott J. Crichton

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