Miller v. Roger Miller Sand, Inc.
Louisiana Court of Appeal · 1996-07-18 · cited 8×
This case concerns a worker's compensation dispute in which claimant Austin Miller filed a motion seeking 24% penalties and attorney's fees against his employer Roger Miller Sand, Inc. and insurer Cigna for their alleged failure to timely pay a 1994 Louisiana Supreme Court judgment that awarded him supplemental earnings benefits (SEB), penalties, and fees. The Office of Worker's Compensation hearing officer awarded 12% penalties on the unpaid judgment, $800 in enforcement fees, $5,000 in additional fees to Miller's current attorney, $1,500 to his prior attorney, and SEB calculated on a stipulated average weekly wage of $222.19, while also addressing related issues raised on intervention. On appeal and rehearing, the Court of Appeal considered challenges to the penalty rate, fee amounts, SEB calculation, and legal interest accrual dates, ultimately amending its decree to set interest on the original penalties and fees from the Supreme Court's November 30, 1994 decision and on the enforcement awards from the hearing officer's June 2, 1995 ruling, while affirming the remainder under La.R.S. 23:1201(F) and 23:1201.3A.
labor & employmentprocedure
Jones v. Doe
Louisiana Court of Appeal · 1996-04-24 · cited 14×
In Jones v. Doe, a father sued on behalf of his five-year-old son, alleging that the St. Landry Parish School Board negligently supervised students and maintained unsafe restroom facilities, allowing another minor student to sexually assault the child on school premises and resulting in physical and emotional injuries. The school's insurer, Titan Indemnity Company, moved for summary judgment based on an Abuse and Molestation Exclusion in the commercial general liability policy that barred coverage for bodily injury arising from actual or threatened abuse or molestation, including negligent supervision of the perpetrator. The Louisiana Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Titan, concluding that the policy language unambiguously excluded coverage for the claims. The court reasoned that insurers may limit liability through clear exclusions and that the claims, whether framed as direct abuse or related negligence, fell within the exclusion's scope.
torts & liabilityprocedurefamily lawcriminal law
Nichols v. Nichols
Louisiana Court of Appeal · 1996-03-20 · cited 4×
This case involved a community property partition between Mabel and Walter Nichols following their 1983 legal separation in Louisiana, where the community regime ended but partition was delayed until 1993. The trial court valued the community assets (including two homes and collected rents) at approximately $88,887 and calculated each spouse's net interest after reimbursements, awarding the properties and rents accordingly while ordering a small balancing payment. On appeal, Walter challenged the reimbursement for his separate funds spent on community debts, the assessment of rent for his use of one property, and the overall interest calculations. The Court of Appeal amended the judgment to increase the rent calculation period by two months, reapportion rents equally between the spouses from the termination date, and adjust the balancing payment to $3,484.34 owed by Mabel to Walter, while affirming the rest based on La. Civ. Code art. 2367 and precedents on post-termination rents.
family lawproperty
State v. Dorsey
Louisiana Court of Appeal · 1996-03-20 · cited 4×
Alfred Dorsey pled guilty in 1991 to issuing worthless checks exceeding $500 and was sentenced to six years at hard labor in 1995 after a roughly four-year delay. He appealed, claiming the delay rendered the sentence unreasonable and illegal under principles of due process and statutory requirements for timely sentencing. The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, affirmed the sentence, finding the delay was not unreasonable because it resulted in part from the defendant's non-appearances, continuances, and incarcerations on unrelated matters in other jurisdictions, with no showing of prejudice to him. The court also noted that the defendant had not properly preserved the issue below but addressed it on the merits anyway.
criminal lawprocedure
Perritt v. Commercial Union Ins. Co.
Louisiana Court of Appeal · 1996-03-13 · cited 7×
This case involved a personal injury lawsuit arising from a collision between a tanker truck driven by Mitchell Odom and a mobile home being moved onto a Louisiana highway. The jury found Odom 20% at fault, the mobile home mover 30% at fault, and his employer 50% at fault, awarding Odom $14,115.75 in past medical expenses, $15,000 for past and future lost earnings, and $100,000 in general damages, plus $2,500 to his wife Rita for loss of consortium. Odom appealed the lost earnings award as too low, and his wife appealed the consortium award as insufficient. The court affirmed both awards, finding no abuse of discretion because Odom's proof of higher lost earnings relied on inaccurate financial records that underestimated post-accident income and because evidence supporting greater consortium damages was weak.
torts & liability
Olivier v. LeJeune
Louisiana Court of Appeal · 1995-04-07 · cited 3×
This case was a personal injury lawsuit brought by Burton and Shirley Olivier against Patrick LeJeune and his auto insurer for damages stemming from a 1991 car accident that aggravated Mr. Olivier's preexisting but asymptomatic spinal condition, leading to ongoing back pain, medical treatment including possible future surgery, and impacts on the couple's relationship. The defendants stipulated liability, but a jury awarded only limited damages after the trial court admitted an unlisted surveillance videotape over the plaintiffs' objections; the trial judge later granted a partial JNOV increasing past medical expenses. On appeal, the Louisiana Third Circuit reversed, vacated the awards, held the videotape inadmissible because it was not disclosed in the pretrial order, and rendered judgment awarding Mr. Olivier $187,835.22 (covering past and future medicals, pain and suffering) plus $15,000 to Mrs. Olivier for loss of consortium based on uncontradicted medical and lay testimony.
torts & liabilityprocedure