Practice: Business Litigation

• Business Litigation

  Tension Between New Tort Reform Law and Direct Action Statute

  • July 27, 2020
  • By Brent Maggio

  The Louisiana Direct Action Statute, La. Rev. Stat. 22:1269, generally allows Plaintiffs to sue its insurance company and another’s insurance company directly when the policy is written or delivered upon in Louisiana, or when the accident occurs in Louisiana. The Plaintiff must name both the insured and the insurer; however, when certain circumstances exist, the […]

• Business Litigation

  Adverse Presumption Awarded for Breaching Duty to Preserve Evidence

  • April 11, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Recently, in Sayre v. PNK (Lake Charles), LLC, 2015-859 (La. App. 3 Cir. 3/23/16), the Third Circuit recently reversed a trial court’s refusal to provide a jury charge which included instructions that a party’s failure to preserve evidence within their control would give rise to a presumption that said evidence would be adverse to their […]

• Business Litigation

  Fifth Circuit Issues Warning for Lenders Seeking to Accelerate Loans in Default

  • April 4, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Recent case assesses when the statute of limitations/prescriptive period begins to run. There is an important warning for creditors hidden in dicta of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent ruling, Martin v. Federal National Mortgage Association, No. 15-41104 (5th Cir. Feb. 22, 2016) – accepting payment after accelerating a debt could waive the acceleration […]

• Business Litigation

  White Collar Exemptions – Rule Changes to Wage Requirements

  • March 23, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  July 2016 Timeline for Final Rule on White Collar Exemptions As many employers are aware, the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule change to the white collar exemptions for minimum wage and overtime requirements. The proposed rule updated the minimum compensation and salary levels to qualify for the white collar exemption from the […]

• Business Litigation

  Personal Liability for LLC Members

  • February 8, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Personal Liability May Still Exist for LLC Members, Despite the General Shield from Liability. In a previous blog article, “Louisiana Supreme Court holds that an individually licensed contractor is not a “professional” within the meaning of an exception to limited liability for LLC members,” I discussed a recent case which held that a contractor could […]

• Business Litigation

  Five Signs Your Business is Ready for the Next Generation

  • January 25, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Family businesses make up 80% of all U.S. businesses, and yet only 30% of these businesses successfully survive a transition to the next generation. Dwight Drake, Closely Held Enterprises 335 (2013). One key question that many family businesses face is whether the company will survive the transition to the next generation. Here are five signs […]

• Business Litigation

  Protections for Nursing Mothers in the Workforce

  • January 20, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  As of 2010, the Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to include requirements that employers covered by the FLSA accommodate non-exempt employees. The statute requires: 1) Reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for one year after the child’s birth each time the employee needs to express milk; […]

• Business Litigation

  Fifth Circuit Clarifies Loss Causation Requirements in Securities Class Actions

  • November 11, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Plaintiffs Allege Medicare Fraud Led to Artificially Inflated Stock Prices In Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi, Puerto Rico Teachers’ Retirement System v. Amedisys, Inc., No. 13-30580, 2014 WL 4931411 (5th Cir. Oct. 2, 2014) (“PERSM”), the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the level of pleading required to survive a 12(b)(6) motion to […]

• Business Litigation

  Social Media as Evidence – Louisiana Courts Accept Facebook

  • March 24, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Facebook Used to Prove Plaintiff’s Quality of Life In a recent trial, we were able to submit evidence to the jury regarding posts on plaintiff’s Facebook page regarding activities she participated in and her general quality of life. We argued that these posts showed that plaintiff had no loss of enjoyment of life and that […]

• Business Litigation

  More Countries Adopting Anticorruption Laws

  • March 3, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Companies in many industries, such as energy exploration and service companies—with their global operations and presence in third world and developing countries—face numerous pressures, including the prospect of accusations of bribery and corruption.  Companies with a presence in numerous countries must today be cognizant of the various anticorruption laws adopted in the countries in which […]