Tag: Fifth Circuit

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Third Circuit’s Requirements for Adjusting Workers’ Compensation Claims in Louisiana

  • March 13, 2017
  • By Allen & Gooch

  In the recent Third Circuit case, Broussard v. Dillards’ Department Stores, Inc., the Court issued a ruling that effects the manner in which all workers’ compensation insurers are required to handle workers’ compensation claims in Louisiana.  — So. 3d —, (La App. 3 Cir. 02/15/17) 2017 WL 606769. The issue was brought before the Third […]

• Insurance & Casualty Litigation

  UM Rejection Forms – Little Traction Given to Consent Challenges by Insureds not Fluent in English

  • April 27, 2016
  • By Brent Carriere

  Recently, in Ponce v. Welch, 15-669 (La. App. 5 Cir. 3/16/16) 2016 WL 107-8579, Louisiana’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal upheld summary judgment in favor of an insurance company by denying a UM rejection form challenge of an insured claiming she did not understand the UM rejection agreement because she was not fluent in English.  […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Seamen’s Recovery of Punitive Damages Against Non-Employer Third Parties

  • April 25, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  We previously reported  on the dispute whether Jones Act seamen can recover punitive damages under general maritime law against non-employer third parties.  District court opinions on this issue have differed, mostly due to conflicting interpretations of prior U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions.   Hume v. Consolidated Grain & Barge, […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Fifth Circuit: LOIA Applies to Agreement to Salvage Platform

  • April 6, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  LOIA Voids Certain Oilfield Indemnity Provisions Louisiana’s Oilfield Indemnity Act (“LOIA”) may invalidate certain indemnity agreements in oilfield contracts. See La. R.S. 9:2780.  There is a two-part test to determine if LOIA applies:  (1) the agreement must pertain to an oil, gas, or water well, and (2) the contract must involve operations related to the […]

• 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 […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Bad Faith Claims in Mississippi Could Affect Other Jurisdictions

  • March 30, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Mississippi Bad Faith Claims Can Affect Employers and Carriers in Other jurisdictions With companies operating in multiple states, navigating interstate laws has become increasingly tricky. This is especially true in the worker’s compensation arena where an employer can be sued for benefits in its state of operation, the state where the injury occurred, or the […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Seamen May Be Exempt from FLSA Overtime Rules

  • March 28, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Overtime Rules Under the FLSA The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires that some employees be paid at least “one and one-half times” their regular wages for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). However, the FLSA has an exemption for employees who are classified as “seamen.”  29 U.S.C. § […]

• Maritime Casualty

  What Are Vessel “Appurtenances”?

  • March 14, 2016
  • By Alan Stewart

  Maritime cases often discuss vessels and their “appurtenances.” For example, a vessel owner can be held liable under the theory of unseaworthiness if the vessel’s appurtenances are defective.  Merriam-Webster defines “appurtenance” as “an object that is used with or for something.”  But what does the word mean under general maritime law, and how do we […]

• Construction Law

  New Home Warranty Act – Plumbing vs. Structural Defects

  • March 9, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  In a recent Fifth Circuit case, Plaintiff’s filed suit under the New Home Warranty Act (NHWA) against the builder of their home. Campo v Sternberger, Fifth Circuit, 15-CA-52 c/w 15-CA-53 (11/19/15). The Trial Court found that the builder breached his warranty that the house would remain free of major structural defects as required under the New Home Warranty […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Title VII Pregnancy Bias Claim Requires More than Temporal Proximity

  • February 15, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision in Fairchild v. All American Check Cashing, Inc. that the employer had not violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Fairchild v. All American Check Cashing, […]