Tag: Punitive Damages

• 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

  Recovery of Punitive Damages by Seamen in the Eastern District of Louisiana

  • January 11, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  The availability of punitive damages for seamen has historically been a murky issue.  District courts are still attempting to decipher U.S. Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit jurisprudence to determine when punitive damages are available under the Jones Act and general maritime law.   Judges and jurists first look to the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Fifth Circuit: Punitive Damages Not Available for Unseaworthiness

  • November 10, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Fifth Circuit Reverses Itself on Punitive Damages The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently released a 73-page opinion in the en banc rehearing of McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C., No. 12-30714 (5th Cir. Sept. 25, 2014).  As reported previously, the court originally ruled that seamen may be able to recover punitive damages for their employers’ […]

• Insurance & Casualty Litigation

  6 Things to Know About UM Coverage in Louisiana

  • October 31, 2013
  • By Brent Carriere
  

  Punitive damages Excluding punitive damages from UM coverage does not conflict with the purpose of the UM statute and should be given full effect.  Fortier v. Hamblin, 610 So.2d 897 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1992). Judicial interest Once a lawsuit is filed, the claim necessarily increases to take into account accrued interest.  Therefore, the amount […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Are Punitive Damages Again Available in Unseaworthiness Cases?

  • October 16, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Fifth Circuit Holds Punitive Damages Allowable for Certain Claims Last week, in McBride v. Estis Well Serv., L.L.C. (5th Cir. 2013), the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that seamen may recover punitive damages for their employers’ willful and wanton breach of the general maritime law duty to provide a seaworthy vessel. In its […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Punitive Damages allowed by Louisiana Federal Court in LHWCA Suit

  • October 9, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Will Punitive Damages Now be Available in Louisiana for Offshore Injuries? In Callahan v. Gulf Logistics, L.L.C., No. 6:06-CV-561 2013 WL 5236888 (W.D. La. Sept. 16, 2013), the Western District of Louisiana recently permitted a plaintiff to pursue punitive damages in a vessel negligence lawsuit for injuries allegedly sustained outside territorial waters, pursuant to section […]

• Business Litigation

  LA Supreme Court Overrules 3rd Circuit’s Use of Texas Punitive Damages

  • May 13, 2012
  • By Allen & Gooch

  In Arabie v. Citgo Petroleum Corp., 10-2605 (La. 3/13/12), 89 So. 3d 307, the Louisiana Supreme Court overruled the Third Circuit Court of Appeal’s application of Texas law to award Texas punitive damages.  The case involved an oil spill that occurred at a Citgo refinery in Louisiana caused by a tank overflow during severe weather. […]