You have come to this page from a bookmark, old link, or search engine index. La-Legal has a new format where this information can now be found in a fully integrated format. Please go HERE to locate the information you want.

Research:
Recent decisions from the Louisiana courts

This is the place to find some of the newest decisions on Louisiana Law from the Louisiana appeals courts and the Louisiana Supreme Court. Decisions are reported based on our assessment of the decision's importance and interest to the legal community.
 

To see the full text of some of these decisions, you can go to the web sites for the Courts of Appeal and the Louisiana Supreme Court (the Third Circuit does not yet have case search capability):

Louisiana Supreme Court 
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Fourth Circuit 
Fifth Circuit

Related Topics

For the latest summaries of cases from the Louisiana Supreme Court, updated daily, go to our Louisiana Supreme Court Report. You can also request that the summaries be emailed to you.



 


Decisions are added frequently, so check back.

Criminal law decisions

State v. Conner. A sentence of 10 years in prison for fifth offense DWI was not excessive. In any prosecution for multiple offenses, the state has the burden of proving the prior offenses. In this case, the state even produced a judge from a prior trial as a witness as well as the defendant's previous attorneys from prior trials. (833 So.2d. 396 5 cir. 2002)

State v. Suire  Suire, who is physically disabled, was sentenced to eight years at hard labor for making a bomb threat. The threat was made by a hand written note together with a "device" in a plastic bag to the Office of Community Services which had taken away custody of his daughter. The device turned out to be a telephone pager. The appeals court found that the sentence was excessive and remanded the case to the trial court for re-sentencing. (827 So.2d 569 3 Cir. 2002)

State v. Sears  Defendant was arrested for "lewd conduct" which resulted in finding marijuana in his car. The lewd conduct was being in a parked car with a female while they were partially dressed. The court found that this was not lewd conduct and therefore the marijuana was not admissible. (823 So.2d 420 4 Cir. 2002)

State v. Helou  Bloody nose was sufficient to convict defendant under Louisiana's second degree battery law. Also, spitting at a person and approaching him with a closed fist made the defendant the aggressor, not the victim of the altercation. (822 So.2nd 3 Cir. 2002)

State v. Davis  Defendant waived a jury and was convicted by the judge of armed robbery and was further convicted as an habitual offender and sentenced to life in prison. The judge denied the defendant the opportunity to present a closing argument. The case was reversed and sent back for a new trial with a new judge. The right to make a closing argument is a fundamental right under the Constitution. (822 So.2d 161 1 Cir. 2002)

State v. Withers Defendant hit other car and was chased by other driver who called police on his cell phone. When pulled over by police, defendant was observed to appear drunk and had empty beer cans in his car. He refused to take sobriety test. Conviction for third offense DWI was upheld based on evidence. (821 So.2d 556 2nd Cir. 2002)

State v. Graham Known drug dealer who admitted cocaine was in trunk, objects to search of trunk through motion to suppress. Probable cause exists where reasonable man believes crime has been committed. (820 So.2d 1101 5th Cir. 2002)

State v. Woodbury Defendant, who was convicted on multiple counts with 35 year sentence, appeals alleging ineffective counsel. Held: defendant must show two things: 1) counsel was deficient, and 2) he was prejudiced by deficiency. Appeal dismissed. (820 So.2d 638 4 Cir. 2002)

State v. Broussard When the state wants to show prior felony conviction to support charge of felon in possession of firearm, the state has burden of showing clear evidence of prior conviction. Conviction overruled. (819 So.2d 1141 4th Cir. 2002)

State v. Nightengale Confession was admissible despite claim that detective had promised a light sentence and that he would speak to the DA. It was admitted that detective promised he would speak to DA, but denied that a lighter sentence was promised. Apparently, it is OK to promise to speak to the DA on a defendant's behalf in return for confession, but not OK to promise a lighter sentence. (818 So.2d 819 2 Cir. 2002)
 

Family law decisions

Stephens v. Stephens  The controlling issue in deciding the best custody arrangement is the best interests of the children. Where it is not clear that spending equal time physically with each parent is in the child's best interest, an award of equal time must be reversed for further consideration. (822 So.2nd 770 1 Cir. 2002)

Stelly v. Stelly Income a child received from a trust was properly deducted from the father's child support obligation as shown on the guidelines. This case is a good example of how the guidelines are used for a starting point. See also our section on child support. (820 So2d 1270 3rd Cir. 2002)

Shambley v. Holmes Equal custodial time with a child is not in the best interest of the child where the parents do not live close to each other. (821 So.2d 21 5th Cir. 2002)

State in re C.W. Agreement between mother and father to change custody to father, even though approved by judge in order, was not valid where state had custody of child at time of agreement. (820 So.2d 636 3 Cir. 2002)

In Re Washburn Natural father who had not paid child support until a payment shortly before petition for adoption, lost his rights to object to the adoption. (819 So.2d 1072 3rd Cir. 2002)

State Ex Rel JM Mentally retarded mother's rights as parent are terminated by the trial court. Decision is reversed by appeals court who found that mentally retarded mother was capable of parenting with help. (818 So.2d 807 2 Cir. 2002)

 
Probate and succession decisions

Succession of Lounsberry  Two sons sued a third son alleging that the deceased father's will and revocable trust was not done of the father's own free will. 1989 will left everything to three sons equally. 1999 will left everything to one son. Father died in 1999 at the age of 89 while in the one son's care. The court found that the one son had unduly influenced the father by convincing him that the other sons had taken some action against him. (824 So.2d 409 3 Cir. 2002)
 
Business law decisions

Pratt v. Himel Marine  Doctor buys $100,000 fishing boat for his retirement with two Mercury outboard engines. Prior to sale, both engines had extensive repairs per Mercury's instructions to dealer for "service bulletin" repairs that involved complete disassembly. The doctor began to have immediate problems with the engines including burnt out power heads, chronic overheating, and numerous other problems. A jury found Mercury and the dealer liable for redhibition and also awarded the doctor $45,000.00 in attorneys fees. The award of attorneys fees was reversed on appeal because the jury had found that the dealer was in good faith, but the finding of redhibition and the return to the doctor of the sales price and expenses was upheld. (823 So.2d 394 1 Cir. 2002)

Quebedeaux v. Dow Employees get into fistfight on the job and are both fired. Lower court awarded one employee damages for discharge. The Louisiana Supreme Court overrules and states that written policy of employer had rule against fighting, the at-will employment doctrine enables employer to fire employee under this fact situation. (820 So.2d 542 Sup.Ct. 2002)

New Orleans Brass v. Whitney Bank Hockey team owner gets letter of credit to guarantee rental payments. When there is a dispute with the landlord over rental payments, team owner tries to stop letter of credit through injunction proceeding. Court found that alleged breaches of contract do not constitute fraud that would warrant injunction.
 
Tort law decisions (personal injury, malpractice)

Angele v. Delery. Plaintiff suffered a shoulder injury in a car accident. There was no issue as to fault, only damages. A jury awarded plaintiff $20,000 which the trial court increased to $50,000 in a judgment NOV. The increase was upheld on appeal since the original award was abusively low and the increase within the court's discretion. (833 S0.2d 469 5 Cir. 2002)

Thomas v. Southwest Louisiana Hospital Assn. Trial court found hospital 20% liable for plaintiff's injuries when she fell from a hospital bed. Relatives of the plaintiff were found 80% liable for lowering the bed's guard rails. The appeals court reversed the finding of fault against the hospital because there was a lack of evidence presented on the standard of care that the hospital should be expected to follow. (833 So.2d 548 3 Cir. 2002)

Turner v. Ostrowe  Former wife sued husband for conspiring to perform a female circumcision. The husband, who is a doctor, allegedly conspired with another doctor to perform the surgery on the plaintiff while she was receiving another surgical procedure. An award by a judge to her of $35,000 was increased by the appeals court to $125,000. The Court called the case "...unusual, legally challenging, and emotionally charged." (828 So.2d 1212 1 Cir. 2002)

Byers v. Edmundson  This is the Natural Born Killers movie case. In that movie, Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis play criminals on a spree of murder and mayhem. When two teens who view the movie over and over are supposedly inspired to do the same thing, a Louisiana store clerk is paralyzed as the result of a convenience store robbery in Ponchatoula. The Louisiana courts are faced with this question: should movie producers, directors and studios be responsible for encouraging criminal behavior? Does the First Amendment guaranteeing free speech apply? Read the full case here.

Armand v. State Louisiana has a statutory cap on medical malpractice claims of $500,000. This case tested the constitutionality of the malpractice cap. In this case, Earl K. Long hospital failed to diagnose meningitis in a child and a trial judge awarded $7 million in damages. The award is reduced to $500,000 by the 1st Circuit. (822 So. 2nd 671 1 Cir. 2002)

Rodriquez v. Wal-Mart Customer slips on wet brick entrance to Wal-Mart in Alexandria. The bricks were wet because of earlier plant watering. Plaintiff was awarded $10,000 and Wal-Mart appealed. The finding that the wet brick entrance was an unreasonable risk was upheld. (820 So.2d 1190 3rd Cir. 2002)

Harris v. Sternberg Obese patient sued doctor because he fell from the doctor's scale. The issue was whether the insurance coverage for damages would be under malpractice insurance or general liability insurance. A decision releasing the malpractice carrier was reversed pending further proceedings. (819 So.2d 1134 4 Cir. 2002)

Duck v. McClure and State Farm "Reasonable Person" doctrine means that a person may be justified in striking another if the provocation is sufficient. A noisy 4th of July party resulted in a neighbor inviting a noisy guest to "take it to the streets." Once outside, the noisy neighbor hit Duck on the head with a stick. Although McClure was the original aggressor, the provocation was not enough to justify the attack. (819 So.2d 1070 2 Cir. 2002)

Randall v. Chalmette Medical Center Hospital had no liability resulting from a grandson visiting his grandfather to get a power of attorney and then depleting the grandfather's assets. The hospital had no obligation to monitor a patient's visitors. (819 So.2d 1129 4 Cir. 2002)