Insight and Information on Louisiana Law, Litigation, and Legal Culture
Corps of Engineers Releases 100 Year Flood Maps for New Orleans Metro Area
On Wednesday June 20, 2007, the Army Corps of Engineers released its long anticipated 100 year flood maps for various parts of the New Orleans metro area. While the maps depict some improvement over the flood risk that existed before Hurricane Katrina,…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (”CMS”) recently issued a letter to State Survey Directors, who conduct surveys to ensure that health care providers (such as hospitals) are meeting the Medicare conditions of participation, to advise them that a hospital may not condition its acceptance of an EMTALA transfer on the sending hospital’s using…
On May 30, 2007, United States District Judge Stanwood R Duval dismissed a class action lawsuit by residents of South Louisiana claiming damages from Hurricane Katrina. The court ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies with the federal government before filing their Federal Tort Claims Act suit. The lawsuit accused the federal government of negligently…
The purpose of due diligence in the acquisition of licensing of intellectual property assets (namely patents and copyrights) is to give a buyer an opportunity to investigate and evaluate the asset concerned in some detail. More particularly, due diligence involving patens and copyrights can present ownership issues if the author/inventor is or was married and…
On Thursday May 31, 2007, U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil of the Kansas District Court denied the motions to dismiss of PepsiCo Inc. and privately held Sunny Delight Beverages Co. and Rockstar Inc. in litigation related to possible benzene exposure from drinking certain of the defendants’ soft drinks.
The plaintiffs claim that when certain…
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Yes, businesses are allowed to make campaign contributions in Louisiana. The limits vary depending upon the office being sought by the candidate to whom the business wishes to contribute. The limits (as of the date of this article) are set forth below. Individuals are subject to the same contribution limits.
The Limits:…
On June 1, 2007, the Louisiana Legislature unanimously passed the state’s first comprehensive master plan for coastal restoration and hurricane protection. In response, the governor has asked the legislature to commit $200 million of the state’s surplus to the coastal fund and allow for the securitization of the tobacco settlement funds, of which 20% is…
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – September 8, 2006 – Fifteen partners from Baton Rouge-based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman (Kean Miller) will be listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.). Published biennially since 1983, The Best Lawyers in America is widely regarded as an important referral guide to…
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) recently instituted a pilot program of making its Electronic Document Management System (“EDMS”) available on the internet for a six-month trial period. The EDMS is the electronic repository of official records that have been created or received by LDEQ. All documents that are defined as “public records,” including e-mail, either…
