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Louisiana’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed judgment in favor of the firm’s client, a general liability insurer, in an insurance coverage dispute. The insured roofing contractor was sued after a fire started during a roof repair and caused damage to multiple buildings. The general liability policy at issue was subject to an endorsement that excluded coverage for damage caused during a “torch down” roofing operation. The trial court rejected the roofer’s claim that the exclusion was unambiguous and/or inapplicable and granted summary judgment. On appeal, the ruling was affirmed. The court held that, under a plain reading of the exclusion, “damages caused by the use of hot tools to perform roofing repairs, triggers the Torch Down Roofing Exclusion, and precludes coverage.”

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TWPD is excited to announce the opening of its fourth office in Covington, Louisiana. Expanding our presence in St. Tammany and the surrounding parishes is part of our ongoing effort to better serve our clients and the local communities in which they do business.    

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The Firm’s New Orleans lawyers secured dismissal of a Pennsylvania credit union from a suit filed in Louisiana. The credit union was not registered to do business in Louisiana, did not employ anyone in Louisiana, did not advertise or solicit business in Louisiana, and did not maintain any branches in Louisiana. The credit union’s only connection to the Louisiana case was that it financed a loan to the Plaintiffs for remodeling their home after it was damaged during Hurricane Ida. Because the credit union did not have constitutionally sufficient contact with Louisiana, the firm filed an Exception of Lack of Personal Jurisdiction on the credit union’s behalf. Following oral argument and post-hearing briefs from the parties, the Court sustained the Exception and dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims against the credit union. The Plaintiffs filed a motion for new trial, which was quickly denied.

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The firm’s Mississippi office battled a high stakes trucking case for the past six years. Central to the case was a fierce liability dispute. The plaintiffs’ vehicle was sitting in the right hand lane of a rural highway, without working lights and late at night. The dark color of the small sedan mixed with painted over taillights made it virtually impossible to be seen by following traffic. A truck driver was traveling down the same highway and only saw the disabled, unlit vehicle as a collision was imminent. Regrettably, the collision resulted in three fatalities and two injured plaintiffs. While most of the parties resolved their claims, the remaining plaintiff took a hardline stance on liability and trial was scheduled.  The firm successfully excluded one of Plaintiff’s liability experts ahead of trial. This expert intended on testifying in the field of accident reconstruction, human factors, trucking and transportation and regulatory compliance.  Plaintiff appealed the exclusion up to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which refused to overturn the trial judge’s ruling.  The ruling significantly gutted Plaintiff’s liability theories and directly resulted in the ability to resolve the case ahead of trial.

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