Howard Murphy: Representative Works

Personal Injury

Mr. Murphy secured the dismissal of a multi-million dollar suit brought against a sugar mill and its insurers by several plaintiffs, including one plaintiff who was rendered a quadriplegic as a result of a vehicular collision that occurred in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March 2008. The sugar mill had arranged for the driver of a tractor-trailer operated by another company to load raw sugar at the sugar mill, using equipment belonging to the sugar mill, and to transport the raw sugar to a refinery located approximately 60 miles away. The driver loaded more raw sugar on the trailer than the statute governing weight limits on roadways allowed. While in transit to the refinery, the tractor-trailer rear-ended several vehicles, including the vehicles operated by plaintiffs. The sugar mill moved for summary judgment in the trial court, contending the tractor-trailer company was an independent contractor and therefore the sugar mill should have no liability for the actions of the tractor-trailer company or its driver. After the motion was filed, the trial court authorized plaintiffs to take the depositions of representatives of both the sugar mill and the tractor-trailer company. At the hearing on the motion, the trial court denied the motion. Following the denial, the sugar mill and its insurers applied for a supervisory writ of certiorari to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeals. The First Circuit granted the writ, reversed the trial court and entered summary judgment in favor of the sugar mill and its insurers. The First Circuit held that plaintiffs had failed to establish that they will be able to carry their evidentiary burden at trial to demonstrate the sugar mill's vicarious liability or that the sugar mill had a duty to prevent the overloading of the tractor-trailer. Plaintiffs thereafter applied for a supervisory writ of certiorari to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which the Supreme Court denied. Manchester v. Conrad, No. 2009-CW-1074 (La. App. 1st Cir.)

Maritime Personal Injury

Mr. Murphy obtained summary judgments for LLOG Companies, the largest privately owned oil and gas company operating in the Gulf of Mexico, and Diamond Offshore Companies, a leading U.S. deepwater drilling contractor, when a plaintiff claimed to have sustained bodily injuries while standing on a vessel which lunged due to choppy seas, causing him to fall. In his complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the defendants directed him to leave the cabin of the vessel for the deck, where he was injured. LLOG Offshore, the time charterer of the vessel, moved for summary judgment on the basis that it has no liability because the voyage the vessel performed was subject to the sole right of the captain of the vessel to determine whether movement of the vessel may be safely undertaken. Diamond Offshore moved for summary judgment because the plaintiff had testified he did not believe the seas were too dangerous for work, and in fact, he safely completed a personnel basket transfer to the drilling rig after his injury.
Christopher S. Callahan v. Gulf Logistics, LLC et al., USDC WDLA, Lake Charles.

Wrongful Death

Mr. Murphy secured a favorable ranking of insurance coverage for an excess insurer that was one of several insurers sued in connection with a multi-vehicle collision caused by a tractor-trailer rig, that precipitated two wrongful death claims and numerous bodily injury claims.
Wanda Lafleur, et al v. AFTCO Enterprises, Inc., et al, 927 So.2d 1200 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 2006), writ granted and partially reversed, 940 So.2d 649 (La. 2006).

Bodily Injury

Mr. Murphy obtained the dismissal of bodily injury claims brought by the passenger of a public transit bus against the transit company on account of a fall the passenger sustained while the bus was in motion.
Doretha Covington v. Louisiana Transit Company, Inc., No. 591-547 (24th Judicial Dist. Ct. 2007).

Chemical Exposure Defense

Mr. Murphy obtained the dismissal of an action brought by a City of Lafayette sewerage plant worker, who alleged various neurogenic and other disorders due to exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas, which he claimed emanated from improperly installed valves.
Michael T. Sprague, et. al v. City of Lafayette, 2002-0624 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 2002).

Personal Injury - Transportation

Mr. Murphy obtained the dismissal of an action brought against a tractor-trailer operator for severe bodily injuries a 9-year-old girl sustained as a result of being struck by the vehicle.
Michelle Murrell, et. al v. John H. Pollan, et. al, No. 2000-CA-1389 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2001).

Product Liability

Mr. Murphy excluded the plaintiff's metallurgical expert, who opined about alleged deficiencies in a stepladder, under a motion brought pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 702.
JoAnn Clark v. R.D. Werner Co., Inc., 2000 WL 666380 (E.D. La.).

Insurance Coverage - Appeal

Mr. Murphy secured reversal of a $1.3 million plus judgment based on a lack of insurance coverage under a business auto liability policy.
Rickie Dupre and Darla Samanie Dupre, et. al v. Jarret Maynard, et. al, 692 So.2d 36 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1997).

Design & Construction Defect

Mr. Murphy secured a favorable trial verdict in the defense of an architect for defects in the construction of a custom residence; also clarified the law applicable to the recovery of damages for mental anguish in a suit for design and construction defects.
William Henry Sanders v. Carl Zeagler, 686 So.2d 819 (La. 1997), 670 So.2d 748 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 1996).

Architect Liability

Mr. Murphy obtained the dismissal of a subcontractor’s claims against an architect on the grounds the claims had prescribed.
Landis & James Construction Company v. Gee Cee Corporation, 669 So.2d 1265 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1996).

Insurance Coverage - Appeal

Mr. Murphy obtained a reduction in a $41 million judgment awarded for damage to an oil well to $44,309 based on a lack of insurance coverage and plaintiff’s failure to establish a right of action for allegedly impaired mineral rights.
Bruce T. Massey v. Decca Drilling Company, Inc., 647 So.2d 1196 (La. App. 2nd Cir. 1994).

Insurance Coverage

Mr. Murphy successfully defended an uninsured motorist insurer by establishing the validity of a uninsured motorist rejection form through the introduction of parol evidence, resulting in the insurer avoiding a $400,000 plus judgment.
Donald Alford v. Lawrence Woods, Jr., 614 So.2d 1299 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 1993).

Pension Fund

Mr. Murphy obtained the dismissal of a third-party claim asserted in state court by an attorney against pension fund trustees on the grounds that the state action was preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
New Orleans Sheet Metal Worker’s v. ABC Insurance Company, 599 So.2d 868 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1992).

Personal Injury

Mr. Murphy obtained a directed verdict at trial in favor of an oil equipment manufacturer sued by survivors of a decedent who died when a high pressure clamp separated while under extreme pressure.
Cathy Lavergne v. Cameron Iron Works, Inc., No. 90-4558 (5th Cir. 1991).

Architect Liability

Mr. Murphy secured the dismissal of multi-million dollar claims brought by an electrical subcontractor against an architect for the construction of a military hospital; the decision reconciled which prescriptive period under Louisiana law applies to claims brought by a contractor against a designer when no contractual privity exists between the two parties.
Merchants National Bank & Trust Co. of Indianapolis v. Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates, Inc. and The Mathes Group, 876 F.2d 1202 (5th Cir. 1989).