DK&S Recent Wins
Kathy van Zutphen defended claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and negligence against a Fortune 50 insurance company when it was claimed they paid out the proceeds of an annuity to persons who were no longer the designated beneficiaries. At the time of the annuity’s purchase, the purchaser designated his four children as the beneficiaries. One month after the purchaser’s death, the insurance company received an “Amendment of Application” form, changing the beneficiary to a Living Trust. The defendants examined the Amendment form and concluded that it did not comport with the requirements of the annuity contract and that the signature on the Amendment form did not match the signature on the original application; therefore, they paid the proceeds to the beneficiaries designated with the original Application. Following the reasoning of an early Mississippi case, the Court held that the purported Amendment form was ineffective to change beneficiaries and after the annuitant's death, nothing could be done to correct the defects. Furthermore, the Court found that the Plaintiffs did not come forward with any evidence of an expressed intent to change the beneficiary of the annuity and, due to the lack of evidence showing a genuine issue of material fact, Summary Judgment was granted.
Robert A. Pritchard Marital Trust, et al. v. Insurance Company Client, USDC, Southern District of Mississippi
Frederic “Ted” Le Clercq defended the Vieux Carre Property Owners and Residents Association (VCPORA) in a freedom of speech lawsuit in which the plaintiff was asking in excess of two million dollars. The case revolved around an e-mail message in which a representative of VCPORA urged the organization’s members to attend a City Council meeting and support a proposed ordinance. In the email, the representative referred to the plaintiff as a “thug,” leading the plaintiff to sue for defamation. The court determined that the e-mail wasn’t legally defamatory because the word “thug” doesn’t connote criminal conduct when used on its own. To be defamatory, the court said, the e-mail would have had to suggest that a crime was committed. Mr. Le Clercq was quoted in The Times-Picayune as stating, “Our courts have long recognized that vigorous debate on controversial issues of public concern is essential. This decision affirms that bedrock principle and supports VCPORA’s commitment to advocacy.” The Louisiana Appellate Court dismissed the lawsuit.
Howard L. 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.
About Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles
Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles, L.L.P. is a premiere regional law firm concentrating in legal counseling and complex, high-stakes litigation defense. The firm is on the forefront of the industries it serves and prides itself on unwavering responsiveness to client needs. Deutsch, Kerrigan, & Stiles consists of approximately 60 attorneys practicing in the areas of Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Construction, Labor & Employment, Toxic Tort & Environmental, Marine & Energy, and Professional Liability Law from offices in New Orleans, Louisiana; Monroe, Louisiana; and Gulfport, Mississippi.
