Articles Posted in Louisiana Personal Injury Law

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Louisiana Trial Lawyer, B. Scott Andrews, of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C., has been selected for membership in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Scott Andrews is already a 2012-2013 member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40.

The National Trial Lawyers is a member-driven organization composed of premier trial lawyers from across the country who meet stringent qualifications as civil plaintiff trial lawyers. Through educational and networking opportunities, the organization strives to help its members build law practices which encompass superior knowledge, skill, experience and success.

Only top trial lawyers from Louisiana who are actively practicing in civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense law are eligible for invitation. Invitees must demonstrate superior qualifications, leadership skills, and trial results as a legal professional. The selection process for this elite honor is based on a multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third party research. Prospective members of The National Trial Lawyers are carefully screened prior to receiving an invitation for membership. Membership is not automatically renewed; attorneys are reevaluated annually to determine whether their activities and accomplishments qualify them for continued membership.
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Every member (Paul H. Dué, Kirk A. Guidry, Randy A. Piedrahita and B. Scott Andrews) of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. has been named to the 2013 Super Lawyers list for Louisiana. The reason is clear – more than 25 years handling referrals of complex and difficult personal injury cases from lawyers around the world. This success is rooted in academia, with all firm members having graduated at the top of their law school class and having served as members of or as editors of their Law Reviews. The firm boasts former Louisiana Supreme Court and U.S. Fifth Circuit law clerks, Adjunct Professors of Law, past Presidents of the Louisiana Association for Justice, and both a former Louisiana appellate judge and an esteemed University of Texas Law Professor “of counsel”.

This background, combined with hard work and extensive experience, has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. This success has been shared with the many attorneys who refer cases to the firm – who find the firm’s experience and funding assistance invaluable in representing their clients.

The members of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. combine their academic backgrounds, practical trial experience and financial “staying power” to add up to success for clients and the lawyers trusting the firm with referrals.
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Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury trial lawyer, Paul H. Dué, has been selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America, 19th edition for his work in the practice areas of Admiralty & Maritime Law, Personal Injury Litigation, and Product Liability Litigation. Listing in the 2013 edition marks fifteen years since Paul H. Dué was first listed in Best Lawyers. Through this distinction Paul H. Dué has proven to be a consistent and dedicated member of the law community.

Selection for Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprised of more than 4 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. Our annual Best Lawyers publication has been described by The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.” Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

Best Lawyers in America is one of the most visible and targeted peer review publications in the legal profession.

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Dué, Guidry Piedrahita & Andrews has been named to the U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2013 list, with first tier rankings in Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs and Product Liability-Plaintiff. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm has been ranked in the first tier every year since the inception of the Best Law Firms rankings.

The U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers 2013 “Best Law Firms” rankings provide a comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession that is unprecedented both in the range of firms represented and in the range of qualitative and quantitative data used to develop the rankings.

The third edition of these rankings features law firms given consistently impressive performance ratings by clients and peers. Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise.

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“In the absence of bad faith, a liability insurer generally is free to settle or to litigate at its own discretion, without liability to its insured for a judgment in excess of the policy limits. William Shelby McKenzie & H. Alston Johnson, III, 15 Louisiana Civil Law Treatise-Insurance Law and Practice § 218 (1986). On the other hand, a liability insurer is the representative of the interests of its insured, and the insurer, when handling claims, must carefully consider not only its own self-interest, but also its insured’s interest so as to protect the insured from exposure to excess liability. Holtzclaw v. Falco, Inc., 355 So.2d 1279 (La.1978) (on rehearing). Thus, a liability insurer owes its insured the duty to act in good faith and to deal fairly in handling claims. Id.” Smith v. Audubon Ins. Co., 679 So.2d 372 (La.1996).

“[T]he determination of whether the insurer acted in bad faith turns on the facts and circumstances of each case. Of course, an insurer is not obliged to compromise litigation just because the claimant offers to settle a claim for serious injuries within the policy limits, and its failure to do so is not by itself proof of bad faith. The determination of good or bad faith in an insurer’s deciding to proceed to trial involves the weighing of such factors, among others, as the probability of the insured’s liability, the extent of the damages incurred by the claimant, the amount of the policy limits, the adequacy of the insurer’s investigation, and the openness of communications between the insurer and the insured. Nevertheless, when an insurer has made a thorough investigation and the evidence developed in the investigation is such that reasonable minds could differ over the liability of the insured, the insurer has the right to choose to litigate the claim, unless other factors, such as a vast difference between the policy limits and the insured’s total exposure, dictate a decision to settle the claim.” Id.

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An insurer’s duty to defend its insured is broader than its liability for damage claims. The insurer’s duty to defend suits brought against its insured is determined by the allegations of the injured plaintiff’s petition, with the insurer being obligated to furnish a defense unless the petition unambiguously excludes coverage. American Home Assurance Co. v. Czarniecki, 230 So.2d 253 (La.1970).

Once a petition states one claim within the policy’s coverage, the insurer has a duty to accept defense of the entire lawsuit, even though other claims in the petition fall outside the policy’s coverage. Ellis v. Transcontinental Ins. Co., 619 So.2d 1130 (La. App. 4th Cir.), writ denied, 625 So.2d 1043 (La.1993).

If the insurer chooses to represent the insured but deny coverage, it must employ separate counsel. If it fails to do so, the insurer is liable for attorney’s fees and costs the insured may incur in defending the suit. Dugas Pest Control of Baton Rouge v. Mutual Fire, Marine and Inland Ins. Co., 504 So.2d 1051 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1987).

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For insurance policy language which limits coverage to “accidents which occur during the policy period”, the loss occurs at the time the tort is committed, and not when the loss is discovered or becomes manifest. Audubon Coin & Stamp Co. v. Alford Safe & Lock Co., 230 So.2d 278 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1969).

In determining whether the loss was caused by “accident,” the loss must be examined from the viewpoint of the person injured and if the injury was unforeseen, unexpected, and extraordinary it must be held to have been caused by “accident.” Id.

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For insurance policy language which limits coverage to “damage which occurs during the policy period,” there is no coverage for damages accidentally occurring after the policy expiration, but resulting from a delictual act committed during the policy period. Oceanonics, Inc. v. Petroleum Distributing Company, 292 So.2d 190 (La.1974).

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The standard commercial general liability policy contains “work-product” exclusions. “These exclusions reflect the intent of the insurance industry to avoid the possibility that coverage under a CGL policy will be used to repair and replace the insured’s defective products and faulty workmanship.” McKenzie & Johnson, 15 La. Civil Law Treatise, Insurance Law and Practice, 3d, p.555.

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“Claims Made” policy: coverage is effective only if the negligent harm is discovered and reported within the policy term.

“Occurrence” policy: coverage is effective if the negligent harm occurs within the policy period, regardless of the date of discovery.

Livingston Parish School Board v. Fireman’s Fund American Insurance Co., 282 So.2d 478 (La.1973).

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