Mother’s Case Challenging Son’s Settlement Following Workplace Injury Not Barred By Res Judicata
Posted on Jan 3, 2015
In a case evaluating whether a seaman’s second personal injury suit against a barge owner was precluded on the grounds of res judicata, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held that the suit was not precluded where the plaintiff in the second suit attacked the validity of the settlement in the first suit. The court explained that such attacks create an issue of material fact sufficient to prelude summary judgment. In the second case, a mother sued a barge owner on her son’s behalf, seeking compensation for injuries he suffered aboard an inland barge. Prior to the...
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Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Ambiguities In State’s Workers’ Compensation Law
Posted on Jan 2, 2015
The Supreme Court of Florida clarified the scope of the state’s workers’ compensation law holding that: (1) a workers’ compensation exclusion provision in an employer liability policy operates to bar coverage of tort claims arising out of the same underlying incident; and (2) a release in a workers’ compensation settlement may prohibit an estate from collecting a tort judgment on the same claim. In the underlying case, a man was killed while working for his employer. Subsequently, his spouse entered into a workers’ compensation settlement with the employer’s workers’ compensation and...
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Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan Released By Department Of Energy
Posted on Dec 23, 2014
Earlier this month, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability of the U.S. Department of Energy issued the “Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan.” The Plan recognizes energy storage as an emerging integral component of a developing resilient grid. The Plan is designed to ensure the safe application and use of energy storage. The Plan discusses and reviews three linked Safety components: engineering; response to incidences; and best practices, standard, codes, and regulations. The Plan discusses these components and reviews them in detail. Michael Stosser of Sutherland’s...
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New Jersey Federal Court Dismisses Worker’s Suit Against Employer For Chemical-Related Injuries
Posted on Dec 19, 2014
Following chemical and thermal burns from exposure to hazardous chemicals when a tank trailer released the chemical due to “faulty valves,” a worker brought suit against his employer and multiple fellow employees under an intentional wrong theory. This week, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed the case for failure to state claims upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The worker alleged his employer’s negligence “and/or intentional acts” caused his injuries. New Jersey’s...
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Virginia Federal Court Sorts Through Summary Judgment Rulings In Alleged Defective Engine Case
Posted on Dec 18, 2014
The block heater in a fire truck’s engine allegedly failed while the truck was parked in a Virginia fire house, and electricity running through the block heater arced, shorted, and started a fire that caused significant damages to the fire house. The fire department brought suit against multiple defendants, including Company A, the manufacturer of the cab and chassis, which included the block heater that was part of the engine sold to Company A by Company B. Earlier this week, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia granted summary judgment to Company A on some...
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Indictments In West Virginia Water Contamination Case Reminder Of Potential Criminal Consequences
Posted on Dec 18, 2014
Six owners, managers, and employees of the company that owned the West Virginia storage facility that leaked chemicals into the Elk River and contaminated the Charleston area’s water supply in January 2014 were charged criminally yesterday with violations of the Clean Water Act. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia indicted four individuals for failing to meet a “reasonable standard of care” in running the company and alleges that they “approved funding only for those projects that would result in increased business revenue for [the company]...
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American Tort Reform Foundation Releases 2014-2015 “Judicial Hellholes” Report
Posted on Dec 16, 2014
This afternoon, the American Tort Reform Foundation published its annual listing of “Judicial Hellholes.” The Foundation describes these venues as “places where judges in civil cases systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally to the disadvantage of defendants.” The organization’s 2014-2015 list includes the following: #1 New York City Asbestos Litigation #2 California #3 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals #4 Florida Supreme Court #5 Madison County, Illinois #6 Missouri Supreme Court #7 Louisiana The...
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