Gregory C. Fahrenholt
Greg has represented clients in a wide range of matters in courts across Louisiana since 2003, with a focus on the defense of federal civil rights claims, federal employment claims, and medical malpractice. He has successfully defended law enforcement officers and State agencies against alleged First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment violations brought under Section 1983; public and private employers against claims of alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other state and federal employment statutes; private medical providers, government agencies and universities against violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and private businesses in claims alleging breach of contract, construction defects, and personal injury. He has a demonstrated track record of getting cases dismissed outright or substantially narrowed prior to trial where possible through dozens of winning motions for summary judgment, exceptions, and motions to dismiss granted by state and federal courts.
Education
Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana
Juris Doctor – 2003
Honors: Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Coif, Civil Law Studies Award
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Bachelor of Arts – 1999
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana, 2003
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Notable Representations
Racial Discrimination Trial Victory
Sole trial counsel for a state university in a lawsuit in which the university’s former chief of police, a Caucasian male, asserted claims of racial discrimination and retaliation against an African American female police officer and an African American university administrator after an investigation revealed that the chief’s personal assistant committed payroll fraud by claiming over $10,000 in fraudulent overtime pay. Several claims were dismissed prior to trial on summary judgment. At the conclusion a five-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict on the remaining claims in less than 20 minutes.
Defense Verdict in Federal Discrimination Trial
Co-lead trial counsel for a local community college in a lawsuit alleging that an instructor’s contract was not renewed based on allegations that she had been discriminated against by her African American department chair due to her race and national origin. Summary judgment dismissing the case was originally granted but reversed on appeal after the U.S. Fifth Circuit determined that the plaintiff had plausibly alleged that the department chair manipulated university administrators to terminate her as part of a “cat’s paw” analysis. A federal jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in favor of the college.
Dismissal of Medical Student Drug Testing Case
Obtained dismissal of all claims by an expelled medical school student against her former university alleging that her expulsion due to her failure to comply with drug testing requirements violated her federal constitutional rights to due process. The claims were dismissed by a federal district court and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Defense of Judge Accused of Sending Defamatory Text Messages
Successfully defended a former Louisiana state court judge against claims that she defamed and violated the equal protection rights of a sheriff’s deputy by using insulting language and slurs in private text messages. While acknowledging that the language used was offensive and insulting, the district court agreed that the plaintiff stated no viable claims for a loss of any liberty interest protected by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and granted a motion to dismiss.
French Quarter Tasing Defense
Won summary judgment on behalf of law enforcement officers and their supervisors in a case in which a plaintiff alleged that an officer used excessive force by tasing him as he was fleeing the scene of an attempted stop based on suspicions of drug dealing on the streets on the French Quarter. The plaintiff pled guilty to criminal charges of resisting a police officer yet attempted to claim in his civil case that he was wholly innocent and did not resist arrest. The district court agreed that these claims were contradictory and dismissed all claims prior to trial. The grant of summary judgment was affirmed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.