Governmental Liability
Claims against governmental entities often involve politically sensitive legal issues that have statewide and nationwide impacts. Our attorneys have mastered the nuanced and complicated procedural law regarding immunity and abstention as well as the substantive federal and constitutional law regarding equal protection and due process.
Representative Cases
Defense Verdict in Civil Rights Action Against State Police: Our attorneys obtained a defense jury verdict on behalf of four State Troopers in a federal civil rights action. The plaintiff filed suit in federal court in New Orleans alleging that he was falsely stopped, handcuffed, subjected to excessive force, and arrested in violation of his Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. State Troopers arrested the plaintiff after he kicked an officer twice.
Defense Verdict In Disability Discrimination Lawsuit: Our attorneys secured a defense verdict in a disability discrimination lawsuit filed against a state agency (our client) and a local parish sheriff’s office, alleging that probation officers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to provide certified sign language interpreters for probation meetings. The jury determined that the plaintiff did, in fact, understand the conditions of probation, that plaintiff’s probation violation was not inadvertent, and that the probation officers had worked diligently to assist plaintiff in understanding and complying with the terms of his probation.
Summary Judgment Dismissal In Discrimination Litigation: Our attorneys obtained a summary judgment dismissal for a state agency in a lawsuit by 50 Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Providers alleging discrimination, equal protection and due process violations. Plaintiffs claimed that they were paid less than Non-Emergency Ambulance Providers even though, according to the plaintiffs, both providers performed identical services. The court disagreed, finding that Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Providers do not provide medical services during transport, while Non-Emergency Ambulance Providers do.