The case involved several employees who worked for Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, Inc. (after its acquisition of their prior employer) and were later assigned as borrowed employees to Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.; they brought claims arising from their employment and termination. The defendants moved to dismiss or, alternatively, to compel arbitration and stay proceedings under the Federal Arbitration Act, citing arbitration agreements the plaintiffs had signed as a condition of employment that covered disputes under federal, state, and common law including Title VII and contract or tort claims. The magistrate judge recommended granting the motion to compel, and the district court adopted the recommendation, ordering arbitration and administratively terminating the action without prejudice to reopening after the arbitrator's decision. The core reasoning was that the agreements were valid and encompassed the claims, making a stay mandatory under Section 3 of the FAA when issues fall within an arbitration clause.
This case arose from a contract dispute in which BCBSLA sued Gambro, a healthcare provider, to recover alleged overpayments stemming from Gambro’s unlawful conduct. After the district court compelled arbitration under the parties’ agreement, an arbitral panel issued a Clause Construction Award concluding that the arbitration clause permitted class proceedings, applying Louisiana law on waiver and AAA rules. Gambro moved to reopen the case and vacate the award, arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision in Stolt-Nielsen required reconsideration because the clause was silent on class arbitration. The court denied the motion, holding that the panel had properly interpreted the agreement under the FAA, Louisiana law, and AAA rules rather than imposing its own policy preferences, and therefore had not exceeded its powers. The court also declined to clarify its prior order to limit BCBSLA to individual claims only.
In Blakely v. Citgo Petroleum Corp., plaintiff Jimmy Blakely sued CITGO for personal injuries he alleged resulted from exposure to toxic materials while cleaning up an oil spill at CITGO's refinery in 2006, where he worked as an employee of contractor R & R Construction. CITGO moved for summary judgment on grounds that Blakely lacked evidence of causation and that CITGO was immune as his statutory employer. The court granted the motions and dismissed the action. It found no evidence establishing a causal link between the spill and Blakely's claimed injuries. The court further held that CITGO was entitled to a rebuttable presumption of statutory employer status under Louisiana law, which Blakely failed to overcome.
This case is a business dispute removed from Louisiana state court to federal court, in which Haydell Industries and Advanced Equipment Services sued former employees, representatives, and competitors including Petrucci, Eurosider America, and the Olson defendants for copyright infringement under federal law, breach of non-compete and confidentiality agreements, intentional interference with contract, and related tort claims involving alleged false or defamatory statements. The district court, adopting the magistrate judge's report, held that subject matter jurisdiction exists due to the copyright claim and supplemental jurisdiction over the state claims. It granted the motions to dismiss in part by dismissing the intentional interference claims against the corporate defendants Eurosider America and N2 Spray Solutions, and ordered the plaintiffs to amend their complaint within 14 days to clarify corporate officer status, specify the misleading statements, and detail copyright ownership and infringement. All other requested relief was denied without prejudice.
This case involves a dispute over life insurance proceeds under a MetLife policy insuring James E. Durio, who died in 2007; the plaintiff, as administrator of the estate, sued MetLife after the insurer denied the claim. The suit was removed to federal court, and MetLife moved for summary judgment, arguing that a release signed in a related state-court action against its transfer agent (BNY Mellon) barred the claims and that the policy had lapsed for nonpayment of premiums. The court held that the release did not apply to this action because it was limited to the stock-transfer dispute, but granted summary judgment on the policy-lapse issue under La. R.S. 22:905, precluding recovery of proceeds. The court denied summary judgment on the plaintiff's alternative claims for detrimental reliance and negligent misrepresentation, finding genuine issues of material fact, and denied the motion to strike affidavits as moot.
The case involved Heather Weathers, a substitute teacher hired by the Lafayette Parish School Board after Hurricane Katrina, who was terminated after telling students about her personal website featuring adult-themed feminist art and a warning that it was unsuitable for children. Weathers sued the school board and officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming her termination violated her First Amendment free speech rights (her due process claims were voluntarily dismissed). The court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment, holding that there was no genuine issue of material fact supporting municipal liability because the principal who ended her assignment was not the final policymaker on substitute teacher employment decisions under state law, which reserves that authority to the school board itself.