Michael Kunzelman

December 03, 2008 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP-Mississippi asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to revive a $1 billion lawsuit that accuses the city of Memphis, Tenn., of stealing its water.U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson dismissed the suit in February, saying he didn't have jurisdiction over the case because it's a dispute between two states that belongs in the U.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

2 minute read

March 04, 2008 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - More than 44,000 people have signed up for shares of a $4.85 billion settlement over the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, a sign that the deal is on track to go forward, Merck Co. announced Monday.Of roughly 47,000 people who registered for the settlement earlier this year, more than 44,000 have submitted all or some of the paperwork necessary for enrollment in the deal, Merck said in a news release.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

January 18, 2008 | Daily Report Online

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

November 26, 2012 | Daily Report Online

A federal judge has rescheduled a closed-door meeting to discuss BP's agreement to plead guilty to criminal charges stemming from its deadly 2010 rig explosion and response to the massive Gulf oil spill.

By Michael Kunzelman

2 minute read

April 02, 2008 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - A sweeping lawsuit that accuses some of the nation's largest insurance companies of conspiring to shortchange Louisiana policyholders after hurricanes Katrina and Rita is staying in federal court.U.S. District Court Judge Jay Zainey denied a bid Wednesday by plaintiffs attorneys to transfer the case to state court, where former Attorney General Charles Foti originally filed it last year.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

1 minute read

March 08, 2007 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - Louisiana's state-run insurer has agreed to a mass settlement with more than 100 policyholders, a deal believed to be the first of its kind in the state since hurricanes Katrina and Rita spawned thousands of lawsuits, an attorney for the homeowners said Thursday.Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Louisiana's insurer of last resort, has agreed to pay about $6.

By Michael Kunzelman

4 minute read

April 04, 2008 | Daily Report Online

LAKE CHARLES, La. AP - A New Orleans bouncer was acquitted Thursday in the death on New Year's Eve 2004 of a Georgia college student whose friends had been excluded from a karaoke bar.A jury deliberated for about an hour before clearing Arthur Irons, the first of four bouncers to go to trial in the death of Levon Jones, who was in New Orleans for a flag football tournament.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

April 09, 2008 | National Law Journal

Louisiana's highest court says an insurance company isn't obligated to pay for water damage from the failure of levees in the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. Tuesday's ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court reverses a state appeals court decision that favored New Orleans property owner Joseph Sher in his suit against Lafayette Insurance Co. Lafayette says its homeowner policies cover damage from wind but not flooding.

By Michael Kunzelman

1 minute read

March 13, 2008 | Daily Report Online

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

April 18, 2008 | National Law Journal

Displaying a portrait of Jesus in the foyer of a Louisiana courthouse is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled this week, siding with civil libertarians who sued over the display. But inserting Jesus within a group portrait of historic figures at the courthouse is permissible, the judge said. The ruling explains that the expanded display is constitutional because a reasonable observer wouldn't see it as sending a religious message.

By Michael Kunzelman

2 minute read