Louisiana Lawyer Interviews

Birmingham, AL: Bayer Cropscience has agreed to pay rice farmers from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi a total of $750 million in an historic settlement after an experiment genetically modified type of rice escaped from one of its test fields and contaminated US crops.

Opelousas, LA: It took the jury a little more than three hours to decide that Ortho-McNeil-Janssen and its parent company Johnson & Johnson had sent out false and misleading information about the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. The jury set monetary damages at $257 million. "It is one of the largest verdicts in the St. Landry Parish and one of the largest in Louisiana in a case such as this," says attorney Patrick Morrow who handled the case on behalf of the state.

New Orleans, LA: Attorney Stephen Kreller applauds Abbott Laboratories' voluntary recall of thousands of packages of powered baby formula after beetles and beetle larva was found in Similac. However, judging from the number of calls coming into Kreller's office after he filed a Similac defective product class action, the company needs to do more than provide mothers with product vouchers.

Baton Rouge, LA: When patients were given their Depakote prescriptions they probably thought they were getting all the pertinent information about the anticonvulsant medication. But that may not be the case, says J. Benton Stewart II, an attorney at Stewart Law P.L.L.C. Compounding the problem is the fact that there is no fixed time frame for Depakote side effects to appear—and some patients may have taken Depakote without ever realizing it.

Panama City, FL: BP has announced a $20 billion claim fund to compensate victims of the BP oil spill. The announcement, however, may complicate matters for people affected by the oil spill who are not sure whether they should file a claim with BP or file a lawsuit. Wes Pittman, attorney at The Pittman Firm, P.A., has some advice for people wondering how to deal with the BP disaster.

Washington, DC: Two Chinese drywall cases that were set for trial June 21 have just been settled. "This is great news for homeowners with Chinese drywall," says attorney Gary Mason, who represents about 700 homeowners in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina. His firm also represents hi-rise buildings in Florida and Alabama. "We are continuing to take on new clients and making sure they have a professional inspection so we can best present their case in the court."

New Orleans, LA: When a federal court ruled that the Army Corp of Engineers, which built the canal linking New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, was to blame for the catastrophic flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina, it was a personal and professional victory for attorney Joesph Bruno. "The people of New Orleans are vindicated," said Bruno before a throng of media representatives. "They (the Army Corps of Engineers) can no longer hide behind an immunity. It is time for the people of this city to be compensated."

New Orleans, LA: A judge from Louisiana has been given the job of dealing with all the Chinese drywall lawsuits that are being gathered together in a Multi District Litigation( MDL) case and he's made it clear he will be moving fast. "That's good news," says New Orleans attorney Joesph Bruno. "Judge (Eldon) Fallon is talking about a trial date in six months, which is extraordinary."

New Orleans, LA: Attorney Gary Mason, one of about 50 lawyers nationwide assigned to work on the Chinese drywall case, discusses with LawyersandSettlements recent developments in the ongoing contaminated drywall litigation…

New Orleans, LA: Although Florida appears to be the epicenter of Chinese drywall complaints, homeowners in other states, particularly Louisiana, are also reporting Chinese drywall problems. Two class action lawsuits—one in Florida and the other in Louisiana—have been filed naming Knauf Gips, KPT and a Chinese drywall manufacturer not connected to Knauf, Taishan Gypsum Co. as defendants.