To download the LADC September newsletter, click here: Download LADC September 2010 Newsletter

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO PLAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Begin your holidays by registering for the popular LADC Defense Lawyers’ Seminar on Friday, December 10. The Windsor Court Hotel always is beautifully decorated. The Louisiana Judicial College seminar also is in the Windsor Court that day, and we will host a cocktail reception to which the judges are invited at 5:30 on Friday. We have a block of rooms at the Windsor Court. Please make your reservations by calling 800-262-2662 and referring to the LADC seminar. The room block expires on Nov. 9, 2010. For registration information, click here: LADC 2010 Windsor Court Defense Lawyers Holiday CLE.

BEAVER CREEK WINTER MEETING 2011: The winter meeting and ski trip to the Charter at Beaver Creek will be during Mardi Gras week, Wednesday, March 9 through Sunday, March 13. Because flights book early during Mardi Gras week, you may want to make flight arrangements soon. You may contact Peter McLean at ptmclean@hotmail.com. Tel. 985-248-6828. For registration information, click here: LADC 2011 Beaver Creek CLE Information.

LADC ANNUAL MEETING 2011: Join us April 10-17 in Lyon and Nice, France. The old quarter of Vieux Lyon, where we will be, is a time capsule of French life in the middle ages. The warren of cobbled streets, Renaissance palaces, restaurants, bistros and boutiques brings us the real flavor of France. During our stay we will tour the city, visit the 800 year-old city of Perouges and dine at Michelin 3-star restaurant Paul Bocuse. In Nice our hotel on the Promenade des Anglais faces the blue-green waters of the Mediterranean and is adjacent to the pedestrian zone and the old quarter. We will enjoy street life, museums, shops and galleries second only to Paris, explore the flower market, venture to the hilltop town of St. Paul de Vence, and have a farewell dinner overlooking the harbor in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Post trips will be available to Paris and Italy. Details available from Peter McLean at ptmclean@hotmail.com. Tel. 985-248-6828.

The August 2010 LADC Newsletter is posted and available for download in PDF format here: August 2010 LADC Newsletter. CORRECTION: In this newsletter, we report that the Louisiana Supreme Court held in Acara v. Banks that a physician who gave a deposition without plaintiff’s consent was liable for malpractice. This was an error. In fact, the court granted summary judgment for the defendant doctor on that claim. On the plaintiff’s other claim, however, the court held that a material fact existed as to whether the doctor breached the standard of care by giving an opinion about her medical condition without reviewing the records.

LADC SIZZLIN’ SUMMER SEMINAR, FRIDAY THE 13TH: One of the LADC’s most popular seminars is the seminar formerly known as the Attorney-Client Seminar. This year the second annual Sizzlin’ Summer Seminar will be at the Windsor Court Hotel on Friday, Aug. 13. Don’t take a chance by working on Friday the Thirteenth. Our room block has expired but if rooms are still available you may make your hotel reservation by calling 1-800-262-2662. The CLE agenda includes the following: Toxic Torts and Class Actions: Oil Spills and Beyond (John Church, David Dugas, David Bienvenu, and Stephen Murray); Overview of the 2010 Legislative Session (Senators Edwin Murray and Danny Martiny); Insurance Law Update (Shelby McKenzie); Health Care Reform (Donna Fraiche); Professionalism (Brian Faughnan); Privileges, Liens, Subrogations & Other Snags(Shane Craighead); Ethics (Dane Ciolino and Phelps Gay); and Recent Developments in Louisiana Law (Frank Maraist, Dane Ciolino, and Bill Corbett). Registration materials are available here: Register for LADC Sizzlin’ Summer CLE.

• The 2010 LADC Trial Academy has been cancelled due to low registration.

To download the July 2010 LADC Newsletter (in PDF), please click here: July 2010 LADC Newsletter.

LAST CALL FOR LADC TRIAL ACADEMY: The twenty-sixth annual LADC Trial Academy is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 5-Saturday, Aug. 7 at Loyola Law School. Outstanding lawyers and judges provide excellent training in all phases of litigation for young lawyers, and it is an incredible bargain, offering over 21 hours of CLE credit. Registration materials are available at www.ladc.org.

LADC SIZZLIN’ SUMMER SEMINAR, FRIDAY THE 13TH: One of the LADC’s most popular seminars is the seminar formerly known as the Attorney-Client Seminar. This year the second annual Sizzlin’ Summer Seminar will be at the Windsor Court Hotel on Friday, Aug. 13. Don’t take a chance by working on Friday the 13th. Come get 8 hours of CLE credit and enjoy good luck at the seminar. We have a reserved block of rooms and suites at the Windsor Court Hotel at a special rate. Additionally, if the hotel offers summer specials better than our rate, we will get the better rate. Make your hotel reservation by calling 1-800-262-2662. Our room block expires on July 12. The CLE agenda includes the following: Toxic Torts and Class Actions: Oil Spills and Beyond (John Church, David Dugas, David Bienvenu, and Stephen Murray); Overview of the 2010 Legislative Session (State Legislators); Insurance Law Update (Shelby McKenzie); Health Care Reform (Donna Fraiche); Professionalism (Brian Faughnan); Privileges, Liens, Subrogations & Other Snags (Shane Craighead); Ethics (Dane Ciolino and Phelps Gay); and Recent Developments in Louisiana Law (Frank Maraist, Dane Ciolino, and Bill Corbett). Registration materials are available at www.ladc.org.

• Louisiana not in top 10 best or worse for tort liability costs http://bit.ly/9Rk1Jm #
• Why lawyers really don't need offices any longer http://bit.ly/9xDrdL #
• What lawyers and other public speakers can learn from songwriters http://bit.ly/brQYCU #

S.B. 547, if enacted, would amend Civ. Code Art. 2315 to authorize punitive damages.  The bill, as amended and approved in Judiciary A, would permit punitive damages:

“if it is proved that the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by the defendant’s wanton or reckless disregard for public safety in the drilling, equipping, operating, or producing of an oil or gas well, or in the commercial storage, handling, or transportation of oil, gas, product of oil or gas, or hazardous or toxic substance.”

To check on the progress of the bill, click here: http://www.legis.state.la.us/

S.B. 547 may be brought to the floor of the Senate as early as Thursday, June 3.