On October 19, 2023, a unanimous panel from the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the district court’s decision to grant a Motion for Summary Judgment and dismiss the defendants from the case. In this case defended by Deutsch Kerrigan attorneys Josh Keller and Jose Ruiz, an employee of an LLC sued the manager of the LLC after he was injured when he stepped in a hole while weed-eating the manager’s property. The plaintiff alleged the whole was an unreasonably dangerous condition that the manager should have known about. He further alleged that his claim was not barred under Louisiana’s Workers’ Compensation Act because he was performing work at the manager’s personal residence.

After deposing the plaintiff and securing an affidavit from the manager, the defense argued a Motion for Summary Judgment arguing: (1) the plaintiff’s claims were barred under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act; (2) even if the claims were not barred, the hole the plaintiff stepped in did not constitute an unreasonably dangerous condition as defined by La. Civ. Code art. 2317.1; and (3) even if the hole was unreasonably dangerous, the plaintiff was unable to prove the manager’s actual or constructive notice of the hole as required under Article 2317.1. Judge Anthony Thibodeaux of St. Martin Parish granted the Motion for Summary Judgment on all grounds, and the Louisiana Third Circuit affirmed. 

Kevin Prejean vs. Matt Durand, Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal No. CA-23-80