West's Jury Verdicts - Louisiana Reports

Benefits to New Orleans Bar Association Members	Case Highlights & Features	Publicize Your Case Results
As a service to its members, the New Orleans Bar Association has entered into an alliance agreement with West, a Thomson Reuters business, to provide award information on Metro Area civil jury trials, bench trials, settlements, and arbitrations. NOBA members can: Publish their verdicts, bench decisions, settlements & arbitrations in West's® Jury Verdicts - Louisiana Reports and Westlaw® for free. Request a full case summmary for any case we highlight or feature. One free per month. It will contain the same content that a summary on Westlaw® and in West's® Jury Verdicts - Louisiana Reports contains. Contact West editors at 800-689-9378 or west.juryverdicts@thomsonreuters.com. West will: Send, to any bar member who submits case information to West, a free copy of the West's® Jury Verdicts - Louisiana Reports print newsletter in which his/her case summary is published. Consider featuring and/or highlighting the case in our "West's New Orleans Verdicts" RSS feed we supply to the home page of the New Orleans Bar Association, in the "West's Metro New Orleans Area Verdicts" article we author for the NOBA ENewsletter, and on this web site.	This Web Site Highlights - Our attorney editors select 5-6 Metro Area cases to highlight in concise one-paragraph format from the approximately 25 Louisiana cases we publish each month in full summary format. Case of the Month - Our attorney editors also select one case to feature in its entirety in its full summary format. "West's New Orleans Verdicts" on NOBA Web Site and ENewsletter RSS Feed - West supplies a "West's New Orleans Verdicts" RSS Feed to the NOBA home page. NOBA ENewsletter Article - West also supplies condensed one-line format case information in its "West's Metro New Orleans Area Verdicts" article in the NOBA ENewsletter. Case of the Month See below	Would you like West to consider featuring or highlighting your case? » Online Submission Form
		Westlaw Litigator
		Your key resource for every phase of litigation » Learn More
		Baton Rouge Practice?
		If you find this site useful, you might also enjoy the jury verdict articles we author for the Baton Rouge Bar Association. » Baton Rouge

Case of the Month

West's® Jury Verdicts - Louisiana Reports

Judge Denies Terminated Worker's Retaliation Claim
Dykes v. Life Safety Systems

Type of Case:
Labor & Employment • Retaliation
Labor & Employment • Termination/Constructive Discharge
Labor & Employment • Work Place Injury
Labor & Employment • Workers Compensation

Specific Liability:
Employer terminated worker's employment after he filed a workers compensation claim

General Injury:
Monetary damages

Jurisdiction:
State: Louisiana
Court: District Court of Louisiana, Twenty-first Judicial District, Parish of Tangipahoa.

Related Court Documents:
Plaintiff's petition: 2008 WL 6838790
Plaintiff's memorandum on liability and quantum: 2009 WL 2985023
Pretrial order: 2009 WL 2985024
Pretrial statement of defendants: 2009 WL 2985025
Judgment: 2009 WL 2995856

Case Name:
Pernell Knighten Dykes v. Life Safety Systems LLC, James Kevin Sims and Dominick Spano Jr.

Docket/File Number:
2008-0003475

Judgment:
Defendants, $0

Judgment Date:
July 20, 2009

Judge:
M. Douglas Hughes

Attorneys:
Plaintiff: Thomas J. Hogan Jr., Hogan & Hogan, Hammond, La.

Defendant: Mark D. Boyer and Brian K. Ables, Boyer & Hebert, Denham Springs, La.

Experts:
None mentioned

Trial Type:
Bench

Breakdown of Award:
$0

Summary of Facts:
Pernell Knighten Dykes began working as a pipefitter at Life Safety Systems LLC, Sept. 17, 2007. He reportedly twisted his ankle on June 6, 2008, while working on the installation of a sprinkler system in Hammond, La., while in the course and scope of his employment with LSS.

Dykes said he received medical treatment for his injury and was ordered to work on limited duty by his doctor. He also filed a workers compensation claim. Dykes said his employer ordered him to continue his regular duties on the job, despite the doctor's orders.

LSS reportedly terminated his employment Aug. 6, 2008.

Dykes filed a lawsuit against LSS, and its reported owners, James Kevin Sims and Dominick Spano Jr., Oct. 30, 2008, in the Twenty-first Judicial District Court, Tangipahoa Parish. The plaintiff alleged violations of LSA-R.S. 23:1361 and claimed he was entitled to one year's salary and benefits for the defendants' alleged violation of the Louisiana's Workers Compensation Law.

Dykes asserted the defendants had terminated his employment in retaliation for his having asserted a workers compensation claim.

The defendants generally denied the plaintiff's allegations and claimed his petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. According to the defendants, LSS did not have enough work to retain all of its current workers and terminated the employment of three workers, including Dykes, as part of the work slow down.

Sims and Spano said they considered issues with Dykes' workmanship, attention to industry standards and attendance in their decision to terminate his employment.

The matter proceeded to a bench trial in June 2009. Judge M. Douglas Hughes decided Dykes had failed to carry his burden of proving a retaliatory discharge claim under LSA-R.S. 23:1361.

The court found the defendants did not violate state law in its implementation of a reduction of force policy, which resulted in terminating the plaintiff's employment.

Judge Hughes entered judgment in the defendants' favor, July 20, 2009.

Court: District Court of Louisiana, Twenty-first Judicial District, Parish of Tangipahoa.

Westlaw Citation:
2009 WL 4022397

West's Jury Verdicts - Louisiana Reports Citation:
West’s J.V. La. Rep., Vol. 5, Iss. 6, p. 24 (2009)