Top Legal and Financial Services in Metairie, LA 70005
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RICHARD KUTCHER TYGIER & LUMINAIS, LLP
By JackWentz January 05, 2017
Very professional service and was able to maintain a personal atmosphere. ...read more
Lions and Associates, LLC
By LisaCoscino February 08, 2013
5 stars, collects fast! ...read more
Lions and Associates, LLC
By LisaCoscino February 08, 2013
5 stars, collects fast! ...read more
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Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams Reports: Benoit Case Still Impacts
In 2003 John W. Houghtaling of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams collected $12 million dollars for local Louisiana businesses due to contamination of the land. This decision for a client is just one of many on a long list of wins for the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner. Since 2003 the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams attorney has collected over $100 million for his clients. Some of the cases to the credit of the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams attorney John W. Houghtaling is Deshotel v. Classic Cable (2004) in which he recovered $4.7 million in a drunk driving fatality. In Bordelon v Kansas City Railroad (2004), John W. Houghtaling and Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams won $5.25 million in a multi-death fatality. The Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner was also responsible for recoveries in one of the largest personal injury settlements in Louisiana history totaling $7 million. "I feel it is important to hold people responsible for their choices and actions," said John W. Houghtaling of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams. The Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams partner went on to say, "Law was given to protect us. It is our duty to hold those responsible, according to the law, when consumers are hurt or defrauded." When asked which cases have impacted him the greatest, the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams attorney was quick to answer, "Eddie Benoit." Eddie Benoit was a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputy, said the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner. He was involved in a serious explosion that nearly ended his life, explained the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams firm's John W. Houghtaling. "In fact, the explosion did kill his brother and his best friend and put Eddie into a coma," according to the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams attorney. Eddie Benoit would awake from that coma with no hands, dimmed eyesight, barely able to speak and muffled hearing capabilities," explained Houghtaling of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams. "The explosion burned his facial features off," commented John W. Houghtaling who has been managing partner of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams for several years. This was one of the first major cases for the future Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams law partner. "I worked hard on that case because I wanted justice for Mr. Benoit and I believe we obtained what we could," said the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams lawyer. In fact, the future managing partner of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams recovered a large settlement, making Louisiana history. "We went after the manufacturer and won justice," said the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams law firm's Houghtaling. Outside of Louisiana, Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams has represented many clients, including property owners of 11 high rises in Houston, Texas following Hurricane Ike. In addition, Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams represented nine churches damaged from the historical storm. Two years ago Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams established offices in Houston, Texas. For more information about the law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling&Williams, visit them online at http://www.ghwlegal.com. ...read more
By Gauthier Houghtaling & Williams LLP February 13, 2011
Attorney Edward of Gauthier Houghtaling Williams Obtains Jury Verdict
Attorney Edward F. Downing, III of the New Orleans law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams; recently concluded a week-long trial of an automobile personal injury case with a verdict of more than $600,000. Gauthier, Houghtaling&Williams; Law represented the plaintiff in the case Darin Zech vs. State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development. Tried in the 34th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Bernard from November 30 – December 3, 2010, Gauthier, Houghtaling&Williams Law attorney Downing presented difficult evidentiary issues regarding an accident in which the plaintiff, Darin Zech, sustained serious injuries when the vehicle in which he was a passenger plunged into an open canal near the City of New Orleans. According to a spokesperson from the law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams, Zech was working in St. Bernard Parish doing Katrina cleanup work when he and two friends visited the French Quarter on June 17, 2007. Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law said that the driver of the vehicle was unfamiliar with the area, failed to make a turn and drove into an open canal. The road ended because of work performed by the Corp of Engineers, added the spokesperson from Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law. Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law pointed out to jury members that there were significant issues regarding whether or not the detour was properly marked, whether the driver had been speeding and whether he had been drinking. The evidence, said Downing of Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law, proved that the State failed to select the appropriate devices to protect motorists and failed to properly inspect the barricades that were staged nearby. Following the evidence presented by Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law, the jury returned a verdict that included damages of $627,000 for a broken hip and lumbar compression fracture. The jury found the driver 40 percent at fault and the State of Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development 60 percent liable, reported Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law. Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law's Edward F. Downing has thirty years of experience as a trial attorney, including numerous cases in personal injury and product liability. According to a spokesperson for Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law, the Zech case presented substantial evidentiary challenges. The State of Louisiana presented the investigating officer who testified that the truck landed on the opposite bank with a barricade stuck to the front of the truck. "We convinced the jury that the barricade was not standing in the roadway but may have already been on the bank or was picked up while laying down on the roadway," Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law explained. "We were able to get one of the State's experts to support negligence of the State while destroying the other expert in closing statements." Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law also reported that jury members said afterward that they did not accept the opinion of the State's accident reconstruction expert. "Thorough preparation in discovery allowed us to overcome the original challenges," added attorneys from Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law. John W. Houghtaling, managing attorney at the law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling and William, said the verdict is just another in a long line of successes for Downing. "Ed Downing has shown time and again that he has a superior command of the law and formidable litigation skills. Ed has been with the Gauthier firm for 26 years. In that time I've seen him win jury verdicts of $346 million, $17 million and several in excess of $10 million. He has proven that he will try tough cases. The defense theory was that the driver was drunk and ran down a barricade. Ed's skills overcame that defense and won big for the client," John W. Houghtaling from Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams Law concluded. The law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams is the continuation of the firm established by the late trial attorney Wendell Gauthier in the early 70's. For the past thirty years, Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams has been one of the most influential and most respected law firms in the South. For more information about services offered by the Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams law firm, visit www.ghwlegal.com. ...read more
By Gauthier Houghtaling & Williams LLP February 13, 2011