La. Court Reinstates Sunrise Assisted Living’s Contract Cross-Claims in Chemical Exposure Case

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana appellate court has reinstated breach-of-contract cross-claims brought by Sunrise Assisted Living Inc. against a building contractor and landscape firm in a workplace chemical exposure lawsuit.

Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeal held April 23 that while the underlying claims have been dismissed for lack of proof, the trial court erred in dismissing the cross-claims while issues of material fact remain.

The initial complaint was filed by O.V. Smith and other plaintiffs in the 19th Judicial District in the Parish of East Baton Rouge, La., in 2001, alleging injuries from exposure to chemicals disbursed by …