News & Knowledge

In January, FormanWatkins attorneys McCann LeFeve and Ruth M. Huskey participated in the three-day 2023 DRI Women in the Law Seminar. The Seminar allows small group networking with women in the legal field from across the country as well continuing legal education opportunities that help foster attorneys’ professional development and personal health and wellness.

Mississippi digital news outlet, Magnolia Tribune, recently published an article written by FormanWatkins attorney Spencer Ritchie about the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed ban on the use noncompete agreements. Read the article here.

Attorneys Fred Krutz, Brian Hannula and Andrew Stubbs won summary judgment in 2021 arguing the statute of limitations barred plaintiff’s product liability action claiming that defendant’s respirators were defective and caused him to develop coal workers pneumoconiosis. The lawsuit was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, and Chief Judge Gina Groh delivered the District Court’s opinion. The plaintiff appealed the case to the United States Court of Appeals For The Fourth Circuit who recently released an opinion affirming the lower court’s judgment.

In the last quarter of 2022, via the FormanWatkins Foundation, the Forman Watkins & Krutz’s Jackson office participated in and helped support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF) One Walk, the Blazer Bolt for Brain Cancer 5k and the American Heart Association’s Metro Jackson Heart Walk. The JDRF One Walk (October 22) raised funds for life-saving treatments for individuals living with type 1 diabetes. The Blazer Bolt for Brain Cancer run (October 15) had 600 registrants and 40 teams this year, all raising funds to support individuals and families battling brain cancer. The Metro Jackson Heart Walk (November 12) raised more than $150,000 for the American Heart Association. FormanWatkins’ CFO, Robby Gathings, was the second highest fundraiser in the corporate category for the Heart Walk. The Forman Watkins & Krutz Foundation is proud to join in supporting these events.  

FormanWatkins attorneys Charles Abbott, Peyton Smith, and Chandler Agee won summary judgment in a Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act (“LUPTA”) case filed in Louisiana state court.  The case was filed in October of 2020 by a plaintiff claiming a forest products client violated the LUTPA in connection with a sand and gravel mining lease on property owned by the client.  The FormanWatkins team exposed the baseless nature of the claims through multiple, extensive depositions, principally conducted by Mr. Smith, and then filed a detailed motion for summary judgment, providing the necessary evidence to disprove the plaintiff’s allegations.  On November 22, 2022, Mr. Abbott argued the motion before the state court judge, who ruled from the bench, granting the motion and dismissing all of plaintiff’s claims against the client with prejudice.

Malissa Wilson, a Partner in the FormanWatkins Jackson office, and Margaret McLaughlin, an Associate in the firm’s New Orleans office, were featured speakers at Perrin Conferences’ National Asbestos Litigation Conference on Sept. 14-15 in Charleston, South Carolina.  Malissa served as a featured panelist during the Women’s Symposium Lunch, where she gave thoughtful insights to fellow women and leaders in the industry on work-life integration in the post-Covid era, with topics including effective time management, mentoring the next generation, and balancing professional and personal life. Margaret participated in the Non-Traditional Jurisdictions and Exposures panel and dived into which non-traditional jurisdictions are experiencing increased filings, recent cases with non-traditional exposures, a-typical job sites and emerging areas of asbestos exposures. The conference program included both national and jurisdictional asbestos litigation updates and offered attendees the opportunity to attend numerous informative and dynamic panel discussions, presentations, and demonstrations on a variety of topics related to asbestos litigation. Speakers and attendees included many of the nation’s premiere plaintiff and defense attorneys, judges, and insurance professionals.  

FormanWatkins attorneys and summer associates from the Jackson office were among those who volunteered July 29,2022, at the Hinds County Family Law Clinic, a pro se legal clinic held at the Hinds County Chancery Courthouse. The clinic assisted individuals with a variety of legal matters, including irreconcilable differences divorces, uncontested guardianships, birth certificate corrections, and name changes. The clinic was hosted by the Fifth Chancery District (Hinds County Chancery Court), Jackson Public Schools, the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, Mission First, the Capital Area Bar Association, and Forman Watkins & Krutz. Our participating team included Mary Clift Abdalla, Mimi Arthur, Jean Folsom, Ruth Huskey, Sampada Kapoor, and summer associates, Kelsi Baldwin (Mississippi College School of Law, May 2023), Merritt Baria (University of Mississippi School of Law, May 2024), Keri Herrington (Mississippi College School of Law, May 2024), Teresa Jones (University of Mississippi School of Law, May 2023) and Cailin Sims (Mississippi College School of Law, May 2024).

FormanWatkins litigators Joshua Metcalf and Chelsea Lewis, as part of a national team representing a forest products client, helped win the complete dismissal of an antitrust case filed in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi. The suit raised federal and state antitrust claims against many of the largest forest products manufacturers in the country. The joint defense team coordinated motions practice between all defendants and secured the dismissal of all claims. Metcalf and Lewis, who both clerked for federal judges early in their careers, were able to provide the client and the defense team meaningful insight into Mississippi law and local federal practice. This victory continues a series of federal court wins by the Forman Watkins forest products team.

Forman Watkins & Krutz attorneys Nick Giallourakis, Byron Kitchens and Margaret McLaughlin secured a second consecutive defense dismissal in an asbestos exposure case filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court on behalf of an energy company. Plaintiffs are Italian citizens, bringing maritime law claims for asbestos exposure they alleged occurred, in part, aboard vessels that docked in the Port of Orleans. The team argued that the case should be dismissed in Orleans Parish and properly brought in an Italian forum, where the vast majority of the relevant documents and witnesses would be located. Civil District Court Judge Kern A. Reese agreed, dismissed the case from Orleans Parish on forum non conveniens grounds, and ordered the matter to be transferred  to the appropriate forum in Italy.

On April 29, 2022, an Orleans Parish District Court judge dismissed a mesothelioma asbestos exposure case in favor of two energy companies, represented by Forman Watkins & Krutz attorneys Nick Giallourakis, Byron Kitchens and Margaret McLaughlin, and Michael Abraham and Peter Moir, respectively. Plaintiffs are Italian citizens who filed suit under maritime law nearly ten years after their decedent’s mesothelioma diagnosis. Plaintiffs argued their lawsuit was timely filed because they did not learn of the connection between their decedent’s mesothelioma and his alleged asbestos exposures until late 2020 or early 2021. The parties submitted extensive briefing concerning maritime law prescription statutes (statute of limitations) and state of knowledge in Italy regarding the connection between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. At the hearing, McLaughlin and Abraham were successful in excluding the plaintiffs’ evidence regarding what was known or knowable about the cause of decedent’s mesothelioma; and, ultimately, Civil District Court Judge Robin M. Giarrusso granted the clients’ Peremptory Exception of Prescription (motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds).