NEW ORLEANS, LA – The United States Fifth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment win obtained by Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore LLC, dismissing all of Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants American Trucking & Transportation Insurance Company (ATTIC) and MVT Services, LLC (MVT), in a case involving alleged injuries following a tractor-trailer tire blowout. In its written reasons, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, including Judges Jones, Haynes, and Costa, held that Plaintiff failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the tractor-trailer’s tire had a defect that presented an unreasonable risk of harm under Louisiana law. The Opinion was issued on February 17, 2022.

Lead counsel for ATTIC and MVT, Matt Bailey of Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore in Baton Rouge, LA, along with Kelly Brilleaux with the firm’s New Orleans office, prepared the Brief on behalf of the Appellees. Ultimately, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, adopting many of the arguments set forth in Appellees’
Brief.

In its Opinion, the Fifth Circuit held that Plaintiff failed to offer any admissible evidence regarding the tire’s failure or surrounding circumstances and, further, that even if she had raised such an issue of fact as to whether the tire was defective, she nonetheless also failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether MVT or the driver of the tractor trailer knew, or should have known, of any
such defect. The Fifth Circuit also rejected Plaintiff’s argument that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applied to her claims, calling the theory “plainly inapposite” to the matter.

The case is Tyrea Arceneaux v. American Trucking & Transportation Insurance Company Risk Retention Group; MVT Services, L.L.C., d/b/a Mesila Valley Transportation, No. 21-30196 (5^th Cir. 2/17/2022).