Louisiana Third Circuit Affirms No Duty To Defend Or Provide Coverage

Case:  Chalmers, Collins & Alwell, Inc. v. Burnett & Company, Inc., et al.
Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal
No. 15-249, 175 So.3d 1100 (La. App. 3 Cir. 10/07/15)

Attorneys Jenny Michel and Jaime Landry in the Lafayette office served as counsel for Underwriters in this case, which they had successfully dismissed on a dispositive motion that was recently upheld on appeal, as discussed below.

Chalmers, Collins & Alwell, Inc. ("Chalmers") contracted with Haland Operating Company, LLC ("Haland") to perform consulting engineering services with respect to the drilling of certain wells. After numerous problems with the services provided by Chalmers, Haland refused to pay the balance due to Chalmers for those services and retained another engineering firm to complete the well. Chalmers instituted arbitration to recover its fees under the contract ($254,036). In response, Haland filed a Reconventional Demand asserting the alleged unsatisfactory work performed by