Monique Weiner is a founding partner of Kuchler Polk Schell Weiner & Richeson, LLC. She has tried diverse bench and jury trials to verdict. Her litigation specialties are Toxic Tort, Product Liability, Employment Discrimination, Personal Injury and Construction Law trials.
Ms. Weiner has been trial counsel for a chemical manufacturing company which has been sued in approximately 1800 cases. Those cases are pending in Mississippi and arise out of alleged community exposure and contamination as a result of dioxins and heavy metals. In June 2007, Ms. Weiner tried the claims arising from the death of an 8 year-old girl who suffered from congenital heart defects and a rare form of liver cancer, hepatoblastoma. The jury returned a defense verdict after very short deliberations. In that case, the plaintiffs sought compensatory damages from the jury of up to $30 million dollars.
In 2006, Ms. Weiner was lead trial counsel defending a class action arising as a result of an explosion at a chemical facility. After a full trial, the court rendered judgment in favor of Ms. Weiner’s client. Later in that year, Ms. Weiner obtained summary judgment and voluntary dismissal in cases involving claims of employment discrimination.
Ms. Weiner’s diverse trial experience includes:
- trying to verdict and judgment toxic tort cases including the claims of a plaintiff suffering from the cancer, multiple myeloma and, in another case, acute mylogenous leukemia as a result of alleged benzene exposure.
- successfully recovering property damage and loss of natural gas reserves after a month-long bench trial as a result of an explosion of a natural gas production platform for the plaintiff platform owners and natural gas leaseholders whom she represented.
- defending a railroad from wrongful death and personal injury claims during jury trials in both federal and state court in Louisiana.
- obtaining favorable results for plaintiffs in jury trials in federal court in New Orleans against a national insurance company and BankOne.
- defending the interests of a prominent publication in a construction-related trial in Mississippi.
In addition to managing her diverse litigation practice, Ms. Weiner assists employers in drafting employment agreements and policies, as well as defending complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She has participated in EEOC mediations, and prefers to become involved in the EEOC process for an employer before a lawsuit is filed. She has also assisted employers in unemployment compensation benefits hearings. She has been involved in a Fortune 100 Company's Labor and Employment Law Practice group and attends annual meetings of that group in connection with a yearly seminar on Multi-State Labor and Employment Law issues.
Ms. Weiner graduated from the Paul M. Hebert School of Law at Louisiana State University in 1994. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1991, after only three years of college enrollment. She is admitted to the state bars in Louisiana and Texas.
Ms. Weiner is a native of Covington, Louisiana, where she currently resides. She has served on the alumnae board of St. Scholastica Academy, where she attended high school. In January 2007, she completed a three-year term as a member of the Board of Directors for Tchefuncta Club Estates, Inc. She is an active member of First Baptist Church, Covington. She and her husband, Michael, have two children, Alex and Kaitlyn.
Awards
- Monique Weiner was chosen as 2008 Louisiana Super Lawyers.
Publications
- Monique Weiner’s article regarding the United States’ Supreme Court’s decision in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, No. 10-174, 564 U.S. __, 131 S. Ct. 2527 (2011) was posted on the ABA Section of Litigation, Product Liability Committee’s News & Developments webpage. In that case, several states and a land trust filed suit seeking injunctive relief against five major electric power companies, to set carbon dioxide emissions for each defendant at an initial cap, to be reduced annually. See the article here.
Presentations
- Monique Weiner moderated and presented a panel discussion on ethics at the 6th Annual Chemical and Industrial Products Regional CLE Workshop in Wilmington, Delaware. For the past year, Ms. Weiner has served as senior co-chair of the Chemical subcommittee which organized the conference. The Chemical subcommittee operates under the Products Liability Committee of the ABA’s Section of Litigation.
- Monique Weiner spoke as one of two presenters at a webinar organized by Strafford Publications, Inc. entitled “Cross-Examination of Hostile Witnesses- Crafting Cross-Examination Strategies, Optimizing Technology and Applying Psychology Tools.”
Published Decisions
- Johnson v. EI DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc., 2009 WL 91481 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1/13/09)
- Warren v. Sabine Towing and Transp. Co., Inc., 01-0573 (La. App. 3 Cir. 10/30/02), 831 So.2d 517
- McCarra v. fllinois Central R. Co., 01-298 (La. App. 4 Cir. 9/25/01), 798 So.2d 252
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