Lathers v. U-Haul
(April 2004)
McCranie Sistrunk Attorneys won an important victory in favor of U-Haul in the case entitled Lathers v. U-Haul before Judge Robert Murphy in the 24th Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish in September 2003. The plaintiff stored his property at a U-Haul storage center. He completed a rental agreement and purchased insurance. The plaintiff allegedly later entered the space to find $14,000 worth of property missing. U-Haul filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and the trial court dismissed the suit concluding the terms of the rental agreement were a bar to the suit. Interestingly, neither U-Haul nor the plaintiff possessed a copy of the rental agreement. The court permitted U-Haul to prove the terms and conditions of the contract by an affidavit of the facility manager.