Edwin Ford Hunter, Jr.
How Judge Hunter rules, drawn from 6 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Hunter no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Hunter
Edwin Ford Hunter, Jr. was a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Judge Hunter received a commission on February 10, 1954. Judge Hunter assumed senior status on February 19, 1976 and served until death on February 22, 2002.
How Judge Hunter decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Bell's maritime injury suit, Hunter granted partial summary judgment against punitive damages for unseaworthiness but left the punitive-damages claim over maintenance and cure for later decision.
“We conclude that the former line of cases holding that punitive damages are not recoverable under the Jones Act or Maritime Law is the most consistent approach under Miles and its progeny.”
Procedural preferences
In Reale, Hunter remanded the insurance case after a nondiverse defendant was joined, holding that remand was mandatory once joinder destroyed federal jurisdiction.
“When the court granted the joinder, it was mandatory, under 1447 that the case be remanded.”
In Pate's disability-discrimination trial, Hunter found that regular attendance was essential to her administrative job and that a five-week absence did not meet that requirement. He entered judgment for the employer.
“A consecutive five week absence does not constitute regular attendance.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that summary judgment be entered in favor of defendant, GREENTREE ADMINISTRATORS, INC. and against plaintiffs ... The case is dismissed.”
“defendant's motion for partial summary judgment, dismissing plaintiffs punitive damage claim for unseaworthiness under the General Maritime Law is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment seeking dismissal of plaintiffs punitive damages claims for inadequate maintenance and cure is DENIED.”
“In accordance with the foregoing discussion, Boise's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
ADA and ADEA discharge suit decided after a one-day bench trial. Hunter entered judgment for the employer because the plaintiff's consecutive five-week, diabetes-related absence meant she could not perform the essential function of regular attendance with or without reasonable accommodation. He held that the ADA does not require an employer to wait indefinitely or shift essential duties to others, and found no age-discrimination evidence. This was a bench-trial judgment rather than a ruling on a party motion.
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 600 days (N = 10).
- As a long-serving and then senior district judge sitting in Lake Charles and Lafayette (1954-2002), Hunter carried a general civil and criminal docket.
- The case-level enumeration retained here is a slice of mid-1980s Lafayette-Division civil cases: by their captions a mix of maritime and oilfield personal-injury, energy-industry and products matters typical of south Louisiana of that era (e.g. Fontenot v. Huthnance Drilling, Pitre v. Atlantic Richfield, Eagle Fleet v. Bengal Marine, White v. Missouri Pacific Railroad).
- Nature-of-suit codes are not retained in the enumeration, so the mix is described from the captions, not coded.
A historical record
Judge Hunter no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.