Melinda Knighten-Hadley sues Walmart Louisiana in federal personal injury case
Melinda Knighten-Hadley sued Walmart Louisiana, LLC and Walmart, Inc.; defendants removed the Orleans Parish petition to federal court on March 3, 2026 and answered with a jury demand the same day.
A personal injury case brought by plaintiff Melinda Knighten-Hadley against Walmart Louisiana, LLC and Walmart, Inc. was removed from Civil District Court for Orleans Parish, case number 2025-11919, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on March 3, 2026, listed as Case No. 2:26-cv-00454. The federal docket entry for the removal is titled, "NOTICE OF REMOVAL with jury demand from Civil District Court, Orleans Parish, case number 2025-11919," and records a $405 filing fee with receipt ALAEDC-11361814.
Defendants moved quickly after removal. The federal docket shows an initial case assignment at 12:21 PM on March 3, 2026 to Judge William J. Crain and Magistrate Judge Janis Van Meerveld, followed by an Answer to the Complaint filed at 2:18 PM the same day. The Answer is recorded as "ANSWER to Complaint with Jury Demand by Walmart Louisiana, LLC, Walmart, Inc." and lists defense counsel Isidro Rene' Derojas of McCranie, Sistrunk, Anzelmo, Hardy, McDaniel & Welch in New Orleans.
A procedural shift followed within 24 hours. A docketed Order of Recusal dated March 4, 2026 and signed by Judge William J. Crain shows the judge recused and the matter reassigned to Judge Sarah S. Vance, with the recusal order noted at 4:12 PM on March 4. The case remains classified on the federal docket as Nature of Suit 360 Torts - Personal Injury - Other Personal Injury and Cause 28:1332 Diversity-Personal Injury.
The Notice of Removal included attachments identified on the docket as a Civil Cover Sheet and Exhibit A, labeled "Petition for Damages." The federal docket excerpts provided do not list plaintiff counsel or the petition text, so the specific allegations, claimed injuries, and damages sought by Knighten-Hadley are contained in that state-court petition and have not yet been reflected in the federal docket entries available. The defendants’ same-day Answer and jury demand mean substantive defenses will be on file early in the federal proceeding.
Defense counsel Isidro Rene' Derojas has appeared in other Walmart removal matters in the Eastern District, a pattern visible on prior dockets for separate cases. For context, other Eastern District and Fifth Circuit litigation involving Walmart slip-and-fall claims has ranged from denial of summary judgment in Rivera, a case arising from an April 5, 2018 incident with serious injury and death where the court ruled on summary judgment motions on June 9, 2021, to a Fifth Circuit opinion filed March 4, 2026 affirming summary judgment for Walmart in a different October 27, 2022 trip case.
As of the latest federal docket activity, Knighten-Hadley v. Walmart Louisiana, LLC et al., 2:26-cv-00454, sits before Judge Sarah S. Vance with Magistrate Judge Janis Van Meerveld referred, and the petition for damages attached to the removal will determine the factual heart of the dispute once obtained and reviewed.
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