What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Aertker Legal, LLC

Home
United States
Covington, LA
Aertker Legal, LLC

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Aertker Legal, LLC, Lawyer & Law Firm, 229 North Vermont Street, Covington, LA.

Aertker Legal is a dynamic and client-centered law firm that provides high-quality and cost-effective litigation and transactional legal services to clientele in Louisiana and Mississippi across a broad spectrum of legal practice areas.

10/27/2026

Louisiana Law Update: what you sign at the end of mediation can be the settlement itself.

Under Louisiana law, a compromise is a contract in which parties settle a dispute through concessions. La. Civ. Code art. 3071. It must be in writing or recited in open court. Art. 3072. A written agreement reached through mediation is enforceable like any other compromise. La. R.S. 9:4111.

On October 7, 2026, the Louisiana Third Circuit (No. 26-40) affirmed judgments enforcing a handwritten settlement form signed at the end of court-ordered mediation in a neighbors' fence-and-boundary dispute. The form set the boundary, called for one side to buy a strip of land, and dismissed all claims. One side later said it was not binding.

The court disagreed. A signature creates a presumption that the signer saw and understood the terms. And the fact that deeds and other transfer documents still had to be prepared did not make the deal conditional — preparing documents the law requires to complete a land transfer is "a legal requirement, not an uncertain event," so it is not a suspensive condition. Art. 1767.

The takeaway is general: the form at the end of a mediation day may not be a draft. Read it before you sign it.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. · Stephen "Curt" Aertker, Jr. · Covington, Louisiana

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

Craft-Driven. Technology-Powered.
aertkerlegal.com

10/21/2026

What is written discovery?

After a civil lawsuit is filed, each side can ask the other for information in writing. The three common tools are interrogatories (written questions answered under oath), requests for production of documents, and requests for admission (asking the other side to admit or deny specific facts).

Louisiana generally allows 35 interrogatories, counting subparts, before court leave is needed. La. C.C.P. art. 1457. Mississippi allows 30, and each must be a single question. Miss. R. Civ. P. 33(a).

Requests for admission are one place the states now differ. Under a 2026 Louisiana amendment, a court generally cannot deem an unanswered request admitted until the parties go through a Rule 10.1 discovery conference. La. C.C.P. art. 1467(C). Mississippi’s rule still treats an unanswered request as admitted. Miss. R. Civ. P. 36(a).

Process education only — not advice for any particular case.

Stephen “Curt” Aertker, Jr. · Aertker Legal, L.L.C. · Covington, Louisiana

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, LLC is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

aertkerlegal.com

10/20/2026

Injured railroad workers generally look to a federal statute, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, when they are hurt in the course of employment. A published Louisiana opinion now holds that they may not also pursue a parallel Civil Code article 2315 claim for the same injuries against the railroad employer and its agent.

On August 28, 2026, the Louisiana Fifth Circuit decided Casteel v. Lebouef, No. 25-CA-596. As a matter of first impression, the court affirmed dismissal of the state-law tort claims as preempted. FELA is the exclusive remedy for those claims. The FELA claims themselves remain and were sent back to the trial court.

This describes a published opinion. It is not a comment on any accident, and it is not advice about any claim.

Aertker Legal, LLC — Covington, Louisiana — Stephen C. Aertker, Jr.

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, LLC is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

10/15/2026

Criminal Law

Criminal procedure is state-specific, and Louisiana and Mississippi do not run on the same playbook.

How a case starts: In Louisiana, serious felony prosecutions move through district courts. Cases punishable by death or life imprisonment must begin with a grand-jury indictment. Other district-court prosecutions may proceed by indictment or by a bill of information. Lower courts in a parish or city may use affidavits or information for ordinance and other local matters. Mississippi’s general trial court for state criminal cases is the circuit court, with justice, municipal, and (where established) county courts handling many misdemeanors and early stages of felony matters. Under Mississippi’s criminal-procedure rules, a case may commence by charging affidavit, indictment, or bill of information. The labels sound familiar; the court paths and charging patterns are not interchangeable.

Record relief: Both states have statutes that allow certain arrests or convictions to be expunged or sealed when eligibility rules are met. The waiting periods, offense exclusions, and how many convictions may be cleared differ by state. Eligibility is not automatic, and what qualifies in one state may not qualify in the other.

Terminology the public hears: Louisiana’s impaired-driving offense is commonly called DWI (the statute names “operating a vehicle while impaired”). Mississippi’s parallel offense is generally called DUI. Same everyday concern; different statutory labels and frameworks.

This post is general process awareness only. It is not a defense roadmap, not a prediction about any charge, and not advice for anyone facing a criminal investigation or case.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. represents clients in criminal-defense matters in Louisiana and Mississippi. Stephen “Curt” Aertker, Jr. handles every client matter personally from Covington, Louisiana.

This post is general information about Louisiana and Mississippi law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

Craft-Driven. Technology-Powered.
aertkerlegal.com

10/14/2026

What mediation is — and is not

Mediation is a meeting where a neutral person, the mediator, helps the parties talk through a dispute and explore settlement. The mediator does not decide who wins. La. R.S. 9:4101(C)(4); Miss. Court Annexed Mediation R. V.

Louisiana generally keeps what is said and written during mediation out of later court proceedings, with limited exceptions. La. R.S. 9:4112. Mississippi’s court rules do the same. Miss. Court Annexed Mediation R. VII.

The two states differ on referral. In Louisiana, a court may refer a civil case on a party’s motion, and a timely objection rescinds the order (La. R.S. 9:4103). In Mississippi, a court may refer on its own motion, and an objection leads to a hearing (Rule III).

Process education only — not advice for any particular case.

Stephen “Curt” Aertker, Jr. · Aertker Legal, L.L.C. · Covington, Louisiana

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, LLC is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

aertkerlegal.com

10/13/2026

Louisiana Law Update: the contract's label does not decide whether a worker is an "employee" for a wage claim.

Louisiana's Wage Payment Act requires an employer to pay a departing employee the amount then due under the terms of employment. La. R.S. 23:631. When the worker signed an "independent contractor" agreement, courts still look at the substance of the relationship — above all, who controlled the work.

On October 7, 2026, the Louisiana Third Circuit (No. 26-75) affirmed a judgment holding that a licensed counselor whose written agreements called her an independent contractor was an employee under the Act. The trial court found the practice controlled her treatment methods, scheduling, record-keeping, and billing, and could end the arrangement at will. The appeals court found no manifest error.

The court also held that unpaid per-patient commissions for work she had already completed were earned wages. The employer relied on La. R.S. 23:631(E), added by 2024 La. Acts No. 556 (effective Aug. 1, 2024), which makes lawful a written policy that a commission is not earned until the employer receives the payment that generates it. That language did not exist when this worker left in 2023, so it did not apply. Penalty wages under La. R.S. 23:632 were affirmed based on a bad-faith finding.

Because Act 556 now expressly allows certain written commission policies, separations after Aug. 1, 2024 may be analyzed differently.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. · Stephen "Curt" Aertker, Jr. · Covington, Louisiana

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

Craft-Driven. Technology-Powered.
aertkerlegal.com

10/09/2026

Downtown Covington turns into a gallery this Saturday.

Fall for Art is Saturday, October 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. along North Columbia Street. The St. Tammany Art Association produces the free festival each fall, with an art market on Columbia Street, live music, and art demonstrations. It's rain or shine.

Nights like this are a reminder of how much of the Northshore's character comes from its artists, musicians, gallery owners, and the downtown businesses that open their doors for them.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. is based in Covington, Louisiana. Stephen "Curt" Aertker, Jr. lives and practices here, a few blocks from the same streets.

Craft-Driven. Technology-Powered.
aertkerlegal.com

10/06/2026

In Louisiana, whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor can decide whether a hiring company's auto liability coverage responds when that person is driving a vehicle the company does not own.

Courts look at the totality of the circumstances. Under Louisiana Supreme Court guidance in Bolden, the single most important factor is the right of control — not only whether control was actually exercised, but whether the right to control the work existed. A true independent-contractor arrangement typically involves a contract for a defined result, the contractor's own methods, and payment for the job rather than a wage, without day-to-day direction over manner and means.

On September 23, 2026, the Louisiana Third Circuit in No. 26-66 (La. App. 3 Cir.) affirmed summary judgment of no coverage under a hiring company's policy. The court applied the Bolden right-of-control analysis to a written independent-contractor agreement and related facts, and held the worker was not an "employee" insured for purposes of the policy's non-owned auto coverage path. Independent-contractor status was fatal to coverage.

General information about how Louisiana courts analyze contractor status and insurance — not advice about any accident, policy, or claim.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. — Covington, Louisiana — Stephen C. Aertker, Jr.

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, LLC is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

Craft-Driven. Technology-Powered.
aertkerlegal.com

10/02/2026

One attorney. Every matter.

Aertker Legal, L.L.C. is a Northshore boutique based in Covington, Louisiana. Stephen "Curt" Aertker, Jr. handles every client matter personally — there is no hand-off to a junior associate or a revolving case manager.

The firm is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. That dual-state reach means the same attorney can stay on the matter when the facts cross the state line, rather than handing the file off and starting over. Laws differ by state.

Craft-Driven. Technology-Powered.
aertkerlegal.com

10/01/2026

What a deposition is — and is not

In many civil cases, a deposition is sworn testimony taken outside the courtroom — usually oral questions and answers after a case is filed. Louisiana procedure allows a party to depose any person, including another party, upon oral examination, with reasonable written notice of time and place. La. C.C.P. arts. 1437, 1438.

It is not a trial. Later courtroom use of the transcript is limited by the rules. La. C.C.P. art. 1450. Mississippi’s framework differs (Miss. R. Civ. P. 30).

Process education only — not advice for any particular case.

Stephen “Curt” Aertker, Jr. · Aertker Legal, L.L.C. · Covington, Louisiana

This post is general information about Louisiana law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

Aertker Legal, LLC is licensed in Louisiana and Mississippi. Laws differ by state.

aertkerlegal.com

Address

229 North Vermont Street
Covington, LA
70433

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

(985)6127220

Website

http://www.aertkerlegal.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Aertker Legal, LLC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.