As a matter of first impression, in Cheapside Mins., Ltd. v. Devon Energy Prod. Co., L.P., No. 23-40591, 2024 WL 886951 (5th Cir. Mar. 1, 2024), the Fifth Circuit held that an oil-and-gas royalties class action belongs in federal court based on its interpretation that the “principal injuries” prong of the CAFA local controversy

A Louisiana federal court recently blocked EPA and DOJ from enforcing Title VI against the State of Louisiana to require disparate and cumulative impact analyses under federal environmental justice (EJ) policies for its state permitting. Read more about this decision and its ramifications here.
Continue Reading EJ Evolution: Court Enjoins EPA from Imposing Disparate Impact Requirements via Title VI in Louisiana Permitting

In the recent First Circuit Court of Appeal decision reinstating the Formosa facility permits, the court clarified that consideration of environmental justice is included in the Louisiana Public Trust Doctrine. To learn more about how this opinion may affect permit challenges and permit requirements, read more here.
Continue Reading Louisiana Appeals Court Finds Environmental Justice Is Part of the Louisiana Public Trust Duty

In the Fifth Circuit’s first application of Sackett v. EPA, the court ends a ten-year conflict regarding federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction over a Louisiana property, holding that under the new Supreme Court standard no WOTUS exist on the property.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Applies U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett Decision to End Long-Standing WOTUS Dispute

A federal appeals court has affirmed that a “greenwashing” lawsuit by the District of Columbia against several major energy companies should not be heard in federal court. In doing so, the court found itself “in accord with the other courts of appeals, which have unanimously found there is no federal jurisdiction where state or local governments have brought state-law actions against energy companies for conduct relating to climate change.” District of Columbia v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al., No. 22-7163 (Dec. 19, 2023) (“D.C. v. Exxon”).
Continue Reading Climate-Related Lawsuits Continue to Return to State Courts: Understanding The Latest Ruling from District of Columbia v. Exxon Mobil Corporation

The Louisiana Third Circuit recently affirmed a trial court discovery ruling that allowed the defendant to design its own e-discovery protocol without input from plaintiffs. In doing so, the Third Circuit bolstered the longstanding principle that trial courts have considerable discretion over discovery issues.
Continue Reading E-Discovery Update: Louisiana Third Circuit Affirms Defendant’s Authority to Govern Its Own E-Discovery Protocols

In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the Louisiana Third Circuit Appeal affirmed the authority of the Louisiana Tax Commission to correct property tax assessments of #pipelines when a local assessor uses values that are too high or do not reflect fair market value. Cheryl Kornick represented the taxpayer in this matter.
Continue Reading Louisiana Third Circuit Affirms Authority of Tax Commission to Correct Pipeline Property Tax Assessments

In a recent opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the “Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana” (“SRA-L”) is not entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity.[1] 

SRA-L was a named defendant in a suit by plaintiffs who own land in Louisiana and Texas. Plaintiffs levied allegations that years-long mismanagement of the Toledo

On August 20, 2018, Noble House’s yacht lost its port-side rudder while entering a channel in the Bahamas. The following day, Noble House advised Underwriters at Lloyd’s, its insurer, of the casualty, whose policy allegedly covered the claim. Noble House purchased the policy from Underwriters by way of a Texas-based insurance broker in February 2018.

On Friday, March 31, 2023, Representative Larry Bagley of Louisiana’s District 7 proposed amendments to Louisiana Revised Statutes § 30:10. The bill, HB 590,  extends a prior substantive change in the law that was affected by the 2012 amendments to La. R.S. 30:10. In the 2012 amendment, operators of force-pooled drilling units were required