Plaquemines Parish government has allowed plaintiff attorneys to file suit on its behalf for coastal erosion against a number of oil, gas and pipeline companies in the state, alleging they have been contributors to coastal erosion, but Louisianans are not necessarily backing the initiative.
In a recent survey weighing the locals' interest in the lawsuit, 57 percent of likely voters living in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish said they do not support a lawsuit being brought against energy companies, according to a survey.
Lana Venable, executive director at the Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, said Louisianans' opposition is to be expected.
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"Local residents’ overwhelming response in opposing lawsuits targeting the job-creating energy industry is not at all surprising," Venable told Louisiana Record. "The prosperity of the region – and the state as a whole – has been tied to the success of the oil and gas industry for decades."
Venable also stated that she believes residents find lawsuits like this "baseless" and realize the economic effects of it.
"Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch released a study earlier this week by The Perryman Group estimating that excessive tort costs to the Louisiana economy result in $1.1 billion in annual direct costs, $1.5 billion in annual output (gross product), and 15,556 jobs lost (including multiplier effects)," Venable said.
These lawsuits also cost $76.4 million in annual state revenue and $64.3 million in annual local government revenues, which places a large tax burden on residents.
"These kind of lawsuits will only continue to move Louisiana in the wrong direction and further weaken the state’s struggling economy, which has lost thousands of jobs and major manufacturing projects in recent years," Venable said.
Venable explained that LLAW opposes coastal lawsuits due to their belief that the lawsuits "stretch the law far beyond its intentions, ignore critical facts, and involve private lawyers in a space meant for democratically elected decision makers."
In the end, LLAW believes that the gas and oil companies do more good than harm to coastal parishes through the job generation they are responsible for.
"These companies provide thousands of quality jobs for hard-working Louisianans and millions in tax dollars for the state coffers," Venable said. "Because of their deep pockets, these companies are being targeted by plaintiff’s lawyers in an aggressive, high-profile legal attack over alleged production activities conducted decades ago."