NEW ORLEANS - The ancient doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (“the thing speaks for itself”) couldn’t rescue a lawsuit by Louisiana oyster farmers who blamed oil and gas drilling activities for a sudden die-off of their crops.
Some 30 oyster farmers sued 18 companies in the oil and gas business, including Hilcorp and Targa Enterprises, claiming they were behind a “highly abnormal spike in salinity” that caused widespread oyster deaths in Plaquemines Parish in January 2021. The farmers said circumstantial evidence pointed to brine and “produced water” that are frequent byproducts of oil and gas drilling.
A trial court dismissed their cases, ruling the oyster producers had failed to make specific allegations against any of the defendant companies. The Fifth Circuit upheld the dismissal in a brief July 24 decision, rejecting arguments there was sufficient evidence to proceed to discovery, or the process of gathering internal evidence from the defendants to determine whether they had contributed to the excess salinity.
The trial court concluded those allegations were “speculative, conclusory and unspecific to any individual defendant.” On appeal, the plaintiffs argued “the only possible cause” of the oyster deaths was a sudden release of brine but they couldn’t make specific allegations without further discovery.
The defendants were “holding all the cards” as to who exactly was to blame.
The Fifth Circuit rejected those arguments, saying cases the plaintiffs cited involving res ipsa were inapplicable because of the large number of defendants. Circumstantial evidence must implicate a specific defendant, the court ruled.
“Simply put, Plaintiffs’ complaint has not nudged their claims of negligent/tortious conduct `across the line from conceivable to plausible,’” the court concluded.
Plaintiffs filed suit in early 2022 in Plaquemines Parish District Court, represented by Andrew Wilson of Milling Benson Woodward in Mandeville. The many defendants later removed the case to Louisiana federal court.
Wilson has made oysters a part of his practice. He represented the State of Louisiana as it successfully fought a $1.3 billion judgment in favor of oystermen.