It is no secret that frivolous litigation filings have skyrocketed in recent years. As more and more personal injury lawyers seek to use and abuse our legal system, Americans have grown tired of paying the costs and have begun calling for reform. Fortunately, Congress is listening.

It has been over one hundred days since Trump took office and in that time, we have seen the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipeline projects jump started, many regulations from the Obama-era rolled back, as well as a rejuvenation of leasing programs and streamlining processes for permitting on federal land and water.

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA) and the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA) released the following statements upon receiving notification that the United States Fifth District Court of Appeals denied the plaintiffs' petition for a re-hearing of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East’s (SLFPA-E) lawsuit against oil and gas companies alleging damages to coastal land.

It’s easy to understand how Ms. Melissa Landy is appalled over the $17 million settlement from Orleans, East Jefferson and Lake Borgne Levee Districts.

A billowing sigh of relief was heard from oil and gas companies all across Louisiana, and with that sigh, came a little boost of confidence.

Well, it's a new year here in Louisiana, but not much has changed. A new year means another budget deficit, which means yet another legislative rumpus over who and or what will foot the bill.

It is impossible to avoid them. Everywhere we look, we are bombarded by aggressive legal advertising. From car wrecks to class actions, solicitations from personal injury law firms dominate our local TV airwaves — not to mention what fills the radio and is plastered on billboards and bus exteriors.

Low prices, legal challenges and OPEC.

On September 21, 2016, a letter was signed and sent by Governor John Bel Edwards to multiple coastal parishes in the state of Louisiana to “encourage” them to sue oil and gas companies in their parishes, as well as those that previously operated in the area. 

This past Thursday the District Attorney for the 15th Judicial District, Keith Stutes, announced the filing of litigation against 49 oil and gas defendants on behalf of Vermilion Parish.

So many times our companies walk into the courtroom and look at the next few years fly by as they spend their time in painfully draining litigation.

Lawsuits certainly have a way of getting everyone’s attention, especially here in Louisiana.