Louisiana Law Blog

by Maureen N. Harbourt

Two days before the end of the 2009 Legislative Session, the Louisiana Legislature adopted the Louisiana Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Act. Introduced as HB661, the final amended bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously. There are three major facets to the law: establishment of a comprehensive regulatory program for the control of injection, storage, and use of carbon dioxide under the auspices of the Office of Conservation within the Department of Natural Resources; establishment of liability limits for operators with transfer of liability for storage operations to the Geologic Storage Trust Fund (run by the state) after a specified time; and authority for expropriation of pipeline servitudes, storage facilities and other associated facilities necessary for carbon sequestration operations upon a determination of public convenience and necessity.

By Michael J. O'Brien

In Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc., et al. v. Townsend, the United States Supreme Court held that punitive damages are available to a seaman if his employer/vessel owner has willfully failed to fulfill its maintenance and cure obligation. This decision effectively overrules recent United States Court of Appeals jurisprudence, such as Guevara v. Maritime Overseas Corp, 59 F.3d. 1496, 1995 AMC 2409 (5th Cir. 1995) and Glynn v. Roy Al Boat Management Corp., 57 F.3d 1495, 1995 AMC 2022 (9th Cir. 1995), which interpreted the prior Supreme Court case of Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19, 1991 AMC 1 (1990) to bar claims for punitive damages against vessel owners for the willful failure to pay maintenance and cure.

Throughout 2004–2007 a housing boom along with a series of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico combined to create a shortage of drywall in the United States.  Needing drywall to build the homes that were much in demand, suppliers turned abroad. Chinese manufacturers stepped in, providing cheap and readily available material.  This influx of Chinese drywall was concentrated in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi; the states most affected by Hurricanes Wilma, Katrina, and Rita.  Since 2006, it has been estimated by some sources that more than 550 million pounds of drywall have been imported from China.  There are reports that some 100,000 homes could possibly be affected nationwide. 

By G. Trippe Hawthorne

The Louisiana Legislature has adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 185, authored by Representative Tim Burns.  The resolution urges and requests that the Department of Health and Hospitals and the Deptartment of Insurance, in consultation with the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, investigate the health risks associated with living in homes that contain drywall imported from China, study the potential homeowners insurance coverage issues, including triggers, endorsements, and exclusions to policies that are related to drywall imported from China, and determine whether such material should be identified as a substandard, unsafe building material.  The resolution goes on to request a report of the findings and recommendations of this study to the legislature prior to the convening of the 2010 regular session.

A copy of the enrolled version of the resolution can be seen here: Download file

By Larry J. Hand, Jr.

According to a 2006 report of the Department of Interior, the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) of the United States has the potential to generate 900,000 megawatts of power, which is roughly equal to the total installed electrical capacity in the United States. Of course, this potential resource cannot be realized without installation of significant infrastructure to harness the power of the winds that blow on the OCS.

By Theresa Hagen

The final revised FMLA regulations issued by the DOL on November 17, 2008 became effective January 16, 2009. The regulations address the FMLA military family leave entitlements and also include other, significant changes to prior regulations. Some of the changes involving employer notices are described in 29 C.F.R. §825.300 and include:

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time), on Saturday, June 13, 2009, members of the social networking website, Facebook, will be able to claim usernames to associate with their Facebook accounts and Facebook pages. This will allow Facebook pages to be accessed by using a url such as, http://www.facebook.com/unitedairlines, or something similar.

Facebook is taking certain steps to prevent infringement of intellectual property through “name-squatting.” In connection with this, Facebook is allowing Federally registered trademark holders to prevent the registration of usernames that would infringe their intellectual property rights.

There is a link to the form on Facebook’s Web site if you want to complete the form yourself. You will need the trademark registration number and the exact wording of the trademark as registered.

For more information, or to protect your trademark, please contact Pamela Baxter at pamela.baxter@keanmiller.com (225.389.3761) or Russel Primeaux at russel.primeaux@keanmiller.com (225.382.3454).

By Mark D. Mese

June marks the beginning of Hurricane Season and should serve as a reminder to review your personal and business property insurance coverage. The effect of recent Hurricanes on the Gulf Coast generally and Louisiana specifically have been significant with respect to both damages and the insurance covering those damages.

By Laura Hart

The EPA has proposed a rule that would require mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large sources in the United States.  The proposed rule was signed by the EPA Administrator on March 10, 2009 and published in the Federal Register on April 10, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 16,448).  As proposed, the rule will require reporting of stationary source GHG emissions for the 2010 calendar year by March 31, 2011.  According to the EPA, the proposed rule is intended to “collect accurate and comprehensive emissions data to inform future policy decisions.”

By Eric Lockridge

The judge overseeing Chrysler LLC’s bankruptcy entered an order on June 1, 2009 approving Chrysler’s motion seeking permission to sell substantially all of its assets to a new company.  The procedure by which this sale was accomplished, and by which a similar sale in the GM bankruptcy will likely be accomplished, is known in the bankruptcy and finance worlds as a “363 Sale,” after the relevant provision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

(For those well-versed in 363 Sales, see Stephen Sather’s thoughtful post about practical and ethical concerns with the Chrysler sale here. )