Kean Miller

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In-house counsel who are employed in Louisiana but are not licensed to practice law here have until July 1, 2005 to file an application for limited licensure to practice under the Louisiana Supreme Court’s new In-House Counsel Rule.
Continue Reading Louisiana In-House Counsel Rule Deadline Approaching

On Friday, June 10, 2005, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) enacted an Emergency Rule to adopt the 8-hour primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and to revoke the 1-hour standards (both primary and secondary standards). The rule also establishes special Nonattainment New Source Review provisions for the 5-Parish Baton Rouge Nonattainment Area (Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston and West Baton Rouge Parishes). The rule becomes effective on June 15, 2005, the same date that the federal 1-hour ozone NAAQS are revoked.
Continue Reading Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Adopts Emergency Rule for Baton Rouge Nonattainment Area

An interesting post from A.J. Levy at Out-of-the-Box Lawyering, http://www.outoftheboxlawyering.com, on obtaining CLE credits on-line. Louisiana Supreme Court rules allow the desk-shackled among us to obtain up to 4 hours for “watching approved video presentations or listening to approved audio presentations.” We can’t emphasize the “approved” term enough. Check out A.J.’s post for details.…

We recently reported (see page 2) that the EEOC had approved and intended to publish a rule specifically authorizing retiree health benefit plans to coordinate plan benefits with Medicare or comparable state-sponsored health benefits without violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Recently, a federal district court in Pennsylvania issued an order enjoining, or prohibiting, the EEOC from publishing or implementing the retiree health benefit regulation. AARP v. EEOC, No. 05-CV-509 (E.D. Pa. March 30, 2005), 2005 WL 723991. The EEOC has indicated its intent to appeal the recent ruling.
Continue Reading Federal District Court Enjoins EEOC Rule on Retiree Health Benefits

The United States Supreme Court ruled on March 30, 2005, in a matter of first impression, that disparate-impact claims are available to employees under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”). Smith et al. v. City of Jackson, MS, et al., No. 03-1160 (2005). In sum, this ruling allows employees to prevail in an ADEA claim against their employers without proving that the employer intended to discriminate based on the employee’s age.
Continue Reading Disparate Impact Claims Available Under the ADEA

Who owns the improvements constructed by a tenant is often a critical issue when a lease terminates. If a lease does not address the issue, the relevant Louisiana Civil Code Articles will apply. Effective January 1, 2005, Louisiana revised the Civil Code Articles regarding leases. The revised Articles specifically address improvements made by tenants and govern if the lease is silent on the issue.
Continue Reading Tenant Improvements – Who Owns Them?

Environmental managers are not often popular with company CFO’s as more often than not, their proposed projects to install pollution control measures involve large expenditures with little prospect of cost-recovery. However, a review of various state decisions on what constitutes “pollution-control” may enable the thrifty EHS manager to soften the blow with creative mechanisms such as pollution control tax credits.
Continue Reading Pollution Control Tax Credits – “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned”

For several years now, some landowners have been suing oil and gas operators concerning the condition of the land subject to a mineral lease. One Louisiana court recently struggled with the issue of when a landowner/lessor can sue a lessee under a mineral lease to remediate the property.
Continue Reading Court Wrestles With Oilfield Operator Obligations During Ongoing Operations