Last December, we posted an article addressing the recent conflicted decisions out of the Eastern District of Louisiana on the remaining availability of punitive damages against third parties under general maritime law. You can find that article here. In 2016, the conflict continues…
As we mentioned, Judge Fallon allowed a claim for punitive damages
In December 2015, the U.S. 5th Circuit (in a 2-1 decision) was called to decide whether a non-operating partner in a joint venture qualified as a “statutory employer” under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act (“LWCA”), La. R.S. § 23:1021, even though that party did not sign the contract and was not specifically mentioned in the
Since the announcement by Helis Oil & Gas that it intended to introduce hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) to St. Tammany Parish, the local response has been vitriolic to stay the least – from public protests and interstate billboards to lawsuits. In fact, according to DNR officials, the large public hearing on Helis’ drilling permit application was
A typical oilfield personal injury case in (or off the coast of) Louisiana involves a review of the relevant contracts and an analysis of whether demands for defense and indemnity can be made (and enforced) against other contracting parties. And, typically, the party on the receiving end of such a demand – usually the plaintiff’s
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the availability of maritime punitive damages claims in Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009), maritime plaintiffs have fought tirelessly to see where else they can carve out from under the Jones Act’s prohibition from punitive damages. Recall that in Townsend, the Supreme Court recognized
The EPA has proposed pretreatment standards for the Oil and Gas Extraction Category (40 CFR Part 435). The regulations would address discharges of wastewater pollutants from onshore Unconventional Oil and Gas (UOG) extraction facilities to Publicly-Owned Treatment Works (POTWs). The EPA contends that “the proposed rule would better protect public health, the environment, and the
On May 18, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court considered then denied the Writ of Certiorari filed by Petitioner, Haleigh McBride, who sought to have the U.S. 5th Circuit’s En Banc Opinion in favor of Estis Well Service reversed. See McBride v. Estis Well Service, LLC, 768 F.3d 382 (5th Cir. 2014). The writ denial
In 1953, Congress passed the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”), 43 U.S.C. 1333, et seq. to provide a set of “comprehensive choice-of-law rules and federal regulation to a wide range of activity occurring beyond the territorial waters of the states on the outer continental shelf of the United States.” Important in OCS personal
An offshore helicopter crash resulted in four lawsuits filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana that were eventually consolidated for all purposes. Three of the four plaintiffs properly asserted that their cases fell under admiralty jurisdiction and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(h). FRCP 9 governs the pleading of special matters, and subsection (h) addresses
Going back to 1943, the Supreme Court in De Zon v. Am. President Lines, Ltd., 318 U.S. 660, 669 (1943), ruled that a shipowner could be liable to a Jones Act seaman for harm suffered as the result of any negligence on the part of the ship’s doctor while treating the seaman. The U.S.