Act 458 of the 2025 Louisiana legislative session (“Act 458” or the “the Act”), recently signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry, introduced changes to the regulation of oil and gas operations in Louisiana. In addition to enacting changes to the laws regarding oilfield legacy suits (summarized in this recent post), Act 458 also
Nearing the end of the 2025 Regular Legislative Session, on June 11, 2025, the Louisiana Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 244 (“SB 244”), which brings significant changes to Louisiana’s oilfield site remediation statute, commonly known as “Act 312” (found at La. R.S. § 30:29). Act 312 applies to cases where environmental damage is alleged from historical
It seems that the death of Chevron deference was not the end of agency deference. Almost a year after striking down Chevron deference, today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on the role of judicial deference towards an agency’s fact and scope determinations. In an opinion penned by Justice Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court
On the first day of his second term in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Unleashing American Energy.” This Order contains several provisions intended to encourage American energy production and remove barriers that “have impeded the development” of energy and natural resources.
The Order states that it is “in the national
Brief Introduction:
On July 1, 2024, the Western District of Louisiana ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the case, State of Louisiana et al. v. Joseph R. Biden Jr. et al. No. 2:24-CV-00406 (W.D. La. July 1, 2024), ordering that the Biden Administration’s ban on the export of liquified natural gas (LNG)
The 2024 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature ended on June 3, 2024. The first regular session of the new term saw legislation on several hot-button issues, including criminal justice reform, reorganization of state governmental entities, insurance reform, education, public access to government records, public libraries, protection of the Louisiana seafood industry, and improvements to
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo[1] definitively overturned Chevron deference[2], and held that, when reviewing agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, courts “must exercise their independent judgment” and “may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute
On December 28, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) signed a final rule delegating primacy over the issuance and enforcement of permits for Class VI Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) wells under the Safe Drinking Water Act to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (“LDNR”).[1] This decision came after a lengthy review process
In today’s legal landscape, jury awards to personal injury plaintiffs are trending upwards. Studies show that “nuclear verdicts” are increasing in prevalence as jurors grow more critical of corporate defendants and are increasingly persuaded by provocative trial tactics from plaintiff attorneys. However, recent decisions from Louisiana and Texas show that some courts are bucking the
Kean Miller is closely following the recent challenges to the Chevron Deference standard established by the Supreme Court in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). As applied by federal courts for the last four decades, the Chevron Deference standard first requires that a court determine whether a statute