The Louisiana Corporation Franchise Tax (“CFT”) has historically been imposed only on corporations. Thus, LLCs and partnerships have not been subject to the CFT. In the Special Session that ended last March, the Louisiana Legislature expanded the companies subject to the CFT to include non-corporate entities that elect to be taxed as corporations for federal
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in March that it is in the process of developing new regulations to curb methane emissions from existing oil and gas facilities. The EPA will formally require companies operating existing oil and gas sources to provide information to assist in the development of comprehensive regulations to reduce methane emissions.
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
In the Gulf of Mexico, helicopters have replaced seagoing vessels as the primary mode of transporting workers from shore to their jobs on offshore platforms and rigs. It is black letter law that a seagoing vessel in peril that is rescued is subject to an award for salvage. Since helicopters have replaced vessels in the
In Nguyen v. American Commercial Lines, L.L.C., the U.S. Fifth Circuit clarified the presentment requirements set forth in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA 90”). Although the fishermen’s information submitted was sufficient to present a claim, the Court refused to allow some of the claimants from pursuing litigation because they failed to comply
In the most recent ruling of the BP DEEPWATER HORIZON/Macondo Well blowout and spill, Judge Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana recently dismissed certain claims made by the plaintiffs under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or “OPA 90.”
On April 20, 2010, the BP’s Macondo Well suffered a tragic blowout resulting in an
The 5th Circuit issued a decision this week addressing an employer’s liability for benefits under the LHWCA to an employee who was allegedly injured while working. Although the end result was employer-friendly, it took numerous appeals for the employer to obtain it. Although some language suggests the plaintiff also filed a separate tort suit, this
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
The Eastern District of Louisiana recently held that a marine fuel supplier who provided fuel to a vessel, through two intermediaries, did not have a valid maritime lien on the vessel even though the vessel accepted and signed for the fuel delivery. See Valero Marketing & Supply Co. v. M/V ALMI SUN, 2016 WL
The U.S. Fifth Circuit issued a decision this week that addresses the murky question of what law applies to offshore incidents. It illustrates that the choice of law issue is not merely academic but has important real-world consequences. In this case it meant that a lawsuit for over $400,000,000 was given new life. See Petrobras