Indemnity provisions are widely used in the energy industry as a method of contractually apportioning liability between parties. These provisions are a staple in Master Service Agreements and can be unilateral or mutual. Often, agreements contain knock-for-knock provisions where each party assumes responsibility for claims made by its own employees or subcontractors. When disputes arise,
In Griffin v. Hess Corporation, 2017 WL 5125657 (5th Cir. Nov. 3, 2017) (unpublished) the U.S. 5th Circuit reaffirmed the difficult burden of proving that prescription should be excused under the Louisiana jurisprudential exception of contra non valentem non currit preaescriptio. Contra non valentem “means that prescription does not run against a person
On January 9, 2018, a split panel of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order from the district court, denying a motion to remand a matter removed under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”). The 2-1 decision In Warren Lester, et. al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et. al., No. 14-31383,
On August 28, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) approved an emergency fuel waiver for areas for Louisiana affected by Hurricane Harvey. The waiver is an effort to minimize or prevent problems with the supply of gasoline. Sixteen parishes in the state are required to sell low Reid vapor pressure (“RVP”) gasoline,[i] having a
Just a quick reminder that in 2007, the Louisiana State Police (“LSP”) adopted regulations requiring special reporting requirements for persons “engaged in the transportation of hazardous materials by railcars, vessels, or barges, or the temporary storage of hazardous materials in any storage vessel not permanently attached to the ground” if that activity is within “a
Consistent with public comments that it will pursue all available appellate remedies, today the South Louisiana Flood Protection Authority filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, to seek review of the decision in Board of Comm. of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company
The Texas Supreme Court recently handed down a decision in Forest Oil Corp. v. El Rucio Land & Cattle Co., Inc., 14-0979, 2017 WL 1541086 (Tex. Apr. 28, 2017), that at first glance, is reminiscent of the landmark Louisiana legacy cases Corbello and Magnolia Coal. Forest Oil, like Corbello, supports the
Despite consideration of an Ohio-style gross receipts tax, a Michigan-style single business tax and various versions of flat taxes, the 2017 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature ended on June 8, 2017, without the enactment of any significant tax reform. Because the Legislature neglected to compromise on the budget issues raised in the Session, Governor
In the recent U.S. Fifth Circuit case of In re Larry Doiron, Inc., 849 F.3d 602 (5th Cir. 2017), the Court considered an often pivotal question in many offshore personal injury cases: is the contract governing the relationship of the parties a maritime contract?
While this issue is not new to the offshore oil
By the Admiralty and Maritime Team
Scott Angelle, a native of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, has been appointed by the Trump Administration to head the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”). Mr. Angelle first held public office in the late 1980’s. He has since served as a Parish President, Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Natural