How do I know if my property is contaminated?
Landowners may not know their property is contaminated. Landowners will often come to us with some concern that their property may be contaminated. However, they are often unsure. They may have heard rumors that a neighbor’s property had contamination or that there were historic oil and gas operations on their property. Wherever their concern comes […]
What are the steps to file a lawsuit?
Before you file a lawsuit, it’s important to know the process. How does a lawsuit get filed? Filing a lawsuit requires information about the facts, law, and parties to the case in controversy. This requires the gathering of important information and all relevant evidence. Courts require a written lawsuit containing key information. The steps of […]
How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
Determining how much your personal injury case is worth depends on many factors. However, I will focus on some of the basics that are often applied to decide how much money should be paid to fairly compensate for a personal injury. This is not an exact science. Many insurance companies and attorneys, often depending on […]
There’s Oilfield Equipment on my Property
Many people in Louisiana have called us saying “There’s oilfield equipment on my property. What do I do?” Don’t worry, we can help! Oilfield equipment as a legacy of old operations Oilfield equipment didn’t get to your property on it’s own. The first oil well in Louisiana was drilled over 120 years ago near Jennings, […]
Twombly and Iqbal, and the sudden dismissal of a lawsuit
Twombly and Iqbal––or “Twiqbal” as the cases are sometimes known in legal circles––can often make or break a plaintiff’s litigation. Courts around the country have vigorously enforced this doctrine on case dismissal, sometimes dismissing even those complaints with lengthy and detailed factual recitations. So what are the Twiqbal cases, and what should you know about […]
Big Step Forward for $50 Billion Plan to Save Louisiana Coast
The next phase of a $50 billion plan to protect the Louisiana coast from erosion and rising sea levels has cleared an important hurdle, with the Army Corps of Engineers delivering a long-awaited environmental impact statement for a key part of the project. The report, issued Thursday evening, looked at a proposal to punch a […]
A glimmer of hope in environmental civil rights law
In 2015, the nation was horrified by the news coming out of Flint, Michigan. The small industrial city about an hour’s drive north from Detroit was poisoned by the reckless indifference of their public officials, and the contaminated water those officials allowed to course through the corroded pipes of the midwestern city. In 2014, the […]
Gillibrand Introduces Legislation To Ban Firefighting Foam With Cancer-Causing Chemicals
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has introduced a bill that would ban the use of firefighting foam that contains cancer-causing PFAS chemicals. PFAS are found in firefighting foams used at airports and military bases. Direct exposure to PFAS by firefighters has been linked to cancer. Gillibrand said the bill would create a nationwide […]
Water near Arizona Air Force base is tainted in latest case
PHOENIX — The U.S. Air Force says it will be distributing bottled water to thousands of residents and business owners near its base in suburban Phoenix until at least April, marking the latest case of chemicals from military firefighting efforts contaminating the water supply in a nearby community. Luke Air Force Base announced this month […]
‘Cost of Silence’: Film Review
Most Americans who don’t live on the Gulf Coast have, in all likelihood, long ago stopped thinking about the causes and effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. It’s impossible to hold all the world’s crises in your mind at once, and a relief to set one aside. We do the latter, often, because we […]