Gov. John Bel Edwards has played right into the hands of his critics with his decision to hire some of his political supporters to handle lawsuits filed by coastal parishes against oil and gas companies. The Advocate brought the issue to the public’s attention last week, calling a Jefferson Parish suit “a case that could mean a big payday for Edwards’ hired guns.”
Matthew Brock, the governor’s executive counsel, defended the governor’s decision, and his arguments are ones we’ve heard many times before. He told the newspaper the legal team members were selected for their legal acumen, not because of their political contributions or their loyalty to Edwards.
“The governor, as you know, is a lawyer who has had long-term relationships with a lot of these people, so I don’t think it’s cronyism; it’s just people the governor has a tremendous amount of faith in,” Brock said.
Yes, that is true, but it is exactly the argument the governor’s opponents and his critics made during his gubernatorial campaign. They said he would become a tool of trial lawyers, and you can be sure his detractors will be attacking him on that issue again.
The Advocate reported in January that although Edwards is not a “so-called trial lawyer,” he championed their positions while a state representative.
Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, a tort reform group, said trial lawyers contributed more than $685,000 in support of Edwards’ gubernatorial campaign, “in addition to the $328,000 that they gave him from 2008 to 2014 while he served as their point man and spokesperson in the statehouse.”
In one respect, Brock is correct. Members of the legal team are excellent attorneys who are well-qualified to handle cases of this type. J. Michael Veron and J. Rock Palermo of Lake Charles are two of them. Veron filed the first successful lawsuit against the industry over environmental damage its operations caused on private property.
Former Rep. Taylor Townsend of Natchitoches is the lead attorney who brought in other lawyers to help with the case. He was co-chairman of the governor’s transition team and now heads Edwards’ super PAC, Louisiana Families First.
The Advocate said the team of six subcontracted attorneys combined to give the Edwards campaign and his transition team $130,000 last year.
Melissa Landry, executive director of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse, said, “There is a perception that the governor is turning his office into a private law firm.”
Landry criticized former state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell for hiring his political supporters to handle no-bid state legal cases. Current Attorney General Jeff Landry, no relation to Melissa Landry, defeated Caldwell and that issue played a key role in his success.
A similar issue came up in 2014 when the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East filed a major lawsuit against nearly 100 oil and gas companies. The idea came from John Barry, a member of that authority and author of the 1997 book, “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America,”
Recognized as an authority on water-related issues, Barry said the levee board’s goal all along was to get the industry to sit down and help resolve the issue of what caused major coastal erosion. He said a 2002 U.S. Geological Survey indicated that oil and gas companies were responsible for 36 percent of land loss.
Coastal erosion was accelerated, Barry said, because of the 10,000 miles that were dredged by the companies for canals and pipelines. Salt water intrusion weakened and destroyed the landscape.
Blaine LeCesne, a tort law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, talked in 2014 with The Times-Picayune about the flood authority lawsuit.
“I really think this is the ultimate goal of the levee authority here: to bring the oil companies to the bargaining table,” LeCesne said. “It’s a way of bringing attention and shedding some light on the problem and it may very well lead to some joint resolution to assist in future coastal erosion efforts.”
I supported that possibility, a stand that drew strong opposition from oil and gas groups. Former Gov. Bobby Jindal and legislators opposed the suit and Act 448 was approved in 2015 that set up a mediation procedure to handle these type cases.
Since that time, the coastal parishes of Jefferson, Plaquemines, Cameron and Vermilion have filed a number of similar lawsuits. A judge threw out a Jefferson Parish suit in early August, saying administrative remedies weren’t exhausted first.
The Edwards administration wanted to challenge that ruling, and Brock said that is why the governor had to act swiftly to hire his legal team.
Despite the many arguments advanced by Edwards’ legal counsel, the administration can’t explain away the fact Edwards is hiring his friends and political supporters. Others have done it, but that doesn’t make it right, either.
Some local attorneys became overnight millionaires in 2000 when they were hired by former state Attorney General Richard Ieyoub to participate in the state’s lawsuit against tobacco companies. They made the same arguments advanced by Edwards’ attorney. Their fees came from the tobacco companies, but they still benefited because of their political connections.
Edwards has given AG Jeff Landry a great campaign issue he will certainly use when he opposes the governor in 2019.
I have defended the governor since the first day he took office, and he has done an excellent job from the start. Unfortunately, his latest move detracts from the goodwill he has generated and the outstanding work he has done.
from American Press: Your Best News And Advertising Source - Home http://ift.tt/2bP8cjR
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment