Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) called tort reform changes enacted at the state legislature a victory. But for anyone who cares about Louisiana’s role in making America energy-dominant, it’s hard to see what we’re celebrating.
Despite all the headlines, the so-called “tort reform” may tweak a few rules, but it leaves the single biggest obstacle to President Donald Trump’s “America First” energy agenda untouched: the decade-old coastal lawsuits that continue to strangle Louisiana’s energy economy.
In April, Trump signed an executive order calling for states to end the weaponization of lawsuits against the energy industry. Yet in Louisiana, the coastal lawsuits continue to drag energy producers through costly litigation over activities that were lawful, permitted, and in many cases encouraged by the state decades ago. In 2019, the Pelican Institute found that these lawsuits cost Louisiana’s economy up to $113 million each year.
The latest tort reform doesn’t stop them. It doesn’t even slow them down. Louisiana remains one of the only states still suing its own energy industry, one that has powered our country, supports more than 300,000 Louisiana jobs, and contributes tens of millions of dollars annually to the state’s coastal restoration budget. While Trump fights to make America energy-dominant, Louisiana is busy shaking down our energy producers in court.
The message from Baton Rouge is clear: Louisiana’s leaders are choosing trial lawyers over energy independence. While 16 other Republican attorneys general across the country recently stood up to defend the energy industry from politically motivated lawsuits, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill declined to join them. Her silence speaks volumes.
While other conservative-led states, such as Texas, are working with Trump to unleash American energy dominance and build long-term prosperity, Louisiana has chosen to disregard his agenda, preferring to chase settlement checks instead of creating real economic growth.
This isn’t hypothetical. It’s happening now. The recent verdict in Plaquemines Parish sent a chilling message to businesses across the state: Even if you follow the rules, you can still end up in court, decades later. That’s not the pro-business, pro-growth environment Louisiana needs or that Trump has fought to deliver for America.
Now, conservatives of all stripes are calling out state leadership for not doing more to end the coastal lawsuits, from former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr to conservative commentator and Trump ally Laura Loomer. This kind of national spotlight is only going to intensify if Louisiana keeps undermining Trump’s agenda.
CHEVRON’S CONDUCT IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH TRUMP’S AGENDA
If Landry is serious about fixing Louisiana’s legal climate and supporting our energy economy, he needs to finish the job — and fast. End the coastal lawsuits, put Louisiana in line with Trump’s energy agenda, and finally close the door on this litigator’s paradise once and for all.
Louisiana should be leading the charge for American energy, not suing it out of existence.
Marc Ehrhardt is the executive director of the Grow Louisiana Coalition, which has more than 100,000 supporters and advocates in support of Louisiana’s energy industry.