Chris John: Some facts on lawsuit, oil industry

08 08, 2014 by The Advocate

John Barry’s July 23 opinion piece in The New Orleans Advocate reminds me of the old saying: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, just not their own facts.” The fact of the matter is the SLFPA-E court case was never legal and should never have been filed. His continual interchanging of billable hours and contingency fees only further underscores the idea that the negotiations between him and his lawyers were done in secret and in such a way to ensure the plaintiff attorneys will get paid a large sum no matter the nature of the court’s ruling — at the expense and on the back of taxpayers. It also remains a mystery as to what the plaintiff attorneys have been doing during a case that has, so far, been largely procedural. My guess is the time has been spent creating red herrings.

Despite this, the oil and gas industry in Louisiana remains focused on providing 300,000 jobs to Louisiana and contributing $73 billion to the state’s economy while observing some of the strictest environmental standards in the country. And that’s not an opinion, just the fact.

Chris John

President, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association

Baton Rouge

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