Hopefully he'll be better prepared today than he was in that Feb. 20 deposition.
Photo by Robin May
Don Briggs
Louisiana Oil & Gas Association President Don Briggs is scheduled to testify in court today as his group presses a lawsuit against state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office over latter signing off on a New Orleans-area levee board hiring outside attorneys to sue 97 oil and gas companies over coastal damages.
Briggs' appearance today follows his disastrous Feb. 20 deposition during which attorneys for Caldwell's office repeatedly asked Briggs to cite evidence of his long-standing contention that Louisiana's legal climate, i.e., legacy lawsuits and now the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East's lawsuit - LOGA's suit against Caldwell characterizes it as a "hellhole" - is discouraging companies from drilling and/or chasing them out of the state. Briggs, however, could cite nothing, going so far as to acknowledge he hadn't read LOGA's suit against Caldwell.
Briggs' was originally scheduled to appear before Judge Janice Clark on Monday, Feb. 24 but was a no-show. His attorneys cited poor health resulting from what can only be called "deposition anxiety" for his failure to appear.
Check back with The IND later today for more on Briggs' testimony today. Hopefully he'll be better prepared today than he was in that Feb. 20 deposition.