WikimediaNEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday over the constitutionality of a law passed by the Louisiana Legislature this year that was designed to kill a lawsuit brought against oil and gas companies by a regional flood board over wetlands damage.
U.S. District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown did will not rule at Wednesday's hearing. She did not say when she would rule but indicated she might wait for the Louisiana Supreme Court to issue its own ruling on the matter. That court is weighing the constitutionality of the law and the suit.
The new state law prohibits state agencies and local governments from pursuing such suits. The question is whether the flood board that filed the suit falls under the law's description and whether the law itself is constitutional.