Alternative New Media for the Gulf South
What I can do is this and that is to give everyone a steer. First you must read the following including the comments:
DHECC – Comment Bump, April 7, 2015 – Another snapshot of the Louisiana Good Ole’ Boy network ~ Jason Berry, American Zombie
Then for those of you that have a bit of time, read Slabbed’s cumulative reporting on the now deceased Louisiana class action attorney Hugh Sibley.
The ground being plowed was fertile then and it remains so IMHO. It is absolutely dangerous territory.
The bards say that Justice Nino is especially close to Judge Marty, who so capably presided over the questioning of Gordon Russell and John Simmerman in USA v Hankton. Given the totality of the situation, I wonder if this is an exhibit of the whose ox is being gored but it is really bigger than all that. Self dispensation is a nice job perk:
Most of the time there is a story behind the story you see on the Tee Vee News or read in the newspaper (IE the backstory) and that is the case with the following from Hammerman:
Appeals Court denies BP’s effort to keep claims payments stopped ~ Hammerman
I think I see a nugget in David’s story that tells me he is signaling his knowledge or at least is on the right track. I like that.
The person responsible for the above reads this site, sometimes even sharing some insight. I have not covered the BP settlement litigation beyond the very early days. Luckily for everyone, Jason over at American Zombie has tackled this immensely complex subject and has done a very fine job with it, better than the New York Times and certainly far better than the gasbags at 60 minutes. Here are two very recent must reads from AZ:
DHECC – Lionel Sutton Interview Part 1 – Corps Constructors
DHECC – Lionel Sutton Interview Part 2 – how the “go-to guy” became the fall guy
If State Farm is the true pinnacle of hard nosed corporate litigants then BP does not stand a chance here with the peanut gallery alone. You gotta love the PSC for being wise enough to see the genius in an idea from a member of the public that happens understands Federal Court Practice like few others. Now take that lap.
And now there are signs of life along High Street.
Speaking of Jackson, I seem to remember hearing a Federal Grand jury there was probing aspects of the BP Multidistrict Class Action Litigation in New Orleans or in lawyer parlance the MDL. If you’re not following Jason Berry’s coverage of that which is happening I highly recommend you pay him a visit and read the last three posts.
Sources familiar with the DEMOPAC Ethics Board investigation indicate to Slabbed the decision came down late last week under seal and today it appears on the internet as the Louisiana Ethics Board investigation into strawman political contributions involving the failed Lite Gov campaign of Caroline Fayard will move forward including an examination of DEMOPAC’s banking records (among many others) including class action lawyer Calvin “Calhoun” Fayard.
Those wanting to catch up with the Fayard Ethics Board saga should click here to start with updates that chronicled the legal fight here and here. We wove the Gulf Oil Spill litigation into the narrative here and tied in national politic$ here.
Though not directly related to the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill this post kicks off a series of posts as Slabbed will examine the intersection of the legal profession, politics and the oil spill litigation where competing conflict of interest are seemingly the norm.
sop
So the case settles right? Follow the money they say. A reader asked me to link this post from our earlier days before we became fashionable in certain Louisiana political circles. If you are interested in the Oil Spill litigation then I’ll label the above post and comments as a must read. NAAS can fill in the rest in comments.
sop
I’d say more folks but I’d be facing a fine of $2,000 and jail time so I’ll let the readers draw their own inferences there. My previous posts on this subject can be found here and here. ~ sop
Question: Does Calhoun read Slabbed?
Answer: What local lawyer doesn’t read Slabbed?
Yesterday afternoon I received a bat signal from a reader that Team Calhoun filed new motions with the 19th JDC regarding the Ethics Administration investigation and, of course, Slabbed’s coverage was attached as an exhibit to one of the court filings. Slabbed lifers know this has happened on several occasions but IMHO the post we did back on the 15th of this month hit the topic like a laser beam in a way not seen on these pages since the Beef Plant prosecution here in Mississippi and my seminal post “Give us this day our daily” beef which was a big hit with the commercial construction communities in both Georgia and north Mississippi.
Now the latest filings from Team Calhoun were supposedly filed under seal but that is a Fayard fantasy as it was they who let the Ethics genie out of the bottle going to the 19th JDC to stop the previously confidential ethics administration investigation into the funding behind daughter Caroline’s failed 2010 Lite Gov campaign. In addition to the motion to stay, Calhoun and company have also filed for appellate writs pulling out all the stops to stop the Ethics Administration from doing their job. With that set up one of Slabbed’s legal observers made the following observations about the latest: Continue reading “To be filed on da Slabb: Calhoun and company file Slabbed at the 19th JDC seeking an expedited stay on the adminsitrative subpoenas”
Folks, last year during the special election campaign for Louisiana Lite Gov, Scott McKay at the hard line GOP resource The Hayride did some great blogging on the money behind Caroline Fayard’s candidacy. Ms Fayard is the daughter of Calvin “Calhoun” Fayard, a class action lawyer that was affiliated with the old Castano group of lawyers led by the late Wendell Gauthier in the tobacco and aborted gun litigation. He was nicked named Calhoun in honor of the shyster lawyer on the old Amos ‘n Andy show and certainly as crafty as he prospered after Gauthier passing. Politically connected he is currently on the Plaintiff’s steering committee in the BP litigation, where he stands to make another fortune. For those of you keeping track of which mansion on St Chas is involved on the back-end in an ostentatious show of accumulated wealth the Fayard’s are proud owners of the Wedding Cake House where luminaries such as Bill and Hillary Clinton have often stayed while in town. While he donated heavily to the McCain Campaign in 2008 Calhoun has been a huge donor to the democrats through time which explains the connection to the Clinton’s as well as why Michelle Obama stayed elsewhere during her visit to the city a couple of weeks ago.
With that said I’ll add that the state enforcement agency for campaign cash is the Louisiana Ethics Board, the same folks that have an open file on Aaron Broussard’s shithouse dealings as Parish President. In Louisiana, secrecy involving proceedings at the ODC and Ethics Board are mandated by statute which is why that the story has not been further updated recently save for an article in early September by the Advocate which outlined a court proceeding in the 19th JDC initiated by Fayard against the Ethic Board where Team Fayard tried to halt the Ethic investigation. Joe Gyan’s story described in detail the conduits which Calhoun used to funnel money to his daughter’s campaign and broke some new ground in the process. The implications of the ruling do not show up in that otherwise very good story folks as we might have witnessed the first cracks in Team Fayard’s legendary political influence but there is another implication that is also very important.
Linked above is the best real-time internet reporting on this topic and I also had a helpful reader prepare a synopsis that is worth having here on Slabbed as we have obtained the Ethics Board target letters, which were originally filed under seal in the 19th JDC:
In November 2010 and March 2011, complaints were filed with the Louisiana Board of Ethics alleging violations of the Louisiana Campaign Finance Disclosure Act by the DEMOPAC and the Committee to Elect Caroline Fayard, LLC. Essentially, one of the complaints alleges donations were made to the DEMOPAC by family and friends of Caroline Fayard and allegedly earmarked to cover media buys made by the DEMOPAC on behalf of Caroline Fayard during her unsuccessful attempt to be elected Lieutenant Governor. Continue reading “The failed Caroline Fayard Lite Gov campaign could cost Calhoun greatly: A follow the campaign cash update”