St. Mary Parish Not Fooled by Trial-Attorneys

St. Mary Parish Council Unanimously Rejects Carmouche's Freeport-McMoRan Settlement

At last week's St. Mary Parish Council Meeting, 16th Judicial District Attorney Bo Duhe asked the Council whether or not he should sign off on the proposed Freeport-McMoRan Coastal lawsuit settlement negotiated by trial-lawyer John Carmouche.

Despite claiming in his new ad campaign that "we're starting to win", Carmouche was dealt a big loss by the St. Mary Parish Council, who voted unanimously against joining in the settlement. Of course, for the settlement to go through, all 12 of the Parishes named in the settlement would have to sign-on. Carmouche has already lost high-profile votes in Lafourche Parish and at the legislature seeking to force the settlement.

The St. Mary Parish Council didn't just vote unanimously against joining the settlement- they eviscerated Carmouche and the trial-lawyers pushing these lawsuits, calling them out for what they are: seeking a quick buck at the taxpayers expense. Parish Councilman Scott Ramsey, who himself is a retired trial-lawyer, called out the attorneys involved in the coastal litigation, saying:

"The only ones that come out in this deal are the trial attorneys and they stand to make millions and millions by doing this."

Councilman Ramsey went further, saying the Council would be compromising their "ethics and morals" if they were to sign-on to this settlement just for the windfall of cash they've been promised if doing so.

The courage of the 10 St. Mary Parish Council Members standing up unanimously against Carmouche and his big bank account stands in stark contrast to local officials bankrolled by Carmouche and his associates in places like Jefferson Parish and St. Bernard Parish, who quickly signed on with Carmouche after receiving significant support in their elections.

You can read all of our previous stories on Louisiana's job-killing trial-lawyers here.

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