Cancer Alley Plaintiffs Are ‘Optimistic’ About Favorable Ruling

Attorneys for residents of a heavily polluted area of Louisiana referred to as “Cancer Alley” are hopeful for an outcome in their favor after arguments Wednesday in a landmark environmental racism lawsuit.

Judge Carl J. Barbier heard arguments from residents and parish officials at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The hearing was the second time the judge has weighed St. James Parish’s bid to have the case dismissed for lack of standing.

Plaintiffs claim the parish is violating their 13th and 14th Amendment rights to equal protection and against discrimination by funneling heavy industry into their neighborhood. Their lawsuit specifically targets a 2014 parish land use plan, amended in 2018, that designates parts of two majority Black districts as “industrial” or “future industrial.”

Barbier opened the hearing reciting the stakes of the case, according to Center for Constitutional Rights Attorney Astha Pokharel, who said it felt like a good sign that the judge understands the “voluminously pled” discrimination claims brought by Inclusive Louisiana, RISE St. James, and other plaintiffs.

“Overall, we’re feeling pretty optimistic,” Pokharel said.

It’s unclear how Barbier will rule this time around. He previously sided with the parish and dismissed the case for lack of standing, but acknowledged that “although Plaintiffs’ claims are procedurally deficient, this Court cannot say that their claims lack a basis in fact or rely on a meritless legal theory.”

Barbier has also presided over other Cancer Alley cases, recently dismissing a suit from Denka Performance Elastomer to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s bid for an emergency shutdown of its neoprene plant in LaPlace, La.

St. James Parish says advocates have not met requirements to bring this case, and they haven’t given sufficient evidence of discrimination or discriminatory intent—which is often a very high bar to prove. Barbier’s original decision held until the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit punted it back for another look after an appeal.

St. James Parish did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Residents looking to clean up the area and quell persistent long-term health impacts want a moratorium on all new industry in the predominately-Black Fourth and Fifth districts, which is where many of the area’s fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities are located.

“I know this judge has a heart, and he will rule in our favor,” Sharon Lavigne, founder of RISE St. James, told reporters at a press conference outside of the New Orleans courthouse.

Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson LLP represents the parish.

The case is Inclusive La. v. St. James Parish, E.D. La., No. 2:23-cv-00987, oral arguments 1/28/26.