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85 Tul. L. Rev. 1121 (2010-2011)

handle is hein.journals/tulr85 and id is 1129 raw text is: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Consensus at Last: The Broadening of LUTPA Standing in Cheramie v Shell Deep water Production I. OVERVIEW .............................................1121 II. BACKGROUND ............................. ..... 1122 III. THE COURT'S DECISION ........................ ...1124 IV ANALYSIS ................................ ..... 1128 I. OVERVIEW After several decades of uncertainty, the Louisiana Supreme Court finally granted certiorari to determine whether recourse under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act (LUTPA) was limited to consumers and business competitors.' Litigation arose out of an employment dispute between Cheramie Services, Inc. (Cheramie) and Shell Deepwater Production, Inc. (Shell).' Cheramie, which provides support services to the oil industry, executed a contract in 1997 with Shell to provide a Shell drilling rig with tools, equipment, and labor.' To fulfill its contract, Cheramie supplied Shell with two workers who alternated fourteen-day shifts on the rig's platform.4 Shell paid Cheramie, who in turn paid its two workers.! After six months of work on Shell's rig, the two workers stopped working for Cheramie and began working for one of Cheramie's chief competitors, Filco.' Soon thereafter, Cheramie filed suit against Shell, alleging that Shell's actions constituted a wrongful termination of the contract as well as a violation of LUTPA.' In 2007, the trial court granted Shell's motion for summary judgment, holding there was no breach of contract, and because Cheramie was neither a business competitor nor consumer, LUTPA did not apply.! The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal agreed 1. Cheramie Servs., Inc. v. Shell Deepwater Prod., Inc., 2009-1633, p. 1 (La. 4/23/10); 35 So. 3d 1053, 1054. 2. Id. at p. 2; 35 So. 3d at 1054. 3. Id. 4. Id. 5. Id. 6. Id at pp. 13-14; 35 So. 3d at 1061-62. The two workers continued their duties on board the platform as if no change had taken place. Id. 7. Id. at p. 3; 35 So. 3d at 1055. 8. Id. at p. 4; 35 So. 3d at 1055. Cheramie also filed suit against Filco and obtained a default judgment against them on September 5, 2000. Id. at p. 3; 35 So. 3d at 1055. 1121

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