JUDGE RACHEL JOHNSON APPOINTS ATTORNEY JUAN LAFONTA AS CLASS COUNSEL FOR ENTERGY CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

Noting the urgency of moving forward with a post-Hurricane Ida class action lawsuit filed by Louisiana customers against Entergy Corporation, Entergy New Orleans LLC and Entergy Louisiana LLC due to the company’s failure to maintain its distribution and transmissions systems despite ratepayer increases for such actions, Attorney Juan LaFonta thanked Orleans Civil District Court Judge Rachel D. Johnson for appointing him as Interim Class Counsel.
 
The action requires all parties seeking to intervene in the class action as a plaintiff to first contact Atty. LaFonta.
 
Attorney LaFonta said, “This action has required around-the-clock attention, research, and action since the storm. We have retained the experts, documented the failures and researched the law, as well as taken the legal steps necessary to stand up for people and businesses who have been injured as a result of Entergy’s negligence and failure to transmit energy to its customers. Our intent is that all residents impacted by Hurricane Ida are represented in this class action lawsuit.”
 
Assisting Mr. LaFonta as approved Interim Class Counsel are Atty. Jack W. Harang and Cooper Law Firm’s Stuart H. Smith, Barry Cooper, Celeste Brustowicz and Andrew Jacoby.
 
Attorney LaFonta has created a call center for those wishing to join the class action at 504-323-6049.
  
The lawsuit states that Entergy created a system that could not and would not sustain even a minor hurricane with wind gusts at or below 100 MPH. Entergy made the decision to not invest in the underground transmission of electricity, which in an environment like Southeast Louisiana, could have assured regular, consistent, and sustained protected service to all their customers, not just in affluent neighborhoods. Instead, Entergy chose the bubble gum and super glue approach to protect their billions of dollars over the welfare of their customers. Entergy ultimately knew whatever damages that were sustained during a storm, could be in turn billed back to it’s customer base.
 
“Entergy’s greed and lies set the foreseeable stage for hundreds of thousands of people to be left without refrigeration, air conditioning, and in many cases sewerage problems. Yet, the Entergy corporation knew of the deficiencies in their infrastructure and failed to act upon them. This is a gross negligence. We thank Judge Johnson for assisting our people in receiving quick justice,” Mr. LaFonta said.