United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED March 1, 2021 No. 20-30208 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

Lisa T. Leblanc,

Plaintiff,

versus

Texas Brine Company, L.L.C.,

Defendant,

______________________________

Dianne Sanchez; Michael Stewart; Casey Gilliot; Gertrude Sanchez; Justin Frey, et al.,

Plaintiffs—Appellees,

versus

Texas Brine Company, L.L.C.,

Defendant—Appellant,

American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Company; Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania; Lexington Insurance Company; Steadfast Insurance Company; Zurich American Insurance Company; AIG Specialty Insurance Company, formerly known as American International Surplus Lines Insurance Company, formerly known as American International Specialty Lines Case: 20-30208 Document: 00515761805 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/01/2021

No. 20-30208

Insurance Company; National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

Defendants—Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:13-CV-5227 USDC No. 2:12-CV-2059

Before Barksdale, Southwick, and Graves, Circuit Judges. Leslie H. Southwick, Circuit Judge: This diversity action concerns a sinkhole that emerged near the decades-long salt-mining activities of one of the defendants. Affected landowners sued. The appeal before us now involves a settlement by which the plaintiffs would release those insurers of that defendant whose policies covered the period before the sinkhole became obvious. The defendant objected. The objection was rejected, and the district court approved the settlement. We conclude that the defendant has no standing to bring this appeal from the approval of the settlement. The appeal is DISMISSED.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND What is called the Bayou Corne sinkhole emerged in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, on August 3, 2012, near the site of Texas Brine’s decades- long salt-mining activities. Plaintiffs in this case filed suit against Texas Brine and its insurers, seeking damages for pre-sinkhole subsidence and post- sinkhole stigma damages. The district court certified a class of plaintiffs, the LeBlanc plaintiffs, on May 28, 2013 (amended April 9, 2014), who eventually reached a

2 Case: 20-30208 Document: 00515761805 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/01/2021

No. 20-30208

settlement with Texas Brine and related parties. Thus, the LeBlanc plaintiffs are out of the case. A different class of plaintiffs is involved in this appeal, the Sanchez plaintiffs. The Sanchez plaintiffs are landowners who owned land within a two-mile radius of the sinkhole at the time of or after the sinkhole occurrence. The Sanchez plaintiffs filed their First Amended and Supplemental Class Action Complaint in October 2014 against Texas Brine and Occidental