Amy Champagne has a diverse litigation and appellate practice, concentrating in the areas of products liability, premises/personal injury, commercial litigation and class actions on behalf of clients in the energy, chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Ms. Champagne has tried approximately twelve cases to jury verdict and three bench trials. She has briefed dozens of appellate matters, including direct and interlocutory appeals, mandamus proceedings, and petitions for review and has successfully argued before both state and federal courts.
Ms. Champagne holds a degree in chemical engineering and practiced in that field for a number of years before entering law school. As a project/process engineer for a major energy corporation, she oversaw capital projects as well as the optimizing of existing natural gas processing operations in Louisiana.
She also worked as a consulting engineer for URS Corporation, where she focused primarily on providing environmental services to the chemical and petrochemical industries.
EDUCATION:
- Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, B.C.L., J.D., 2002
- Louisiana State University, B.S., 1996
ADMISSIONS :
- Mississippi
- Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi
Representative Matters:
- Secured exclusion of plaintiffs’ experts and summary judgment in the first reported case against a water treatment company involving multiple Legionella-related injuries and deaths; successfully defended judgment before the Fifth Circuit.
- Successfully defended numerous chemical and petrochemical companies against benzene-exposure claims by former employees and contractors in multiple states’ courts.
- Appealed a jury verdict in favor of royalty owners for trespass and drainage damages resulting from a deviated well bore.
- Won a directed verdict dismissing all individual defendants and multiple counts of the complaint in a professional negligence case.
- Secured a favorable opinion on interlocutory appeal from the Fifth Circuit for a major insurer, which included the granting of all motions filed on the clients’ behalf.
- Defended qui tam suits involving allegations of improper valuation and improper measurement of natural gas produced on federal leases.
- Obtained the dismissal of a class action on behalf of a major insurer following Hurricane Katrina.
Professional Honors & Activities:
- Past Chairman – Mississippi Bar Appellate Committee (Executive Committee 2012 – 2017; Chairman, 2017 – 2018)
- Member – International Association of Defense Counsel
- Barrister – Charles Clark American Inn of Court
- Member – Federal, American, Capitol Area, Texas, Houston and Fifth Federal Circuit Bar Associations
- Member – Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
- Appointed – District 1 Member, Governor of Mississippi’s Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee
Cost
Rate : $$$
