Picture of L. Victor Gregoire

L. Victor Gregoire

Partner

Victor Gregoire is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 1993 and practices in the environmental litigation, commercial litigation, and toxic tort defense group. Victor has twenty-one years of experience in environmental litigation, commercial litigation, toxic tort defense litigation, class action defense litigation, products liability litigation and school law. He also advises clients on litigation strategy and environmental litigation management.

Victor was inducted as a Fellow of the American Bar Association in 2020.

Representative Experience
  • Representation of a global energy client adverse to a significant landowner in coastal Vermilion Parish. The plaintiffs sought more than $119,000,000 in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages, for alleged negligence, unreasonable and excessive use of mineral lease rights, strict liability, and willful and wanton conduct in connection with handling and storage of wastes. Plaintiffs claimed that our client had violated environmental regulations, which they claimed resulted in widespread contamination of soil, groundwater, and sediment that required hundreds of acres of wetlands to be excavated, among other remedies. Plaintiffs also claimed that the alleged environmental contamination had infiltrated crabs and other seafood, making these products unsafe for human consumption. After a three-week trial in 2015, the jury adopted the environmental remediation plan presented by our client and found that our client had not engaged in any negligent or willful conduct and had not exceeded any of its rights under the applicable mineral and surface leases.
  • Defense of legacy oil field site contamination and NORM lawsuits for a major oil and gas company involving alleged soil and sediment contamination, alleged shallow groundwater contamination, and drinking water aquifer alleged impacts
  • Successful defense of a major oil and gas company at three week jury trial in legacy oilfield site contamination lawsuit for claims of alleged soil contamination and groundwater contamination and for damages allegedly caused by the construction of canals
  • Successful defense of a major oil and gas company in eviction proceedings brought by landowners for alleged NORM and other contamination allegedly caused by oil and gas company's industrial activities conducted on surface lease
  • Representation of a large oil company in a series of class actions involving two separate incidents involving large scale fires at separate petrochemical units
  • Representation of a large fertilizer company in a class action lawsuit resulting from a catastrophic chemical explosion
  • Representation of an oil company in a class action involving allegations of long-term exposure allegedly arising out of operations conducted at gas processing plant
  • Representation of wood creosote company in class action involving allegations of long-term exposure arising out of creosote operations
  • Representation of former hotel owner in class actions involving allegations of injuries arising out of exposure to mold
  • Representation of large manufacturer in class action involving alleged product defect in barges
Education

Victor earned his B.S. from Boston University, cum laude, in 1990. He earned his J.D. from Tulane University Law School in 1993.

Admissions
  • Admitted, Louisiana, 1993; Unites States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana
Memberships
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana State and American Bar Associations; Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute; Minority Corporate Counsel Association; Louisiana Mineral Law Institute (Legacy Disputes Committee)
Articles, Publications and Presentations
  • Direct Examination, Louisiana State Bar Association 2013 CLE Wrap Up and Voodoo Festival Seminar, 2012
  • Improving Efficiency of Jury Trials, Panelist, Louisiana Jury Summit/Louisiana Judicial College, 2012
  • Litigating the Public Hearing, Procedure in the Public Hearing, Louisiana Oil & Gas Association Seminar, 2012
  • 2002 Louisiana Evidence Law, presented to the Baton Rouge Bar Association
  • Taking and Defending Depositions, Louisiana State Bar Association, 1999, 2002
  • School Law in Louisiana, National Business Institute, 1996
  • The Discoverability of the Accident Investigating Committee's Report, 31 Gonzaga Law Review 115
Community Service
  • President (2019), Second Vice-President (2016-2017), Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
  • Board of Trustees, Rotary Club of Baton Rouge Foundation
  • Member, Rotary Club of Baton Rouge
  • Past Board of Directors, Capital Area United Way
  • Past Board of Trustees, Louisiana Arts and Science Museum
  • Past Secretary, Board of Directors, Baton Rouge Green
  • Past President, Board of Directors, Big Buddy Program of Baton Rouge
  • Past Board of Directors, The Hospice Foundation of Greater Baton Rouge
  • Baton Rouge Business Report's "Forty Under 40" (1999)
  • Graduate, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2000
Reported Cases
  • Andrepont v. Chevron USA, Inc., 113 So.3d 421, 2012-1100 (La.App. 3 Cir. 4/3/13)
  • Dietz v. Superior Oil Company, 129 So.3d 836, 2013-657 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/11/13)
  • Global Marketing Solutions, LLC v. Blue Mill Farms, Inc., 2014 WL 4656572 (La.App. 1 Cir.)
  • Commercial Property Development Corp. v. State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, 808 So.2d 534, 2000-0392 (La.App. 1 Cir. 3/28/01) (No. 2000 CA 0392)
  • Johnson v. Orleans Parish School Board, 2003-0828, 890 So.2d 579
  • Gallup v. Exxon Corporation, 2003 WL 21488541 (M.D. La. 2004)
  • Steering Committee v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, 461 F.3d 598 (5th Circuit 2006)
  • Marquette Transportation v. Trinity Marine Products, Inc., 2006 WL 2349461 (E.D. La. 2006)
  • Thomas v. Mobil Oil Corp., 14 So.3d 7, 2008-0541 (La. App. 4th Cir. 3/31/09)
  • Kling Realty Co., Inc. V. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. 575 F.3d 510 (5th Cir. 2009)