USA – LOUISIANA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jeffrey P Good and Susan M Tyler, Jones Walker LLP
faith statutes with revised claim handling pro - cedures. Early results show promise. This stabilisation may help restore market functionality for trans - actions previously hampered by insurance avail - ability issues. Planned Community Act The Louisiana Planned Community Act (PCA) establishes a modern framework for governing planned communities. This legislation repre - sents a significant shift in development regula - tion, addressing tensions between traditional building restrictions and corporate governance principles. The PCA provides for electronic vot - ing, notices and meetings, changes methods for transferring common area ownership, imple - ments a disclosure-based regime for buyer pro - tection and creates clearer rules for amendment and termination of community documents. Real Estate Professional Requirements Recent legislation now requires all real estate licensees to have written buyer agreements. This change affects practice protocols, requiring adjustment to standard procedures. Additionally, the legislature made it an unfair trade practice to secure real estate service agreements with a mortgage or other encumbrance, addressing predatory Non-Title Recorded Agreements for Personal Services. Major Development Projects Commercial and industrial development contin - ues to reshape Louisiana’s real estate landscape, with significant projects underway across multi - ple sectors that represent billions in investment and thousands of potential jobs. These devel - opments reflect Louisiana’s strategic position in energy, logistics, and tourism, while creating
diverse opportunities for real estate profession - als. Energy sector developments Energy-related projects remain dominant in Louisiana’s development portfolio, with a par - ticular focus on transitioning to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. Venture Global LNG’s USD7.8 billion facility in Plaquemines Parish stands as one of the largest projects in the state’s history, representing a significant milestone in Louisiana’s growing LNG export industry. This project exemplifies the scale of the energy infrastructure development reshaping the state’s coastal parishes. A USD18 billion expan - sion plan has also been announced, consisting of 24 trains. CF Industries, in partnership with JERA and Mitsui & Co, is advancing a USD4 billion pro - posed clean ammonia project at CF’s Donald - sonville Complex. This project would leverage Louisiana’s established industrial infrastructure to produce ammonia with significantly reduced carbon emissions, aligning with global demand for cleaner energy products. The project rep - resents the growing trend of adapting existing industrial facilities for lower-carbon operations. Origin Materials’ biomass facility in Geismar continues to progress, representing approxi - mately USD750 million in capital investment. Similarly, Renewable Energy Group is working on an expansion of its renewable diesel produc - tion facility. These facilities position Louisiana at the forefront of sustainable fuel production, with legal considerations spanning from permitting to carbon credit structures. Several sustainable aviation fuel facilities further diversify Louisiana’s energy portfolio beyond traditional oil and gas. These ventures create
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