Martin A. Stern

Martin Stern is ranked Band 1 in Litigation: Appellate in Louisiana by Chambers USA.

Martin is also ranked by SuperLawyers as one of the top 14 appellate lawyers in Louisiana, one of the top 50 lawyers overall in New Orleans, and one of top 50 lawyers overall in the State.

The Firm’s General Counsel and Appellate Team Leader, Martin focuses his practice on appellate litigation, complex litigation, and legal ethics and legal malpractice defense, and he is also active in pro bono representation.

Appellate Litigation

Martin has handled hundreds of appeals, including in each of the Louisiana circuit courts of appeal and the U.S. Fourth and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and he has argued 14 times to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Martin is a director of the Bar Association of the Federal Fifth Circuit (BAFFC), and he is one of 15 lawyers certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization as an Appellate Practice Specialist.

In one of Martin’s most recent arguments to the Louisiana Supreme Court, he represented fellow Appellate Practice Specialists as amici in helping to win an important issue regarding the right to appeal. Amedee v. Aimbridge Hospitality LLC, 2021-OC-01906, 2022 WL 12338929 (La. 10/21/22). In another recent matter, Martin served as an expert witness in the field of appellate litigation, where his opinion was quoted at length in the court of appeal's decision. Henry v. Ahern, 335 So.3d 871 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2022).

Here are some of the other cases Martin has argued:

• Representation of insurers on appeal on the first lawsuit filed in the nation claiming damages for business interruption losses caused by COVID-19. Martin argued to the Louisiana Supreme Court where he won a reversal of the court of appeal’s decision that the policy was ambiguous and, therefore, provided coverage. Reversing the court of appeal’s decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the policy unambiguously required “direct physical loss of or damage to property,” and that no such loss or damage was caused by COVID-19. Cajun Conti LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, __ So.3d __, 2023 WL 2549132 (La. 3/17/23).
• Representation of an oil and gas company in the Louisiana Supreme Court’s most recent decision on Act 312, the statute that governs landowners’ claims for environmental damage from oil and gas operations. Agreeing to overrule its earlier decision in the same case as “palpable error,” the Supreme Court held that absent an express contractual provision, a landowner’s remedy is restricted to a regulatory cleanup. State v. Louisiana Land & Explor. Co., 339 So.3d 1163 (La. 6/01/22).
• Representation of an insurer in winning the novel issue before the Louisiana Supreme Court that forum selection clauses in insurance policies do not violate Louisiana law. Creekstone Juban I, L.L.C. v. XL Ins. Am., Inc., 282 So. 3d 1042 (La. 2019). State v. Louisiana Land & Explor. Co., 339 So.3d 1163 (La. 6/01/22)
• Representation of an oil and gas company in winning dismissal of claims brought by a levee board asserting coastal land loss in what the New York Times Magazine described as “The Most Ambitious Environmental Lawsuit Ever.” Bd. of Comm’rs of Se. La. Flood Prot. Auth.-E. v. Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co., 850 F.3d 714 (5th Cir. 2017).
• Representation of a pharmaceutical company in winning dismissal of claims brought by Louisiana Attorney General in the Louisiana Supreme Court’s first case interpreting the Medical Assistance Program Integrity Law (“MAPIL”), the state analogue to the False Claims Act. Caldwell v. Janssen Pharm., Inc., 144 So. 3d 898 (La. 2014).
• Representation of a major oil and gas company to win reversal and establish that an important communication by in-house counsel was protected by the attorney-client privilege. Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Hill, 751 F.3d 379 (5th Cir. 2014).
• Representation of a major oil and gas company in persuading the Louisiana Supreme Court to reject expansion of an exception to the law of res judicata. Oleszkowicz v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 138 So. 3d 1234 (La. 2014).
• Pro bono representation of a criminal defendant in which the U.S. Supreme Court announced its landmark holding that the death penalty is unconstitutional for most non-homicide crimes. State v. Kennedy, 957 So. 2d 757 (La. 2007), rev'd, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), as modified on denial of reh'g, 554 U.S. 945 (2008). Martin argued to the Louisiana Supreme Court.