Federal judge to decide if lawsuit seeking access to slave burial sites will move forward

By Halle Parker

Contributing Writer

(Veritenews.org) – A U.S. District Court judge will decide whether a federal lawsuit seeking to broaden access and protection for an antebellum cemetery in St. James Parish amid plans to construct a $9.4 billion plastics facility nearby will move forward.

Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics has owned the property since 2018, intending to construct what would be the largest plastics complex in the world. That development has faced significant permitting delays as a result of local concerns about the environmental and health risks associated with the development. As proposed, the complex could add an additional 800 tons per year of toxic air pollution, along with 13.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.

The project would be located in the heart of Louisiana’s chemical corridor, known colloquially as Cancer Alley, home to more than 300 industrial facilities. In 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency found that residents faced the highest elevated risk of cancer from toxic air pollution in the country.

Two community advocacy groups, Inclusive Louisiana and The Descendants Project, sued FG LA, Formosa’s subsidiary, last July in an attempt to remove the company’s control of the cemetery and place its maintenance into the hands of communities descended from the enslaved. They also want Judge Carl Barbier of the U.S. Eastern District Court of Louisiana to allow further investigation of the property for other unmarked burial sites. The burial site, called Buena Vista, sits on the former Winchester/Buena Vista plantation.

In their complaint, the groups alleged Formosa’s control of the burial site – as well as the bodies of at least five enslaved people who were buried there – represents a “lingering vestige” of slavery and violates the 13th Amendment which officially abolished slavery. The groups claim the burial site itself is part of the legacy of slavery, and Formosa harms them by putting up obstacles to care for the site, such as denying one group’s request to erect headstones. They also allege that the state Cemetery Dedication Law protects the right of descendants to access and care for the burial grounds of their ancestors.

FG LA’s legal counsel asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that plaintiffs’ claims are based on “hypothetical future events” rather than an existing dispute. They also argued that the burial ground isn’t considered a “dedicated cemetery,” removing those state protections.

Michael Drew, of Jones Walker LLP which represents FG LA, said the company has only received five requests to access the cemetery. He said all but one were granted.

“There hasn’t been other community members who have asked,” Drew said in an oral argument on Friday (April 24) in court. He said the company largely hasn’t restricted access to the burial site.

FG LA’s attorneys also argued the groups failed to name two other parties that could be affected by a ruling in the case because the burial grounds extend across a pipeline easement and into an adjacent tract of land.

“The site is the site, and it’s either going to be found a dedicated cemetery or not,” Drew said.

Kayla Vinson, a Center for Constitutional Rights attorney who represents the plaintiffs, asked Barbier for permission to amend their complaint to clarify the type of 13th Amendment claim they are bringing. She also argued the state’s protections for unmarked burial grounds and cemeteries are complementary to each other, “not mutually exclusive.”

Vinson also told Barbier that the plaintiffs felt the two other parties weren’t necessary, but she said they could simply add them to the complaint without dismissing the lawsuit.

After the arguments, Barbier suggested that the community groups and the company should try to resolve the conflict through mediation instead of the lawsuit.

“ I do really believe it might be beneficial to both parties or all parties to make an effort to resolve this amongst yourselves without the court ruling one way or the other,” the judge said.

The parties agreed to report back to Barbier with their position on mediation within the next 10 days.

This article originally published in the May 4, 2026 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.