F. Gerald Maples

F. Gerald Maples

On December 4, 2020, F. Gerald Maples age 65, passed away in the Bahamas, his second home, where he loved to fish and dive. Gerald resided in Flora, Mississippi with his partner of 9 years, Jamie Planck Martin. Jamie, her children, EB Martin III, Joseph Martin, Tinsley Martin, and her parents, Joe and Jacquie Planck, loved him dearly.

He was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi to parents Sherry Flurry Maples and Jerry Maples on December 19, 1954. Gerald is predeceased by his maternal & paternal grandparents, and his father Francis Gerald (Jerry) Maples. He is survived by his children, Rachel Maples Beasley, grandchildren Ophelia & Magnus, of Montevallo, Alabama, Frances Maples of New Orleans, Louisiana and Charles Maples of Atlanta, Georgia, his mother, Sherry Maples of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, two sisters, Vickey Maples (Zak) of Metairie, Louisiana and Lynette Maples Buckley (Steve) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, nephew Max Buckley and niece, Iris Buckley. Friends Terrell, Marva, Miss Moss and Norman of Andros, Bahamas were considered an extended part of his family. Gerald graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi in 1974 with a major in English and graduated from the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss School of Law in 1976 at the age of 22, the youngest person to graduate from Ole Miss Law School at the time. He started a solo law practice in Pascagoula, Mississippi where he became focused on workers who were exposed to asbestos. He later moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to set up an asbestos practice there, which was still in operation at his death. Gerald was always an advocate for industrial workers and believed every man and woman should have a chance to go to work and earn a living without risking their own health or that of their families. He lived by and quoted often the famous line from Dante's Inferno, " The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality."

Gerald was passionate about flying and especially his favorite Lear jet 25. He was a snow skier in the years he lived in Pascagoula, going to Colorado several times a year with his good friends Wilson Moore & Mike Moore, and several others. They also spent time in Destin, Florida over many years and were avid water skiers. He and his friends traveled the world; one especially fond memory for Gerald was when Dickey Scruggs flew him and other friends and colleagues to New Zealand to attend the America's Cup sailboat race.

After Hurricane Katrina, life became much more serious. He, his wife, and children lived in Pass Christian, Mississippi at the time and lost their home. Gerald's career path turned at that moment. With a team of very talented attorneys he wrote and filed the Comer vs. Murphy Oil, et al lawsuit on September 20, 2005. This suit included approximately 100 oil, coal, chemical and utility companies, which operated on a fossil fuel (carbon-based) basis. This is because those industries literally spewed thousands of metric tons of greenhouse gasses on a daily basis. The suit was expanded to include the top emitters in those industries: The particular companies sued were the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses in the United States. The suit was brought on behalf of property owners in the three Mississippi coastal counties for their Hurricane Katrina losses, including property damages and increased insurance premiums brought by the global warming effects of the defendants' greenhouse gas emissions. These tremendous greenhouse gas emissions severely increased the magnitude of tropical cyclonic events across the globe, and especially Atlantic basin hurricanes, which often wind up in the Gulf of Mexico, directly threatening - and often damaging - those Mississippi property owners. The suit was brought in the Southern District of Mississippi. The parties filed motions to dismiss arguing that the suit was too complicated for judicial resolution. After extensive briefing and oral argument, the district judge granted dismissal because he wanted the Fifth Circuit to rule on the issue, so that there would not be years of expensive litigation to perhaps ultimately be advised that the suit would be non-justiciable in the first instance. Consequently the team appealed to United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the decision was reversed. The court ruled that the plaintiffs were to resume the case; the Fifth Circuit remanded to the district court for discovery and trial. Unfortunately, several other justices on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asked for rehearing en banc (before the entire court of 16 judges). It was unfortunate because after those judges entered the en banc hearing order, those very same judges recused themselves, one at a time over a period of weeks, such that there was no longer a quorum to decide the case. However, in the order saying that the court did not have a quorum and consequently could not act, they did in fact act and ruled that the case was to be immediately dismissed.

There are two federal statutes, which would have allowed for the creation of a quorum. The first statute would have allowed the Fifth Circuit to borrow Circuit Court judges from any one of the other 11 circuit courts in the United States, the second statute would allow the Fifth Circuit Court to designate a district judge to sit as a circuit judge so that the case would have a quorum and the case could proceed. It is noteworthy that three Ivy League law review articles and case notes criticized the Fifth Circuit for failing to replace the recused judges so they would have a quorum and the case could proceed. This was the only such instance ever recorded in the United States jurisprudence as it effectively denied the Plaintiffs an appeal. Despite those glaring legal errors, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take the case for consideration of the Fifth Circuit's misconduct.

Being undaunted, Mr. Maples found a savings statute, which, under Mississippi law, allowed a case which had been dismissed for purely technical/procedural issues could be refiled within one year of the dismissal of the initial suit. Consequently, Mr. Maples then took advantage of the savings statute and filed an updated version of the complaint as a new lawsuit (known as Comer II). Predictably, the district court dismissed the case (completely ignoring the savings statute), so appeal was lodged to the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit panel assigned to Comer II held a spirited hearing, but ultimately ruled that the case was not viable. This effort required thousands of hours of work of Mr. Maples and his team and hundreds of thousands of dollars in case related expenses (such as expert witness fees) and other litigation costs. The real wonder is, given the fact that we all now know of the magnitude of the current global warming crisis, how much work could have been done in the 15 years which have passed since the highly questionable demise of the Comer litigation?

Please consider donating to the environmental foundation of your choosing in Gerald's memory. His sisters have chosen, 4Ocean.com.