Cynthia St. Amant

Cindy is a member of Kanner & Whiteley and has been with the firm since 1998. She practices primarily in the areas of consumer fraud, complex litigation, environmental law, insurance coverage, and general class action litigation.

Cindy has been appointed as class counsel in many of the firm’s class actions and has had an active role in the litigation, briefing, class certification, trial and settlement of cases against product manufacturers, drug manufactures and insurance companies. She managed and litigated the firm’s consumer fraud and breach of warranty cases against Dollar General, which included the MDL case In re: Dollar General Corp. Motor Oil Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2709, No. 16-02709-MD-W-GAF (W.D. Mo.), in which the firm was appointed lead class counsel, and the State of New Mexico’s and the State of Mississippi’s similar enforcement actions against Dollar General.

Cindy handled a number of the firm’s other consumer class actions involving claims of consumer fraud and deceptive marketing and sales practices, including Anthony Vetter, et al. v. Guaranteed Subpoena Service, Inc., et al., No. MID-L-3650-16 (N.J. Super. Law Div.) and Brandon Opalka, et al v. Amalie Oil Company, No. 18-40605-CA-44 (Fl. Cir. Court, 11th JDC) in which she served as class counsel. She also managed and was part of the trial team in In re: Cox Enterprises, Inc. Set-Top Cable Television Box Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2048, Nos. 5:09-ML-2048-C/5:12-ML-02048-C (W.D. Okla.) (antitrust MDL), and played a significant role in other large, multistate class actions, such as Talalai v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., MID-L-8839-OOMT, Mass Tort 259 (N.J. Super. Law Div.) (33 state class actions involving violations of state consumer fraud statutes or deceptive trade practices associated with the alleged faulty manufacture of tires) and Lemmings v. Second Chance Body Armor, et al., No. CJ-2004-64 (Mayes Cty. Dist. Ct., Okla.) (seven state class actions alleging claims of breach of warranty and violation of state consumer protections laws associated with the sale of faulty bullet proof vests to law enforcement officers).

Cindy litigated a number of the firm’s insurance coverage and broker liability claims following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on behalf of public and private entities such as Cameron Parish School Board (LA), Plaquemines Parish School Board (LA), City of Gretna (LA), and Omega Protein, Inc. She was also involved in Press, et al., v. Louisiana Citizens Fair Plan Property Insurance Corp., No. 06-5530 (Civil Dist. Ct., Orleans Parish, LA), the only successfully resolved class action after Hurricane Katrina. More recently, she handled the firm’ s business interruption insurance coverage claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government closure orders.

Cindy currently manages the firm’s environmental practice, which includes cases brought on behalf of the State of New Jersey for natural resource damages, the State of New Mexico’s action for enforcement of the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act pending in the AFFF MDL, and the firm’s litigation with the Conservation Law Foundation in cases against Shell and Gulf Oil for their failures to follow the best practices required under federal law in armoring coastal facilities against risks associated with climate change that threaten the terminal and surrounding communities. She was also on the trial team for a natural resource damage case on behalf of the State of New Jersey against ExxonMobil for environmental contamination from two of its former refineries. The trial against ExxonMobil spanned a 66-day period in 2014 and was followed with a settlement of $225 million. Cindy also manages the firm’s work on behalf of landowners represented by the firm in administrative proceedings before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and subsequent appeals opposing the licensing of facilities to consolidate storage of high-level nuclear waste from across the country in New Mexico and Texas.

Cindy was recognized as one of LawDragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers (2021, 2023, 2024) and was chosen for New Orleans City Business’ Leadership in Law (2015).

Prior to joining Kanner & Whiteley, Cindy clerked at the Louisiana Supreme Court for Justices Lemmon and Bleich and served as a staff attorney in the Court’s Civil Staff Division.

A member of the State Bars of Louisiana and Texas, Cindy is licensed to practice law in all Louisiana and Texas State Courts, the United States Courts of Appeal for the First, Fifth and Tenth Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana, the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, the Northern District of Florida, the Western District of Michigan, the District of Colorado, the Southern District of Texas, and the Central District of Illinois. She has also been admitted to practice pro hac vice in various federal and state courts throughout the country.

In addition to her legal career, Cindy is actively involved in the community including serving on the Rayne Early Childhood Program Board as a Member (2010-2015), Parents’ Committee Officer (2012-2014) and as Chair (2016-2023), and she served the Bricolage Academy of New Orleans as a Board Member (2013 school year) and as a Committee Member (2014 school year) of the Bricolage Community Association.

Recent Activities & Honors

• 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
• 2019 Finalist, Elite Trial Lawyers, National Law Journal (Consumer Protection)
• Leadership In Law, City Business, 2015

Publications & Presentations

• Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: VPL Revisited – Recent Developments in Interpreting Louisiana’s Valued Policy Law Louisiana Advocates, Part XV (May 2007).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Offsets and Deductions, Louisiana Advocates, Part XIV (May 2007).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Threshold Legal Issues, Louisiana Advocates, Part II (Apr. 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Recent Developments in Law, Case Management, Louisiana Advocates, Part XIII (Mar. 2007).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Adjustment Accountability, Louisiana Advocates, Part XII (Feb. 2007).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Review of Removal & Remand Arguments, Louisiana Advocates, Part XI (Jan. 2007).
• Katrina Litigation One Year Later, Insurance Section Newsletter, Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Winter 2007).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Proof of Loss, Louisiana Advocates, Part X (Dec. 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Discovery, Louisiana Advocates, Part IX (Nov. 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Prescription, Louisiana Advocates, Part VIII (Oct. 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Recent Cases, Louisiana Advocates, Part VII (Sept. 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Bad Faith Litigation, Louisiana Advocates, Part VI (Aug. 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Bad Faith Stories, Louisiana Advocates, Part V (July 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: The Claims Process, Claims Handling, Bad Faith Denial of Claim, Louisiana Advocates, Part IV (June 2006).
• Handling Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Claims: Claims Management, Louisiana Advocates, Part III (May 2006).