Entergy New Orleans has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the contractor involved in the "Astro-turfing" scheme to garner paid support from actors for a new power plant.
The lawsuit claims that the utility's former contractor, the Hawthorn Group, is solely responsible in the exposed plan to pay actors to publicly praise multi-billion dollar construction in New Orleans East, The Advocate reports.
"Hawthorn acted intentionally, grossly deviated from the applicable standard of care of similar professionals, and acted in bad faith," the lawsuit says. "Hawthorn is contractually and legally obligated to reimburse Entergy for the costs associated with the council’s investigation."
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday (Dec. 5), and does not seek reimbursement for the $5 million fine that Entergy owes as a "donation" to the city.
Instead, the lawsuit demands that the Hawthorn Group pay for costs related to the city's investigation into the matter.