Class Action Lawsuits Pile Up in Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Disaster - from Enviromental News Service

[Beringia]

complete article
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2010/2010-05-08-01.html


NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, May 8, 2010 (ENS) - The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is keeping lawyers busy. At least half a dozen class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of fishermen, shrimpers, restaurant owners, real estate brokers, property owners, and other Gulf coast residents affected by the oil a day flowing for the past two weeks from the wellhead left uncapped by the explosion and sinking of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon in April.

The defendants in all these lawsuits include various divisions of oil giant BP, formerly British Petroleum, which is considered the responsible party in this incident; Transocean, Ltd., the owners/operators of the Deepwater Horizon; Halliburton Energy, which was involved in "cementing" operations to cap the oil rig when the explosion occurred; and Cameron International Corporation, manufacturers of the rig's blow-out-preventers, which failed to operate properly and prevent the oil spill.

Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Louisiana businesses affected by the oil spill. Filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana on behalf of plaintiff Gulf Crown Seafood Inc., based in Delcambre, Louisiana, one lawsuit seeks to represent individuals and businesses that have experienced damages related to the disaster, including real property damages, personal property damages, loss of profits and earning capacity, loss of commercial and subsistence use of natural resources, increased costs of public services, and loss of revenues.

"I have been in extensive litigation with the powerful oil industry and know first-hand that they can't always be trusted to do the right thing," said Jere Beasley, founding shareholder of Beasley Allen.

Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Beasley Allen also filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Alabama restaurant owners and food service businesses along the Alabama Gulf Coast for losses resulting from the massive spill. Many of these businesses receive substantial income from tourists, vacationers and commercial and sports fishermen.



Gulf Actions Spill Counsel, a national team of attorneys, filed a class action suit in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida alleging gross negligence, willful misconduct and other claims in the design, construction and operation of the rig, as well as in the response to the disaster.


"While we hope the leak is stopped soon, the spill is rapidly expanding and may eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst U.S. oil disaster in history," said Don Barrett of the Barrett Law Group located in Lexington, Mississippi, and counsel for some of the plaintiffs in this case.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2010/2010-05-08-01.html




The Deepwater Horizon sinks in the Gulf of Mexico. April 22, 2010. (Photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Energy)

[Turbineguy]

1. There must be people in BP regretting the day

they talked to Cheney.

The regulations are not in place to cost you $500,000. They're there to save you this.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Talking about penny wise and pound foolish.n/t

[Turbineguy]

6. It's what we've been

teaching in business schools so it would seem.

[metapunditedgy]

2. Need to keep an eye on this. Class-action suits are the only way that common people

can stand up to the rich/powerful and the big lawyers they can afford. The dangers are:

1) BP will try to weaken the class-action approach, as it's costly for them, and
2) the lawyers serving the plaintiffs in the class-action suit will try to take most of the money from the damages, so that the end result only enriches lawyers.

We need a functional way for common people to fight corporations.

[malaise]

3. Even DOJ is on their case

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858104575232610208583340.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories
<snip>
Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday said he had dispatched Justice Department officials to the Gulf Coast to determine whether there had been any "misfeasance" or "malfeasance" related to the leaking oil rig off the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Holder, speaking on ABC's "This Week," said he sent the officials to the area to advise him on "what our options are." He said the government's primary focus was on preventing the leaking oil from devastating the coast when it reaches land.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Beringia.