The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has given rise to some of the largest, most complex litigation in U.S. history. There have already been more than 300 lawsuits filed in federal courts, including over 250 filed as proposed class action lawsuits. If the class action lawsuits are certified by a judge as actual class actions, they could include millions of Gulf Coast residents, businesses, and property owners. Defendants in the cases include British Petroleum, Transocean and Halliburton. A ruling is expected in August.
July 29, 2010 – First Hearing Held in all Federal Oil Spill Lawsuits
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) held a hearing in Boise, Idaho, on July 29, 2010, to determine whether the cases should all be consolidated and, if so, which court should handle the cases. It is almost a foregone conclusion that the cases will be consolidated. The big issue is where the cases will be sent. The defendants have argued the cases should be sent to Houston, Texas. They were joined in their request by Houston attorney Mark Lanier, who represents some of the plaintiffs. Other oil spill attorneys argued the cases should be sent to New Orleans, Mississippi, or Mobile, Alabama. The Justice Department argued that the cases should be sent to New Orleans.
Some interesting statements were made by oil spill attorneys at the hearing today, so we thought this would be a good time to quote some of the statements by oil spill lawyers handling the BP lawsuits for Gulf Coast residents, businesses and property owners.
Oil Spill Attorneys – What Some Are Saying
July 29, 2010 – Boise, Idaho – Statements Made to Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML)(from Reuters, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal).
New Orleans oil spill attorney Russ Herman:
“Our culture rises as a gumbo of Cajuns, Creole, French, German and Spanish,” he said. “All of that is threatened now. This disaster threatens our hope and faith. That’s why New Orleans is the best avenue of justice.”
“We rise out of our myth, our metaphor, our mystery, our seafood and our music, which now is threatened, and the threat of our culture threatens our hope and our faith. You have an opportunity to focus the world on this country, on this disaster, so it won’t happen again. Assist us in our resliiency.”
New Orleans oil spill attorney Allan Kenner: “”If after the Sept. 11 attacks this panel had sent all those cases to Houston or brought in a judge [from elsewhere] to sit in New York, the public would be outraged.”
BP attorney Andrew J. Langan, representing BP, reiterated that his client wants the cases sent to the Southern District of Texas for pretrial proceedings, asserting that “the key witnesses and key documents are by far located in Houston.” Langan told the Panel that, if the cases are sent to New Orleans, BP will argue that Judge Carl Barbier should recuse himself from the cases. Judge Barbier sold his oil stocks shortly after the spill and has refused to recuse himself.
“You are the Superman of the Justice League!” Russ Herman said to W. Mark Lanier, a plaintiffs lawyer who wants the cases heard in Houston, his home. (In an interview, Mr. Lanier noted that he had won many cases against oil giants in Houston, and said, “Houston jurors hate big oil, and think they’re all dirty.”)
Other statements by oil spill attorneys about the BP lawsuits and the JPML hearing (July 29, 2010)(from the Los Angeles Times and The Gazette):
Charlie Tebbutt, an Oregon attorney representing the Center for Biological Diversity in its suit alleging violations of the Clean Water Act, said he is pursuing the maximum penalties against BP and Transocean of $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled into the Gulf waters. He estimates the bill could be $20 billion, “if we can prove gross negligence or willful misconduct, which we expect should be relatively easy to prove in this case.”
“The stakes here are tremendous,” said Georgene Vairo, a Loyola Law School professor of civil procedure and expert in complex litigation. “For a single-event type of incident this is the biggest we’ve ever seen, just in the range of claims, the government and private party actions, the cost of claims, the insurance aspects. It’s just the whole nine yards. It’s huge.” “The facts here are going to be relevant to every single claim. What did they do when they built that pipeline and well? Who did what in terms of maintaining the well over time? Did they do the required inspections?” Vairo said. Once those questions are answered in one case, they can be applied to the rest, she said.
Oil spill attorney Allan Kenner: “We are witnessing nothing short of a collapse of an ecosystem that took tens of thousands of years to create.”
Check back for more quotes from oil spill attorneys in the coming days.
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