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Hello, RICO! The Latest Headache to Hit BP – Law Blog – WSJ

June 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Besides a raft of personal injury suits and the economic claims against BP, a new genre of suits is now emerging: the civil racketeering suit.

Last week Daniel Becnel, Richard Arsenault and an array of other attorneys filed in the Western District of Louisiana a federal RICO suit against BP and Transocean. Click here for the complaint.

A RICO suit filed on Monday is far more narrow in focus, targeting BP’s claims process. The suit filed in the Southern District of Alabama has accused three entities — BP, a catastrophe contractor that apparently is helping BP administer claims and a property management company — of fraudulent practices in helping claimants seek recourse under funds set aside via the Oil Pollution Act.

via Hello, RICO! The Latest Headache to Hit BP – Law Blog – WSJ.

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Transocean Asks to Cap Rig Liability at $26.7 Million – BusinessWeek

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Transocean Ltd., the owner and operator of the oil rig leased to BP Plc which exploded last month and killed 11 men, has asked a U.S. judge to limit its liability to $26.7 million.

The request, filed today in Houston federal court under a 150-year-old law originally designed for the shipping industry, applies to all litigation the company faces over the explosion and spill.

“I think there are more than 100 cases now,’’ Guy Cantwell, Transocean’s spokesman, said in a telephone interview.

Transocean and co-owners of the Deepwater Horizon, which now lies wrecked a mile deep in the Gulf of Mexico, say the state-of-the-art drilling rig has zero present value and had accrued $26.7 million in unpaid drilling rental fees.

The company also asked for all litigation against the rig owners to be consolidated before one federal judge in Houston, where Transocean’s U.S. operations are based. Vernier, Switzerland-based Transocean said it would create a court- administered fund, equal to the amount of the unpaid drilling fees, from which all claims against the company could be paid on a pro-rata basis.

Lawyers for victims of the rig disaster and spill said that while Transocean’s move to limit its liability probably wouldn’t succeed, it could cause the oil spill litigation to be consolidated into a single multidistrict proceeding in Houston federal court, as BP has also requested.

via Transocean Asks to Cap Rig Liability at $26.7 Million (Update3) – BusinessWeek.

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BP, Transocean Lawsuits Surge as Oil Spill Spreads in Gulf – BusinessWeek

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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BP Plc and Transocean Ltd. face at least 36 lawsuits, including group cases with potentially thousands of plaintiffs, over environmental damage and personal injuries caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

At least 31 proposed class-action suits have been filed in courthouses from Texas to Florida. Commercial fishermen, shrimpers, charter-boat operators and beachfront-property owners asked to represent anyone whose livelihood depends on coastal waters imperiled by the drifting oil. At least 24 cases were filed yesterday.

BP has the primary liability for damage caused by the spill, said Keith Hall, an attorney in New Orleans, who isn’t involved in the litigation. He cited a U.S. law passed after the Exxon Valdez oil spill at Alaska in 1989.

“Under the Oil Pollution Act, the fact that it was BP’s oil is enough,” said Hall, of Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC. Plaintiffs “don’t have to show they were negligent or grossly negligent,” he said.

Transocean’s spokesman Guy Cantwell and BP’s Daren Beaudo didn’t respond to requests for comment on the rapid rise in lawsuits. Both men said previously it was against company policy to comment on pending litigation.

Lawsuits also name Cameron International Corp., which provided blowout-prevention equipment, and Halliburton Energy Services Inc., which was involved in cementing the well.

via BP, Transocean Lawsuits Surge as Oil Spill Spreads in Gulf – BusinessWeek.

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