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Posted in Alabama Maritime News,BP British Petroleum,Deepwater Horizon,Environment,Florida Maritime News,Government,Gulf Coast,Louisiana Maritime News,Maritime Law,Maritime Lawsuits,Mississippi Maritime News,Texas Maritime News on July 28, 2011
NEW ORLEANS, La – Lawyers for victims of the April 20, 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill say that BP is using “coercive tactics” to force the victims to agree to final settlements with its claims fund.
Attorneys representing property owners, businesses and others claiming harm say victims have been forced to sign releases for inadequate payments because they could no longer afford to wait for full compensation.
BP had set set up the $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims Facility to pay emergency, interim and final payments to the victims under the provisions of the U.S. Oil Pollution Act.
Source: Bloomberg:
A federal judge should appoint a special master to oversee the process, the lawyers said in papers filed today in federal court in New Orleans. They also asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is overseeing the litigation, to “suspend the effectiveness” of any releases signed by spill victims who received money from the fund.
“BP has failed to comply with the letter and spirit of OPA, a law designed to provide an interim claims process,” according to the filing. The primary function of the claims process has been to convince victims “that the only compensation available is a minimal set amount that comes with a full release attached,” the lawyers said.
“The GCCF will respond to the filing in due course,” Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the BP fund, said in an e- mail. “We have paid interim payments to over 20,000 claimants and there are over 40,000 final payment offers outstanding. The GCCF has so far paid out over $250 million in interim payments and $4.8 billion in total claims.”
Scott Dean and Daren Beaudo, spokesmen for London-based BP, didn’t immediately respond to e-mail or phone messages seeking comment.
Last week, Feinberg agreed to commence an independent audit of the fund before the end of this year, after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder requested one following a face-to-face meeting over government concerns about delays in payments to spill victims.
BP faces more than 350 lawsuits by thousands of property owners, fishing interests and tourism businesses claiming harm from the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The spill resulted from the April 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig while drilling a BP well off the Louisiana coast.
The case is In Re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, MDL-2179, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).
Maritime attorneys, Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. work with Jones Act clients all along the Gulf Coast and throughout the nation. From Lake Charles to Lake Pontchartrain, our lawyers put decades of combined legal experience and extensive resources to work for clients who pursue compensation for their injuries under the Jones Act. We are the leading offshore injury law firm representing victims of the BP, Transocean Deepwater Horizon disaster, along with assisting businesses that were damaged by the impact of the Gulf oil spill. For a free consultation, call an expert maritime lawyer 24/7 at 800.773.6770.
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