By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 23, 2010
From the beginning of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum (BP) assured Gulf Coast states it would accept full financial responsibility.
But officials in Mississippi say BP's actions, of late, are not so reassuring. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says the "surreptitious" legal strategy of BP and Transocean has surfaced.
According to Hood, BP refused to agree not to seek removal to a Houston, Texas, federal court of state claims filed in state court and Transocean has refused to agree to release state statutory and common law claims from its Limitation of Liability action. Both companies have filed actions before Houston federal district court judges in an attempt to pick a friendly forum.
"I am convinced BP and Transocean wanted to continue their behind the scenes legal strategy until the public fervor over the oil disaster died down," Hood said. "I finally pinned BP down last Thursday and Transocean sent the Coastal Attorneys General a letter today stating their position. They want to drag any actions brought by the states in state court into a federal district court in Houston, Texas. Mississippi claims should be heard in Mississippi courts. I think my fellow Attorneys General feel the same way about their states' claims."
Been there, done that
Hood says he's been though it all before, fighting with insurance companies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"I have experienced first-hand the frustration of unnecessary postponement of the judicial process caused by dilatory defense tactics, including imprudent removal to federal court," Hood said. "These unfair stalling tactics must be stopped."
Hood said BP's tactics underscore the need for Congress to pass a bill (HR5503) being considered by a House committee this week. The proposed legislation would prevent defendants from dragging cases out of Mississippi courts and placing them in federal courts out of state. The bill is set for a vote today.
"We are asking lawmakers to repeal the Limitation of Liability Act and to amend the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA)," said Hood. "We are not expecting the responsible parties to pay one dime more than they should to rectify the damage caused by this oil spill but we do expect them to pay every dime it takes to make it right again."
In an additional action, Hood circulated among his fellow Coastal Attorneys General a motion that would dismiss action by Transocean to limit their liability.
"I was hoping that BP and Transocean would not take the 20 year litigation path that Exxon took and we could settle out of court, but it appears that a costly legal battle lies ahead," Hood said.
