BP (NYSE:BP) Wants Judge to Send Savings-Plan Cases to Texas

BP has asked a panel of judges to send worker lawsuits alleging mismanagement of their retirement savings plan to Texas court.

In court filings lawyers for the plaintiffs stated the lawsuits should stay in Chicago where seven out of eight of them were filed. BP wants them sent to Texas where investor claims related to the Gulf of Mexico have already been filed.

BP lawyer Daryl Libow responded saying, “The important thing to focus on here is the vast overlap in discovery.”

Filed as class actions, workers for BP North America claim they've lost over $1 billion because of the drop in share price of the oil giant. The cases were filed under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The retirement plan is administered in Chicago, although "Five of the seven members of the employee plan oversight committee are in Houston,” added Libow.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said in July 9 court papers that “Defendants knew or should have known that investment in the BP stock fund was an imprudent investment for the participants due to BP’s longstanding and blatant disregard of safety reports, warnings, and recommendations necessary to prevent catastrophic disasters.”