In a hearing on Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said the first trial for BP (NYSE:BP) in relationship to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be as early as June 2011.
The comments by Barbier were made at a hearing concerning claims filed against BP under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act.
According to the Act, BP and others have an economic cap of $75 million. While BP has stated in the past they would honor claims beyond that amount, recently they've signaled they may pull back on that assertion.
Another trial has been set for February 2012 where it will be determined how much liability, measured by percentage, each company will hold in connection to the disaster.
Showing posts with label Judge Carl Barbier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judge Carl Barbier. Show all posts
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Spill Cases to be Headed Up by Gulf Lawyers
Lawyers from Louisiana, Texas and Florida have been appointed by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to oversee the oil spill cases, which includes a steering committee of 15 members.
Appointed by Barbier are Stephen Herman of New Orleans, Brian H. Barr of Pensacola, Florida, James Roy of Layafette, Louisiana, and Scott Summy of Dallas.
Reportedly well over 100 lawyers applied to be part of the steering committee, which means millions for the lawyers involved.
The majority of the lawsuits in questions are class actions against BP (NYSE:BP), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Cameron International (NYSE:CAM), Anadarko (NYSE:APO) and Mitsui Oil Exploration (NasdaqGS:MITSY), which is majority-owned by MOEX.
Transocean was the owner of the rig and had leased it to BP.
BP is a 65 percent partner in the Macondo Well, Anadarko 25 percent, and Mitsui 10 percent.
The blowout preventer remains a problem, as it'll take a long time for tests to be done on the device to conclude why it failed to do its job.
With that being the key piece of evidence, it's hard to see how some of these lawsuits could go forward until that part of the investigation is completed.
Appointed by Barbier are Stephen Herman of New Orleans, Brian H. Barr of Pensacola, Florida, James Roy of Layafette, Louisiana, and Scott Summy of Dallas.
Reportedly well over 100 lawyers applied to be part of the steering committee, which means millions for the lawyers involved.
The majority of the lawsuits in questions are class actions against BP (NYSE:BP), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Cameron International (NYSE:CAM), Anadarko (NYSE:APO) and Mitsui Oil Exploration (NasdaqGS:MITSY), which is majority-owned by MOEX.
Transocean was the owner of the rig and had leased it to BP.
BP is a 65 percent partner in the Macondo Well, Anadarko 25 percent, and Mitsui 10 percent.
The blowout preventer remains a problem, as it'll take a long time for tests to be done on the device to conclude why it failed to do its job.
With that being the key piece of evidence, it's hard to see how some of these lawsuits could go forward until that part of the investigation is completed.
Friday, October 8, 2010
BP (NYSE:BP), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Cameron (NYSE:CAM) Get Trial Date Extension
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier granted a motion to have the trial concerning "limitation and liability allocation issues" rescheduled for a later date, as BP Plc (NYSE:BP), Halliburton Energy Services (NYSE:HAL), Cameron International (NYSE:CAM), and others, said they needed more time to prepare.
The new trial date is set to begin on February 27, 2012, about four months later than the original trial date.
Barbier wrote, "While the court intends to expedite this complex litigation to the extent possible, it appears to the court that the defendants' motion has merit, and that there is good cause to reset the limitation trial date."
Much of this was in connection to the government dragging their feet on the investigation into what caused the failure of the blowout preventer from Cameron International.
The Feds have had it for a month and are already a week past the October 1 date they said they were going to begin their investigation on, and it'll take a lot longer before they begin, as they wait for the go ahead on how to proceed with the examination of the device.
Now the testing on the blowout preventer isn't expected to be finished until sometime in February 2011, according to Barbier.
Some attorneys for plaintiffs are complaining that they won't go to trial until sometime during 2013. Maybe they should have went the route of going through the claims process in connection with the BP compensation fund rather than pay huge fees to lawyers, along with the several years it'll take to get a trial, with no guarantee of winning.
Attorneys say this is also a stalling tactic by the companies. But that's not too believable, as it's the U.S. government which is holding things up with their usual incompetence concerning the blowout preventer, not the oil companies or the suppliers.
The new trial date is set to begin on February 27, 2012, about four months later than the original trial date.
Barbier wrote, "While the court intends to expedite this complex litigation to the extent possible, it appears to the court that the defendants' motion has merit, and that there is good cause to reset the limitation trial date."
Much of this was in connection to the government dragging their feet on the investigation into what caused the failure of the blowout preventer from Cameron International.
The Feds have had it for a month and are already a week past the October 1 date they said they were going to begin their investigation on, and it'll take a lot longer before they begin, as they wait for the go ahead on how to proceed with the examination of the device.
Now the testing on the blowout preventer isn't expected to be finished until sometime in February 2011, according to Barbier.
Some attorneys for plaintiffs are complaining that they won't go to trial until sometime during 2013. Maybe they should have went the route of going through the claims process in connection with the BP compensation fund rather than pay huge fees to lawyers, along with the several years it'll take to get a trial, with no guarantee of winning.
Attorneys say this is also a stalling tactic by the companies. But that's not too believable, as it's the U.S. government which is holding things up with their usual incompetence concerning the blowout preventer, not the oil companies or the suppliers.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Judge Barbier Denies Fast-track BP (NYSE:BP) Trials
In a push to get speedier trials, plaintiffs in lawsuits against BP (NYSE:BP) asked Judge Carl Barbier to fast-track the trials. This was especially true of those who had injuries or loved ones killed from the accident.
While the judge said he sympathized with those requesting the speedier trials, he said expectation were unrealistic concerning how fast the claims could be tried.
The judge did encourage all the parties filing lawsuits to take into consideration settling with the defendants, or otherwise attempting mediation.
If those choices aren't made, it'll probably be many years before all of this is resolved for everyone involved.
While the judge said he sympathized with those requesting the speedier trials, he said expectation were unrealistic concerning how fast the claims could be tried.
The judge did encourage all the parties filing lawsuits to take into consideration settling with the defendants, or otherwise attempting mediation.
If those choices aren't made, it'll probably be many years before all of this is resolved for everyone involved.
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