Oil Spill

Avoid Chaos, Decide Now Where to Try Oil Spill Cases, Lawyer Urges Multidistrict Panel

As the tally of cases related to the still-gushing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico tops 100, a Louisiana lawyer today urged a panel of federal judges to decide quickly to consolidate the litigation and determine where it should be pursued. Although the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict…

May 20, 2010 12:08 AM CDT

Kirkland & Ellis Is to Represent BP in Big-Ticket Oil Spill Litigation

A new matter for Kirkland & Ellis is likely to brighten the economic outlook for the well-known Chicago-based corporate law firm. It will be representing longtime client BP concerning the massive undersea Gulf of Mexico oil spill that has been gushing since April 20 from an uncapped well after a…

May 18, 2010 9:22 PM CDT

Oil Spill $75M Damages Cap Wouldn’t Apply Under New Bill or Criminal Prosecution

A federal law caps liability at $75 million for the indirect costs of an oil cleanup, but the limit could fall by the wayside if criminal charges are filed in the Gulf oil spill—or if legislation is approved to change the limit. There has been no confirmation of a criminal…

May 13, 2010 1:57 PM CDT

Debate on Bill to Rein In Tulane Law Clinic Comes at ‘Absurd’ Time, Critic Says

Updated: A bill being debated this week in Louisiana to rein in law school clinics couldn’t come at a worse time, according to a blogger and a newspaper editorial. The bill affects all clinics, but it is aimed specifically at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, the Associated Press reports. It…

May 12, 2010 1:06 PM CDT

Oil Spill Blame Game: Rig Owner & Sub Point Fingers at BP, Which Points Back

As Senate committee hearings began today on the oil rig explosion and resulting massive undersea well leak that has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for three weeks, two things were clear. First, it still isn’t known what, exactly, caused the fatal accident, which killed 11 workers. Second, each…

May 11, 2010 11:20 PM CDT

Class Action Suits Are Filed Over Gulf Oil Spill; Leak Could Be Gushing 25K Barrels Daily

Updated: Two commercial shrimpers have filed a federal lawsuit in Louisiana against the owner and operator of a oil rig that exploded and sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a massive oil leak, and similar actions are being filed in federal court in other states, too.…

Apr 30, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

‘River of Oil’ from Gulf Spill Hits La. Shore, Could Dwarf Exxon Valdez Damage

Updated: The blowout of an oil well being dug by a British Petroleum rig in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in a massive spill that could dwarf the environmental damage done in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska. The “river of oil” that began washing onto…

Apr 30, 2010 12:17 AM CDT

Footnote 17 in Exxon Decision Gets Dissed and Dissected

A footnote by Justice David H. Souter in the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning $2.5 billion in punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez oil spill is prompting a closer look at the use of empirical research by the courts. Souter wrote of “the stark unpredictability of punitive awards,” but said…

Nov 25, 2008 2:54 PM CST

Will Court’s 1-1 Ratio in Maritime Case Have Broad Punitives Impact?

When Justice David H. Souter set a 1-1 ratio for punitive to compensatory damages in a majority opinion yesterday, he emphasized he could do so because the court was setting a common law rule in a maritime case rather than a constitutional limit. That isn’t keeping some lawyers from speculating…

Jun 26, 2008 10:25 AM CDT

At Sea Over Punitives

Justices sail into murky waters over damages from infamous disaster

Feb 1, 2008 3:57 PM CST

Federal Oil Spill Charges Possible

Federal prosecutors are investigating an oil spill last week in the San Francisco Bay, a move that could signal charges against crew members of the damaged ship that spilled 58,000 gallons of fuel. The owner of the ship, which hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is Regal Stone of Hong…

Nov 13, 2007 2:42 PM CST

Possible Split in Exxon Punitives Case

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. has recused himself in Exxon Mobil’s appeal of a $2.5 billion punitive damages award, raising the possibility of a 4-4 split. A tie vote in the dispute over damages for the Exxon Valdez oil spill would have the effect of upholding the 9th U.S. Circuit…

Oct 30, 2007 11:14 AM CDT

Exxon Valdez’s Next Stop is High Court

Litigation in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill case will come to an end if the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a punitive-damages appeal. About 22 percent of the $2.5 billion award will go to attorney fees, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Last month the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Jun 4, 2007 2:11 PM CDT