Steve Korris News
Transocean pleads for Barbier to enforce indemnity provisions with BP
Miller NEW ORLEANS – Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean launched an emotional attack on rig operator BP on Nov. 3, as its lawyers called on U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to enforce indemnity provisions in a drilling contract with BP.
Oil spill steering committee cites espirit d'corps and positive morale; Seeks escrow for millions in settlements
Lawyers anticipating hundreds of millions in fees from litigation over the Deepwater Horizon explosion propose to start raising it right away with a six percent assessment on settlements.
Maker of blow-out preventer wants Hayward's congressional testimony excluded
Barbier Testimony of former BP chief Tony Hayward before Congress shouldn't count as evidence in a trial allocating fault for the Deepwater Horizon explosion, according to blowout prevention contractor Cameron International.
Boat owners claim BP owes more than $600 million already paid
Haycraft NEW ORLEANS – Boat owners who made $600 million cleaning the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon explosion claim BP owes them much more.
BP directors object to conditions of suit transfer to England
Ellison HOUSTON - BP directors who won a court order sending shareholder suits to England have rejected conditions that shareholders wanted to impose before crossing the sea.
BP and Transocean want evidence of U.S. government's role introduced in oil spill litigation
Underhill NEW ORLEANS – Deepwater Horizon operator BP and rig owner Transocean, trading blame for last year's oil spill, aim to drag Uncle Sam into the dispute.
Rig workers who pleaded the Fifth settle claims with Transocean
Miller Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean and five workers settled personal injury suits that the workers undercut by pleading Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination.
BP shareholders consider ruling moving lawsuits to English court
Ellison HOUSTON - Pension funds and other BP shareholders suing directors over the Deepwater Horizon explosion haven't decided whether to obey or appeal an order to move their action from federal court in Texas to the English High Court.
Plaintiffs' committee wants past testimony admitted in BP suits
Roy NEW ORLEANS – Plaintiff lawyers preparing for trial over liability for the Deepwater Horizon explosion seek to admit past testimony of witnesses who now refuse to testify because they might incriminate themselves.
Barbier dismisses 66 oil spill suits; Plaintiffs claimed water used to extinguish rig caused it to sink
Barbier NEW ORLEANS – Owners of vessels that fought the fire from the Deepwater Horizon explosion owe nothing to those who suffered damage from the oil spill that followed, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier decided on Oct. 12.
Transocean wants explanation from rig workers invoking the Fifth
Miller Five Deepwater Horizon workers must explain how they can pursue personal injury claims against rig owner Transocean while they plead Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination, U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan ruled on Sept. 27.
BP shareholder suits in court Nov. 4 on motions to dismiss
Taylor HOUSTON – U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison will hear motions to dismiss three groups of Deepwater Horizon suits from BP shareholders at hearings on Nov. 4.
Barbier: BP cleanup contractors are immune only if directed by government
Barbier NEW ORLEANS – BP contractors who cleaned up after the Deepwater Horizon explosion can't share the government's immunity from personal injury suits unless they prove they took direction from the government and not from BP, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled on Sept. 30.
Shareholders must sue BP under British law, judge rules
HOUSTON – Shareholders who sued BP directors in American courts under British law must pursue their claims in London, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ruled on Sept. 15.
Government delays document production in BP litigation; Napolitano lacks email is cited as one reason
Napolitano NEW ORLEANS – Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano lacks an electronic mail account, the Obama Administration offers as one of many excuses for delays in producing documents about the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
BP shareholders urge Barbier to keep claims in U.S.
Ajamie HOUSTON – BP stands for British petroleum but BP directors should face American justice, shareholders suing over losses from the Deepwater Horizon explosion believe.
Transocean wants claims of five who took Fifth dismissed
Miller NEW ORLEANS – Deepwater Horizon oil rig owner Transocean claims workers hid behind the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions about their injuries.
Claims can still be presented against BP, Barbier rules
Barbier NEW ORLEANS – Private parties suing over losses from the Deepwater Horizon explosion can continue litigating even if they haven't presented claims to BP as the Oil Pollution Act requires, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier decided on Aug. 26.
Feinberg urges Barbier to reject call for special master
Feinberg Paying oil spill claims on an honor basis sounds generous to a fault, but Gulf Coast Claims Facility administrator Kenneth Feinberg plans to keep doing it.
Alaskan litigants must join BP shareholder suit in Houston
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – BP shareholders seeking derivative damages from directors and officers in Alaska state court must join national litigation in Houston, Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason decided on Aug. 15.