08/12/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
New Orleans, LA – A panel of federal judges decided the nearly 300 lawsuits related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be heard in New Orleans, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. New Orleans is an area considered to be plaintiff-friendly, as many of the jurors will have likely been affected by the spill.
U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana will hear the civil suits filed against BP PLC and other defendants. Plaintiffs include fishing crews, shrimpers, resort owners as well as other tourism-based company owners, and more.
Lawsuits include environmental claims, as well as personal injury and wrongful death on behalf of Deepwater Horizon workers. Judge Barbier will also oversee Transocean Ltd.’s efforts to limit liability.
BP said it respected the panel’s decision. A Transocean spokesperson reported the company supported the decision as well.
An attorney representing fishermen in the suit called the location significant because, “thousands and thousands of property owners, business owners and fishermen in and around the Louisiana Gulf Coast are at the heart of this disaster.”
Tuesday’s order titled Judge Barbier “an exceptional jurist.”
Barbier was nominated for a seat on the United States District court for the Estern District of Louisiana by President Bill Clinton in 1998. He was confirmed on September 28, 1998, and received his commission on October 1. He declined comment on his new appointment, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The panel also decided Tuesday that civil securities litigation tied to BP would be heard in Houston before U.S. District Court Judge Keith P. Ellison.
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