Good Evening,
Roman, thanks for your post!
Hope everyone is doing OK. I have been seeking to find some legal representation to help me with my efforts in Equity Holders having some say in any negotiations with BP. Not sure if I will be successful but have not received any thing that might suggest this to be a lost cause.
It appears there are a number of moratorium related OPA suits against BP out there and I am told that there has not been an interest by BP to settle any of these type cases. I had thought with no word regarding the seven test cases BP might be trying to negotiate a settlement with these type of cases.
I am also told the Federal courts have many tools at their disposal to help resolve mass tort litigation, that is, litigation in which many people have sustained injuries arising out of the same general conduct. One of these tools is known as a ‘bellwether trial.’ The seven OPA moratorium “test cases” would be deemed “bellwether trails.
When a judge elects to use bellwether trials, the judge and the parties generally select a representative sample of cases, between five and ten for example, that will be fully prepared and tried to a jury. These selected cases, known as ‘bellwether cases,’ are typically representative of issues that will arise in every injured person’s case.
The goal of a bellwether process is to give all interested parties a good indication of what is likely to happen in future trials and to advance the litigation in a timely manner. (I guess the definition timely manner is different from what most folks think “timely manner” means) How long has this thing been going on???
A few jury verdicts in bellwether trials provide the judge and the interested parties with enough information to determine whether groups of cases should be settled, and if so, what might be a reasonable dollar range for settlements; therefore these moratorium claims may effectively be decided as a legal issue raised by motion, after several bellwether trials.
ATP’s claim would be substantial being over 3 billion dollars and my thought; BP would be better off eliminating ATP claim with some sort of settlement before any of these seven test cases went to trail, therefore reducing the total claims dollar number and bringing the average down to what might be a reasonable dollar range to pay off plaintiff’s claims if BP were to lose.
For plaintiffs not chosen to take part in the bellwether trial, that would be ATP, at times it may appear as though their case is not progressing, while not all plaintiffs are directly involved in the day to day aspects of the bellwether trial, the work the attorneys and judge are doing relates to all cases, not just those on file and selected as bellwether cases. I would think other plaintiffs would want ATP claim in the mix to determine a higher reasonable range.
I have said from the beginning there will be one party who will receive the highest payout if BP loses these cases. Our greatest fear is BP and the trustee reach a settlement that does not include the equity holders.
To hear that there has not as yet been any interest by BP in a settlement as they are still digesting the bitter pill of payments to various state and federal governments is good news in effect. (Roman's post)
Hopefully I will find some legal argument that can be presented to give equity holders some say if a negotiated settlement is reached before a court award is ordered.
You all have a great evening.
AI
