TRANSOCEAN AGREES TO ALLOW OIL POLLUTION ACT CLAIMS TO PROCEED
May 26, 2010
Mobile, AL – Cunningham Bounds obtained for its clients a significant
victory in the United States District Court for the Southern District
of Texas by having Oil Pollution Act claims exempted from the limitation
of liability action filed by the various Transocean entities involved
in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
On May 13, Transocean filed a limitation of liability action in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston seeking
to limit its liability for all damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon
catastrophe to approximately $27 million, which it claimed was the value
of its oil platform rig. On the same day that Transocean filed its petition,
the federal judge issued an injunction stopping all proceedings against
Transocean, specifically including any claims brought under the Oil Pollution Act.
Many experts now estimate that the cost of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico
will be billions of dollars while BP’s CEO Tony Hayward has admitted
that the damages to individuals and companies from the oil leak will far
exceed the $75 million federal limit, which does not include the costs
for cleaning up the spill.
On May 17, Cunningham Bounds filed a motion in federal court in Houston
to modify the injunction to make it clear that the injunction did not
affect claims asserted against BP and other responsible parties, and to
exclude from the injunction any claims brought under the Oil Pollution
Act of 1990.
The Court heard argument on the motion to modify the injunction on May
25. Following the hearing, Transocean agreed to the entry of a more limited
injunction, specifically excluding language which could have potentially
stopped the claims against BP and others. Transocean also agreed to exclude
from the injunction claims brought against it under the Oil Pollution Act.
This is a significant victory for all claimants who are seeking compensation
from the devastating effects of the oil spill. While Cunningham Bounds
believes Transocean’s motion for limitation will ultimately fail,
the modification to the injunction will allow claims under the Oil Pollution
Act to proceed without delay.
Cunningham Bounds has been successful in courtroom battles against many
of the world’s largest oil companies. The litigation and trial experience
the firm has against big oil companies should be most helpful to the firm’s
clients in the fight against BP, Transocean and others.
The law firm of Cunningham Bounds, LLC, founded in 1958, is based in Mobile,
Alabama and has been representing plaintiffs for over 50 years. The firm
has substantial expertise and years of experience in complex litigation.