Caldwell, Hood voice gripes in oil spill situation
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) – Two state attorneys general are complaining about the manner in which victims of the BP oil spill are being compensated.
Monday, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood called the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and its $20 billion compensation fund “a surrogate for BP” and urged U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to take control of the claims process.
And Thursday, after Barbier had made Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange coordinating counsel for state claims, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced his intention to fight the decision.
“This latest order is a direct denial and abridgement of the constitutional rights of the citizens of the state of Louisiana, including the constitutional right to their own counsel, and is a discriminatory action that transcends the bounds of proper federal/state relations and state sovereignty rights,” Caldwell said.
Legal News Line
1/31/11
Magnolia Tribune
