Feinberg: Subpoena dispute doesn’t belong in Miss. court
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – Kenneth Feinberg, the man tasked with paying out Gulf oil spill claims, has filed his objection to having a lawsuit against him heard in a Mississippi court.
Feinberg filed his opposition Sept. 26 to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood’s motion to remand the lawsuit, which seeks to enforce a subpoena against the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Feinberg is the executive director of the GCCF.
Hood filed his motion to remand the case, originally filed in Hinds County Chancery Court, on Sept. 12. Feinberg says the issue raises federal issues of law, not state.
“Plaintiff seeks an order requiring the GCCF to comply with a sweeping administrative subpoena duces tecum calling for the production of all its documents concerning the (federal Oil Pollution Act) claims process, and also requiring defendants to pay plaintiff his attorneys fees and costs,” Feinberg’s memorandum says.
“The conclusion that plaintiff is seeking to regulate the OPA claims process rather than investigate possible violations of state law is illustrated by two key points. First, the Mississippi
Consumer Protection Act, which is the purported basis for the subpoena, only covers consumer activities, and GCCF claimants are plainly not.
Legal News Line
10/5/11
Magnolia Tribune
