In wake of BP spill, AG Hood pleads for rules change
BY JOHN O’BRIEN
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood urged members of the House Judiciary Committee to keep lawsuits, including a potential one over the BP oil spill, out of federal court Thursday.
Hood testified that things will run smoother in state courts, claiming that “corporate wrongdoers” will use stalling tactics in a federal venue. Hood also proposed a few legislative changes during his testimony.
“When companies are allowed to remove to federal court every action brought against them in state court, as is routinely practiced, it causes a breakdown in the system due to overloaded federal dockets,” Hood said.
“When it is a state itself who is the plaintiff party in interest, this encroachment on state sovereignty is a particular insult.”
Legal News Line
6/1/10
Magnolia Tribune
