Lawsuits Over BP Oil Spill Filed in 11 Different States

Individuals, businesses, investors and even several states have filed lawsuits over the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, claiming damages from the catastrophic environmental disaster. 

There are currently more than 225 oil spill lawsuits pending in 11 states against BP, including wrongful death, toxic tort and fraud claims, according to a story by Bloomberg news. One shareholder lawsuit is seeking $50 billion in losses, and some plaintiffs are pursuing federal racketeering charges against the company, which could triple any jury award. These claims are on top of the tens of billions of dollars the U.S. government is likely to pursue for environmental impact damages and the cost of cleaning up the oil spill, which stretches from Louisiana to Florida and can be seen from space.

The gulf coast oil spill started shortly after the April 20 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon sent the oil drilling rig to the bottom of the Gulf and unleashed an oil spill in the Gulf that is shaping up to be the worst environmental disaster in history. BP, previously known as British Petroleum, is now siphoning some of the flow into oil tankers after weeks of failing to cap the well, resulting in a massive oil slick that is impacting several states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

The growing mass of litigation, and the shrinking likelihood of BP avoiding liability, has some experts speculating on the company’s survival. However, some say that even bankruptcy may not protect BP from the litigation and claims headed its way.

Although BP has taken the brunt of the negative publicity, most of the lawsuits also name Transocean Ltd., which owned the rig, Cameron International Corp. and Halliburton Energy Services Inc. as defendants as well.

As the oil slick spreads, so do the number of people filing lawsuits against BP. The first suits came while the oil rig was still burning, brought by individuals who had family members die in the initial blast. As the oil slick spread into the waters south of Louisiana, devastating shrimp and oyster territory, shrimpers and oyster farmers filed suit. As the slick made landfall on beaches throughout the Gulf of Mexico, including the white sand beaches of Florida, landowners and companies that rely on tourism have sued as well.

Now, the lawsuits are outpacing the oil slick, racing around the southern tip of Florida to South Carolina, where some tourism-related businesses filed lawsuits last week in federal court, saying that the fear that the oil slick will find its way to their beaches, on the Atlantic seaboard, is damaging their businesses.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is scheduled to hear arguments about consolidation of the oil spill lawsuits at a hearing in July. The Panel will decide whether the cases should be transferred to one court to prevent duplicative discovery and inconsistent rulings. The Panel will also determine where the oil spill lawsuits should be centralized if a multidistrict litigation is formed.