(FL Attorney General) McCollum: Don’t sue BP while company says it will pay claims

[Ed Barrow]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said today his office and the state legal team is beginning to collect documentation for state government – and its agencies – to submit bills to BP for reimbursement of the costs of cleaning up the Gulf oil spill.

“We need to start tallying up the costs now so we can begin aggressively pursuing recoveries for our state sooner rather than later,” McCollum said. While he remained in Tallahassee, most of Florida’s other statewide officials — including Gov. Charlie Crist, CFO Alex Sink and U.S. Sen. George LeMieux — met with President Barack Obama in Pensacola.

...

Florida’s top lawyer also warned Floridians against filing “premature” lawsuits against BP – at least while the company is still pledging to pay claims.

“As far as filing a lawsuit is concerned, that would be a mistake,” McCollum said. “You don’t want to be engaged in a class-action lawsuit, in my judgment, right now. You don’t want to be suing someone when BP has said they’re going to pay.”


Read more: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/06/mccollum-dont-sue-bp-while-company-says-it-will-pay-claims.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Fpolitics%2Fpoliticalpulse+%28Central+Florida+Political+Pulse%29

[provis99]

1. If BP starts paying claims, that would be an admission of guilt.

Their stock prices would bottom out, and their credit rating slide to the bottom. Hence, they aren't paying out a damn thing.

[dipsydoodle]

7. They've already started paying claims

and at no point have they said they won't pay .....if you believe that to be incorrect then please post a link.

For their stock to price to bottom out it would need to reach the balance sheet figure of 25 cents. Long before that happened another company would buy it - probably Petrochina. The effect of their bonds now being rated at junk affects their ability to raise funds to cover short term clean up costs etc.

[awoke_in_2003]

2. well okay, then...

let's just trust BP to do the right thing :sarcasm:

[Dappleganger]

3. McCollum needs to get bent.

He is just dying to scratch some corpoRAT ass due to his upcoming election.

[Hugabear]

4. McCollum can fuck himself with a jagged rusted pipe

As a Floridian, I am so sick and fucking tired of this asshole. He's a complete corporate tool, he has done nothing but fuck over the state and country (when he was in Congress).

[JDPriestly]

5. This McCollum is an idiot.

Doesn't he understand the difference between public relations and reality, advertising and truth?

[WileEcoyote]

6. For the gallery McCollum is a Republican

O/P didn't say that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:McCollum_bio_photo.jpg

[aquart]

8. Nor did he really need to, methinks.

[ixion]

9. McCollum apparently is scratching around for a job at BP

that's what it sounds like.

[jody]

10. Should state & US Atty Generals litigate all civil claims at no charge? Plaintiffs would not

lose much of their awards to legal fees.

Congress could pass laws protecting plaintiffs from unfair negotiated settlements along political lines that would unfairly reward corporations.

I would hope many of the nations top law firms would assist pro bono.

[davidinalameda]

11. he's afraid of pissing them off

:shrug: