Exxon Valdez Lawyer: Louisianans, 'To Use A Legal Term,' Are 'Just F--ked'

[laughingliberal]

Long after oil stops spilling from the Gulf and the ecological catastrophe caused by the spill begins to be cleaned up, the process of determining the extent to which BP owes the afflicted will be litigated in the courts.

And while the case against the oil company seems fairly clear-cut (BP admits, after all, to being responsible for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history), a lawyer with perhaps the most relevant experience on the matter at hand is painting a depressing picture about the litigation ahead.

"f you were affected in Louisiana," said Brian O'Neill, an attorney with the firm Faegre & Benson, "to use a legal term, you are just f--ked."

More than any attorney in the country, O'Neill personally understands the implications of that imprecise legal term. For more than two decades, he represented fishermen in civil cases related to the now second-most-damaging spill in U.S. history: the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. And from it, he learned valuable lessons about how to sue an oil giant for the damages it has caused -- above all, to push for the best and plan for the worst.

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/exxon-valdez-lawyer-louis_n_604638.html?ir=Politics

[jillan]

1. Unfortunately this is bigger than just Louisiana.

:( I'm afraid this is going up the coast, and into the Atlantic.

[WillyT]

2. Big K & R !!!

:kick:

:hi:

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. We are all 'Just F--ked'

[Catherina]

4. Of course they are. They're not stupid.

Every single friend, every single family member I have down there knows beyond any doubt that they are FUCKED and that the goverment isn't on their side.

To weep or to scream in rage?