LA Times: Epic legal battle over oil spill is about to begin

[marmar]

Epic legal battle over oil spill is about to begin
A panel of federal judges will decide who will oversee lawsuits against BP, Transocean and others. Plaintiffs and defendants say location is key.

By Carol J. Williams, Times Staff Writer
July 28, 2010


The largest oil spill in U.S. history has unleashed a gusher of at least 250 class-action lawsuits that could eventually encompass millions of victims in a legal battle expected to stretch on for decades.

The first step in what many experts predict will be among the most complex environmental cases to hit the U.S. courts begins Thursday when an army of attorneys converges on Boise, Idaho, where a federal panel will start to decide what judge or judges will oversee the cases and where they will be heard initially.

"The stakes here are tremendous," said Georgene Vairo, a Loyola Law School professor of civil procedure and expert in complex litigation. "For a single-event type of incident, this is the biggest we've ever seen, just in the range of claims, the government and private-party actions, the cost of claims, the insurance aspects. It's just the whole nine yards. It's huge."

Since the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, hundreds of trial attorneys have descended on Gulf of Mexico states, some garnering clients by advertising on billboards and holding town hall meetings. They have filed scores of lawsuits seeking damages expected to reach into the double-digit billions from BP, Transocean Ltd. and other companies. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-lawsuits-20100728,0,563444.story

[dipsydoodle]

1. "decades"

plural. Not a very pretty thought.