This time, plaintiffs' lawyers filing an oil spill lawsuit against BP PLC decided to just bypass the federal trial court in New Orleans with its raft of conflicted-out judges. Instead, the team of seven firms filed a securities fraud class action in the Western District of Louisiana on June 7.
The class action is before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty in Lafayette, La. "From what we understand, she has no conflict," said Daniel Becnel Jr. of the Becnel Law Firm in Reserve, La., one of several lawyers bringing the case.
Seven of the 12 active federal trial judges in New Orleans — the Eastern District of Louisiana — have recused themselves from oil spill cases citing such conflicts as ownership of BP stock and close relatives who are plaintiffs' lawyers with oil spill cases.
The case in the Western District, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. v. BP, was filed on behalf of purchasers of BP's American depository receipts. (Such receipts are a means of trading stock in a non-U.S. company — in this case, London-based BP — on U.S. stock exchanges.) The plaintiffs allege that BP made "false and misleading statements" concerning its safety protocols and safety record, thus hurting investors.
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