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Thousands sign on for $10 billion BP suit
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2010/08/30 08:23
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| pThe revelation that BP's Texas City refinery emitted toxic benzene for more than a month has ignited a furor in the port community that has suffered its share of deadly industrial accidents and toxic spills./ppThousands of residents who fear they may have been exposed to the known carcinogen released at the oil refinery from April 6 to May 16 have been flooding parking lots and conference halls where local trial attorneys hosted information sessions and sought clients for class-action lawsuits against the oil giant./ppBP faces the new challenge just as it is reaching a key milestone in another crisis — plugging the Gulf of Mexico well that blew out in an oil spill disaster that is costing the company billions of dollars./ppOn Wednesday, more than 3,400 people lined the hallways and sidewalks around the Nessler Center to sign on to a $10 billion class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Galveston federal court by Friendswood attorney Anthony Buzbee. /ppThe lawsuit alleges the release of 500,000 pounds of chemicals - including 17,000 pounds of benzene - has jeopardized the health and property values of people who live and work in the area. At the nearby College of the Mainland, a separate town hall meeting drew a crowd of 600. /p |
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Doctor charged in Jackson's death due in court
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2010/08/23 08:54
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pThe doctor charged in Michael Jackson's death is due back in court for a scheduling hearing that will determine when prosecutors will publicly present some of their evidence./ppDr. Conrad Murray is required to attend Monday's hearing, during which a Los Angeles judge is expected to schedule a preliminary hearing for later this year./ppThe judge will decide at that hearing whether there is enough evidence for the involuntary manslaughter case against the cardiologist to continue. Murray, who maintains offices in Las Vegas and Houston, was charged in February for administering a lethal dose of anesthetic propofol to Jackson./ppMurray has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys have said the physician did not give Jackson anything that should have killed him.
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BP Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Release of Benzene
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2010/08/09 08:47
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pA $10 billion toxic tort class action lawsuit has been filed against BP over alleged emissions from its troubled Texas City oil refinery, alleging that workers and residents in the area were exposed to benzene and other chemicals. nbsp;
More than 2,200 workers at the refinery and residents from the surrounding area filed the BP class action lawsuit on August 3 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. The complaint alleges that for 40 days earlier this year, the company illegally released the chemical benzene into the atmosphere./ppThe benzene lawsuit comes just as BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, was finally able to stop the flow of oil from a well a mile under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, which has caused a massive oil spill that is expected to cost the company tens of billions of dollars in oil spill lawsuits and clean up costs. /ppPlaintiffs in the BP Texas City refinery class action lawsuit say the company has been releasing benzene into the atmosphere at the plant due to a hydrogen compressor that broke down on April 6. The 2,212 plaintiffs allege that they suffered serious injuries and illnesses from benzene exposure./ppBenzene is an industrial chemical that has been linked to the development of cancer, leukemia and other life-threatening health problems. It is a known carcinogen used as an industrial solvent in the production of plastic and synthetic rubber, as well as drugs and dyes./ppBP’s Texas City Refinery is the third-largest oil refinery in the United States, and has been the subject of several major safety incidents. As recently as September, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration hit BP with an $87.4 million fine for not complying with a safety agreement made after a March 23, 2005 explosion and fire that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others./ppIn February 2009, BP Products North America agreed to pay $180 million to resolve a separate environmental lawsuit over benzene emissions at the oil refinery. That case involved violations of a 2001 consent decree and Clean Air regulations which were identified during inspections by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following the March 2005 blast./p |
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Calif. high court upholds affirmative action ban
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2010/08/03 01:57
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pCalifornia's high court on Monday upheld the state's 14-year-old law barring preferential treatment of women and minorities in public school admissions, government hiring and contracting./ppIn a 6-1 ruling, the state Supreme Court rejected arguments from the city of San Francisco and Attorney General Jerry Brown that the law, known as Proposition 209, violates federal equality protections./ppOpponents of the ban say it creates barriers for minorities and women that don't exist for other groups, such as veterans seeking preference./ppThe ruling written by Justice Kathryn Werdegar came in response to lawsuits filed by white contractors challenging San Francisco's affirmative action program, which was suspended in 2003./ppAs the court recognized, Proposition 209 is a civil rights measure that protects everyone, regardless of background, said Sharon Browne, a lawyer for the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the contractors. Under Proposition 209, no one can be victimized by unfair government policies that discriminate or grant preferences based on sex or skin color./ppIf San Francisco wants to resurrect the program, the Supreme Court said it must show compelling evidence the city purposefully or intentionally discriminated against minority and women contractors and that such a law was the only way to fix the problem.
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