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(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 01, 2012 ) Pensacola, FL -- The massive amounts of oil destroyed the Gulf Coast Beaches, killed all sorts of wildlife, closed fishing and seafood industry down, and caused many to lose everything they had. The spill lasted for 85 days and has continued to affect the thousands since then.
The trial has been delayed giving the PlaintiffÂ’s steering committee and BP more time to reach a fair BP settlement amount. Some believe that BP will want to settle out before the trial especially with the investigations into possible criminal charges. District Court Judge Carl Barbier has been appointed to hear the case and he has set aside just over 6 and a half hours for 11 opening statements from private plaintiffs, the Gulf Coast States, corporate defendants, and the Justice Department.
It has been rumored that Legal fees will run into the billions of dollars, There are over 70 million pages of documents and 300 depositions for this trial making it one of the largest in history
BP Settlement: Will they settle before trial?
AttorneyÂ’s involved with the case have said settlement talks were continuing through the weekend and BP has been eager to settle the case before the trial. Others have said that they believe a trial is inevitable because the settlement amounts from the two sides are very far apart. Some Sources have said that the total amount the Justice Department and Private Plaintiffs group is seeking to be over $25 billion in penalties.
The Justice Department and the attorneys in the PlaintiffsÂ’ steering committee will attack BP stating that they showed negligence and willful misconduct resulting in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. If they are found guilty they could pay up to $4,300 per barrel instead of the original $1,100 a barrel. If they were found guilty of gross negligence this could bring criminal charges against the company and many individuals.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig explosion. Fishermen, clammers, oystermen, crabers, businesses, tourism, waiters and waitresses are all joining the class action against BP and have been waiting for this trial for almost two years. Homes have been foreclosed on, businesses closed, and many people are still afraid to eat from the Gulf, killing the Gulf Coasts seafood sales.
If the trial does move forward Judge Carl Barbier will start the first of the three phases of the trial. This trial keep in mind could take up to a year to finish. The first phase will pinpoint what caused this deadly and catastrophic explosion and identify who is responsible for what. The Coast Guard and federal regulators who originally investigated the oil spill believe that BP, Transocean (rig owner) and Halliburton all are partly responsible for making decisions that they knew were risky to save money and time.
If a BP settlement is reached before the trial hopes are that the claims processes that has become nearly impossible may be completely revamped and become easier for people to collect what they are owed. The GCCF is under investigation because of the millions of complaints that have flooded in about the claims being denied and delayed for many months at a time. The GCCF and Ken Feinberg have continued to delay making payments to the public knowing full well that people are losing their homes and praying for their compensation to come through. Regardless if this goes to trial or there is a BP Settlement, BP and the GCCF will have to settle these claims out and pay out the money they owe the Gulf Coast. A trial is just to risky and we expect to see a BP Settlement before the March 5th trial date.
About BPclaims.org
BPclaims.org has made an effort to reach out to claims groups and claimants and help them better understand the BP claims process, and keep all informed of new changes being made. They do this to help people get the results they truly deserve and get your BP claims paid. If you need any help, or are just looking for a few answers, go to BPClaims.org.
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