[StBernard] Ask Westley! Update: Opt Out of Murphy Oil Class Action Suit

[Westley Annis]

Denise,

If you have not settled with Murphy nor filed your own suit against Murphy
and your property is within the oil spill then you are considered a member
of the class.  The tricky part is going to be the extent of the spill area.

Naturally Murphy will try to keep it as small as possible while Torres, et
al, will try to enlarge it as much as possible.  Judge Fallon has stated
that he believes the current map will change, he just doesn't know in which
direction.

In ten years, when this suit is finally settled, I would expect that Torres
will use the largest map that Judge Fallon accepts at any point during the
proceedings, even if they eventually fall off the "final" map to give those
residents a token free gallon of gas.  For those that remain on the final
map, they will get a few more free gallons of gas, while Torres collects
several million dollars in fees (you don't expect him to settle for free
gas).

What I find interesting is that he is will to lend his name out to sign up
residents to join the class, but you never see a mention of him in any
newspaper articles about the case.  Perhaps he is just riding on the coat
tails of out-of-town firms that specialize in class-action suits.

Westley

-----Original Message-----

Westley,
Thank you for the update on the Class Action.  However, what if you have
never contacted a lawyer regarding this suit are you still considered part
of the class action due to the location of your property?  Unfortunately, I
am very dumb when it comes to these class action cases and am just trying to
understand.  I know you are no lawyer, just an average joe like the rest of
us but was just hoping you had a little more understanding of this.  
 
Thanks, 
Denise Cambre