[StBernard] (no subject)

[Westley Annis]

Murphy Oil suit hits fast track 
by Matthew Penix 
07/10/2006  
  
Louisiana's class-action lawsuit against Murphy Oil is expected to result in
tens of millions in payouts and take years to fully resolve. 
But it's on a fast track so far. 

"We're setting some sort of record," said Sidney Torres, head counsel of the
25 law firms for the plaintiffs. "Everybody agreed to fast track this. That
never happens." 

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon set Oct. 6 as the trial date for Murphy Oil
Corp., which is accused of contaminating 6 miles of coastland in St. Bernard
Parish after Hurricane Katrina lifted and dislodged a partially filled crude
oil container. More than 1 million gallons were dumped onto the landscape,
sloshing through homes and blackening a square mile. 

The epic case deals with one of the worst events of crude oil contamination
of a residential neighborhood in U.S. history, he said. Oil sludged homes
after Katrina split an 80,000-plus barrel storage tanker at the seams,
sending more than 25,000 barrels rushing out. 

Payouts have already totaled $150 million, said Mindy West, Murphy Oil
spokswoman. Murphy paid nearly $80 million in settlements with about 3,000
households not involved in the suit. The company paid another $70 million in
cleanup costs, which insurance will cover. 

The contaminated area in St. Bernard Parish included 6,000 households with
at least 3,500 damaged families involved in the suit. 

Torres refused to comment on an estimated jury settlement. "What it amounts
to is the devaluation of the homes contaminated, the mental anguish, the
general damage element. You can do the math," he said. "It's going to be a
substantial amount." 


Torres already won a request to start receiving 7 percent of the settlements
Murphy is negotiating with the people who opt out of the suit to settle on
their own. 

Fallon sided with lawyer Patrick Joseph Turner, part of Torres' team, who
argued Murphy expanded its settlement program to compensate residents
outside the "settlement zone" it established in the fall 2005. Murphy has
already begun to settle an unspecified amount of claims at $2,700 per
household with residents who live outside the zone in a second map the
Environmental Protection Agency defines as the "oil-plume perimeter." 

Turner claims Murphy is settling the claims to prevent residents from
joining the class-action lawsuit. 

Murphy officials, however, say they never intended to restrict settlements
to the "settlement zone." 

"Murphy's expansion of its settlement program is clearly due to the common
benefit work of plaintiff's counsel," Fallon wrote. "Murphy was aware of the
EPA oil-plume perimeter prior ... but Murphy rigidly stood by its own
settlement area." 

Murphy lawyer Kerry Miller did not return phone calls seeking comment. 

While the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry now says nearly
all oil has been recovered or evaporated, eliminating any long-term effect,
the EPA is still monitoring cleanup. 

Murphy is continuing soil remediation. To date, 117 homes have been
excavated and 64 yards have been refilled with clean soil. A total of 8,097
interior and exterior sediment samples were collected from 4,859 addresses
and the EPA is monitoring the area, said Ginny Narsete, public information
officer with the EPA in New Orleans. 

Murphy is also collecting and moving debris touched by the oil. Contractors
are taking it to a staging area for disposal. To date, 346,000 cubic yards
have been collected and 586 areas "cleared" for replacement trailers from
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the EPA. 

"The scope of the cleanup and the environmental challenges are enormous for
all parties involved," Narsete said. "The agencies involved are committed to
staying the course until the job is done." 

Although the ATSDR claims nearly all oil was recovered or evaporated, former
resident Cheryl Bowman isn't so sure. 

Her daughter, Cherry, had suffered numerous sinus infections while living in
the area. She has seen a doctor nearly every other month for constant
headaches. Leaving seems to have helped her condition. 

"Since relocating here (to Florida), I haven't took her to the doctor but
one time and that was when she had a bladder infection," Bowman said. "No
more sinus problems. No more complaining about sinus headaches. That alone
tells me something about the air by Murphy."