[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish dock owner sues BP; claims oil giant owes for rent, utilities

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish dock owner sues BP; claims oil giant owes for rent,
utilities
Published: Friday, September 03, 2010, 5:05 PM     Updated: Friday,
September 03, 2010, 5:06 PM
 Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune 
 
A Delacroix dock owner is suing BP and one of its contractors, claiming the
companies have not paid $376,000 for rent and utilities at the dock. And an
attorney for the dock owner says oil spill response operations at the site
have been shut down.

The lawsuit filed Friday in 34th Judicial District Court in Chalmette claims
BP and Loupe Construction and Consulting Co. entered into an agreement with
Serigne's Boat Launch on Delacroix Highway to rent the dock, but that BP and
Loupe have not paid $372,000 in rent from May 1 to Sept. 2, as well as
$4,000 in utilities costs for the period. The lawsuit says Serigne recently
was paid $74,000 for fuel costs, but only after sending demand letters to
the companies.

Serigne's attorney, Wayne LeBlanc of Metairie, said the spill response
operations have been "evicted'' from the site. "As of yesterday they were
moving everything out,'' LeBlanc said.

BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said Friday he was not aware the lawsuit had been
filed, but that the company typically does not comment on pending
litigation.

Serigne's is the second dock in St. Bernard Parish to claim in recent days
that they are owed money stemming from the BP oil spill cleanup.

Amigo Enterprises in Hopedale has threatened to evict oil-fighting
operations from its marina because BP owes it money. St. Bernard Parish
President Craig Taffaro went public in an effort to resolve the problem and
keep the parish's largest oil spill response post up and running.

Taffaro on Wednesday said BP agreed to pay Amigo, a company partly owned by
St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens, $1.1 million in outstanding rent,
but that Amigo is owed more than $3 million for other services.

Loupe, meanwhile, is in the process of going over invoices with BP to clear
up billing disputes stemming from more than $34 million in costs the company
said it incurred for providing spill response equipment in St. Bernard
Parish.

Serigne's suit says the launch never received a promised written contract
from BP or Loupe, but that the company had a "firm, gentleman's handshake''
that Loupe and BP would honor the rental agreement.

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