BP, plaintiffs focus on Gulf oil spill settlement

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2010, file photo, Nelda Winslette, grandmother of Deepwater Horizon oil rig floorhand Adam Weise, holds a painting of Weise in her home in Yorktown, Texas. Weise was one of 11 workers killed after the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Billions of dollars are on the line when a federal trial opens Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 over the reams of litigation spawned by the nation's worst offshore oil disaster, though those whose losses can't be repaid are hoping for something more elusive: justice for lost loved ones. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2010, file photo, Nelda Winslette, grandmother of Deepwater Horizon oil rig floorhand Adam Weise, holds a painting of Weise in her home in Yorktown, Texas. Weise was one of 11 workers killed after the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Billions of dollars are on the line when a federal trial opens Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 over the reams of litigation spawned by the nation's worst offshore oil disaster, though those whose losses can't be repaid are hoping for something more elusive: justice for lost loved ones. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - In this April 21, 2010 photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews spray water on the burning remnants of BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig. The gargantuan legal bill for the 2010 catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is coming due for BP as a federal trial opens Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 to determine the company?s liability for the blowout of its Macondo well. On the cusp of trial, phalanxes of lawyers, company officials and state officials spent the final hours in high-stakes settlement talks that law experts believed could still yield a deal right before the courtroom doors open Monday morning. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, File)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Nearly two years after his brother Gordon was killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, Chris Jones had planned to drive in from Baton Rouge with other relatives to attend the start of the federal trial over the nation's worst offshore oil disaster.

But Jones learned Sunday that a judge had delayed the start of the trial from Monday to March 5 because oil giant BP PLC was making progress in settlement talks with a committee overseeing scores of lawsuits. Jones said he has mixed feelings about the prospect of a settlement, adding that he would be disappointed if BP manages to "write a check to solve their problems."

"I was ready to go to trial and see their feet held close to the fire," he said Sunday. "It seems like the easy way out to pay whatever the plaintiffs are willing to take."

Two people close to the case told The Associated Press the decision to postpone was made Sunday during a conference call between parties in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill case and U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the call.

They said the judge told those on the call that BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee were "making some progress" in their settlement talks. The steering committee is overseeing lawsuits filed by individuals and businesses following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010. The blast killed Gordon Jones and 10 other workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from the blown-out well, soiling miles of coastline.

However, the judge did not mention the status of settlement talks between other parties, nor did he mention any figures being discussed, according to the people close to the case.

The brief order issued by Barbier on Sunday said only that the delay was granted "for reasons of judicial efficiency and to allow the parties to make further progress in their settlement discussions."

Among other things, the trial that is now set to begin March 5 is meant to determine the penalties that need to be paid by BP and other companies involved in the oil spill. Billions of dollars are at stake.

BP and the Plaintiffs Steering Committee confirmed in a joint news release that the trial had been delayed. It said the oil giant and the PSC were working to reach an agreement that would "fairly compensate people and businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill."

"There can be no assurance that these discussions will lead to a settlement agreement," the joint statement said.

Separately, BP has had discussions in recent days with the federal government and cement contractor Halliburton Energy Services Inc., according to several people close to the case.

If no settlement is reached, Barbier will preside over a three-phase trial that could last the better part of a year. The first phase is designed to identify the causes of the deadly blowout and to assign percentages of fault to the companies involved in the ill-fated drilling project.

Financial analysts estimate BP could wind up paying anywhere from $15 billion to $30 billion over the lawsuits, and BP has estimated in regulatory filings that its total liability for the disaster is $40 billion.

An AP analysis found that the company could conceivably face up to $52 billion in environmental fines and compensation if the judge determines the company was grossly negligent.

The trial may not yield major revelations about the causes of the disaster, but the outcome could bring much-needed relief for tens of thousands of people and businesses whose livelihoods were disrupted by the spill.

Relatives of the 11 people killed in the Deepwater Horizon blast say they are hoping for something more elusive: justice for lost loved ones.

Sheryl Revette, whose husband, Dewey, was also among the 11 killed when BP PLC's Macondo well blew out and triggered an explosion on the drilling rig, doesn't have anything to gain financially from the trial. She wants an apology from the oil giant, something she said she hasn't received yet.

"I've never heard a word from them," said Revette, 48, of State Line, Miss. "But an apology isn't going to bring my husband back."

The decisions and actions that led to the explosion and spill already have been painstakingly investigated by the Coast Guard, federal regulators and a presidential commission. Their probes concluded that BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton deserve to share the blame for a string of risky decisions that were designed to save time and money.

Transocean spokesman Lou Colasuonno wouldn't comment Sunday on whether the company, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, was participating in settlement talks.

"This deal does not change the facts of the case and Transocean is fully prepared to go to trial," he said of BP's settlement talks with the plaintiffs.

The massive scope of the case ? a maze of claims and counterclaims between the companies, federal and state governments and plaintiffs' attorneys ? has elicited comparisons to the tobacco litigation of the 1990s.

Roughly 340 plaintiffs' lawyers have worked on the oil spill case. BP has spent millions of dollars on experts and law firms. More than 300 depositions have been taken. Millions of pages of legal briefs have been filed. One Justice Department lawyer said it would take him 210 years to read all the pages submitted into the record if he read 1,000 pages a day.

Barbier, a former president of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and appointee of President Bill Clinton, has a reputation for speedy but fair trials. He will hear and decide the case without a jury. Each trial phase is expected to last two to three months, with breaks in between. Even if all parties settle their claims before or during the trial, it could take several months for claims to be paid.

Chris Jones, an attorney, said he's not surprised that BP would seek to avoid a long, costly trial.

"I know that is part of the game, so to speak," he said. "As long as they're paying a lot of money for the damage they caused, it would give me some relief."

___

Weber reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Cain Burdeau in New Orleans contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-02-27-US-Gulf-Oil-Spill-Litigation/id-c7f61bf8b9cd4811a37c4530c791cee9

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Judge awards iPhone user $850 in throttling case

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- When AT&T started slowing down the data service for his iPhone, Matt Spaccarelli, an unemployed truck driver and student, took the country's largest telecommunications company to small claims court. And won.

His award: $850.

Pro-tem Judge Russell Nadel found in favor of Spaccarelli in Ventura Superior Court in Simi Valley on Friday, saying it wasn't fair for the company to purposely slow down his iPhone, when it had sold him an "unlimited data" plan.

Spaccarelli could have many imitators. AT&T has some 17 million customers with "unlimited data" plans who can be subject to throttling. That's nearly half of its smartphone users. AT&T forbids them from consolidating their claims into a class action or taking them to a jury trial. That leaves small claims actions and arbitration.

Late last year, AT&T started slowing down data service for the top 5 percent of its smartphone subscribers with "unlimited" plans. It had warned that it would start doing so, but many subscribers have been surprised by how little data use it takes for throttling to kick in - often less than AT&T provides to those on limited or "tiered" plans.

Spaccarelli said his phone is being throttled after he's used 1.5 gigabytes to 2 gigabytes of data within a new billing cycle. Meanwhile, AT&T provides 3 gigabytes of data to subscribers on a tiered plan that costs the same - $30 per month.

When slowed down, the phone can still be used for calls and text messaging, but Web browsing is painfully slow, and video streaming doesn't work at all.

AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said the company will appeal the judge's ruling.

"At the end of the day, our contract governs our relationship with our customers," he said.

AT&T area sales manager Peter Hartlove, who represented the company before Nadel, declined to comment on the ruling. He argued in court that his employer has the right to modify or cancel customers' contracts if their data usage adversely affects the network.

Companies with as many potentially aggrieved customers as AT&T usually brace themselves for a class-action lawsuit. But last year, the Supreme Court upheld a clause in the Dallas-based company's subscriber contract that prohibits customers from taking their complaints to class actions or jury trials.

Arbitration and small-claims court cases are cheaper and faster than jury trials, but they force plaintiffs to appear in person and prepare their own statements. In a class-action suit, the work can be handled by one law firm on behalf of millions of people.

That means thousands - and possibly hundreds of thousands - of people who feel abused by AT&T's policy could seek to challenge the company, one by one, in arbitration or small claims court. The customer contract specifies that those who win an award from the company in arbitration that is greater than the company's pre-arbitration settlement offer will get at least $10,000. Spaccarelli picked the same amount for his claim, though AT&T's stipulation about a minimum award doesn't apply in small claims.

Nadel looked instead at the remaining 10 months in Spaccarelli's two-year contract with AT&T and estimated that he might pay $85 a month on average for using additional data. AT&T charges $10 for every extra gigabyte over 3 gigabytes.

Nadel said it's not fair for AT&T to make a promise to Spaccarelli when he buys the phone while burying terms in his contract that give the company the right to cut down data speeds.

Spaccarelli, 39, researched his case for a few months, and then spent three days putting together a binder of documents to bring to court.

"I need the money, but for me, this case is not about money at all," Spaccarelli. "You don't tell somebody `you have unlimited' and then cut them off."

Spaccarelli didn't quite uphold his side of the customer contract, and that's one reason his data usage was high. He used the iPhone to provide a link to the Internet for his iPad tablet, a setup known as "tethering." AT&T doesn't allow tethering unless customers pay extra for it, which Spaccarelli didn't do. It detected his tethering last year, and switched him from the "unlimited" plan to a limited one. He complained, and got his "unlimited" plan reinstated.

Even with the tethering, Spaccarelli's data usage wasn't excessive, he said - about 5 gigabytes per month. AT&T's Hartlove told Nadel about the tethering, and Spaccarelli admitted to it.

Earlier this month, a Southern California woman won a small-claims action against Honda over the gas mileage she got out of her Civic hybrid car. She was awarded $9,867. Meanwhile, a pending class action against Honda over the same issue would net Civic owners a few hundred dollars each. The plaintiff, Heather Peters, is an ex-lawyer who had opted out of the settlement.

AT&T's throttling of "unlimited" data comes as it tries to deal with limited capacity on its wireless network. When the iPhone was new, AT&T had ample capacity on its network, and wanted to lure customers with the peace of mind offered by unlimited plans. Now, a majority of AT&T subscribers on contract-based plans have smartphones, and the proportion is growing every month. That's putting a big load on AT&T's network.

Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA also throttle users, but their policies are gentler. Verizon only throttles if the specific cell tower a "heavy user" subscriber's phone is communicating with is congested at that moment. T-Mobile's throttling levels are higher for the same price, and the levels are spelled out ahead of time. AT&T subscribers have no way of knowing if they'll be throttled before a warning message drops in. If they keep using their phones, throttling kicks in a few days later.

---

AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson reported from New York. He can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/petersvensson

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ATT_IPHONE_DATA_LAWSUIT?SITE=TXGAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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BP trial in Gulf of Mexico oil spill set to begin

With settlement talks grinding on, the trial of BP over its culpability for the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico looks set to begin Monday in a New Orleans courtroom ? and two nearby overflow rooms ? packed with lawyers, public relations specialists, reporters and other observers.

District Court Judge Carl Barbier, a former plaintiffs? lawyer in maritime accident cases, has allotted a total of 6 hours 40 minutes for 11 opening statements from private plaintiffs, the Justice Department, Gulf Coast states and corporate defendants. More than 300 depositions and 72?million pages of documents have been produced, according to one lawyer involved in the case. Legal fees alone will eventually run well into the billions of dollars.

?I?ll be down there, and I?m sure other folks will be down there, as well,? said Val Exnicios, a lawyer representing an association of shrimpers and oystermen. Other plaintiffs include hotels, vacation-home owners, fishermen and coastal business owners. ?I?m sure it will be a very crowded affair,? Exnicios said.

Lawyers involved in the case said settlement talks were continuing through the weekend. Unlike Exxon, which spent two decades fighting damage claims over the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska, BP has been eager to put to rest the entire affair surrounding its ill-fated Macondo exploration well. But while opposing sides often reach agreement on the eve of trials, lawyers familiar with the case said the trial would probably move ahead. ?The parties remain significantly far apart,? said one of the lawyers, on the condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

Firm numbers were hard to come by, but some sources said that the private plaintiffs group and the Justice Department were each seeking more than $25?billion in civil claims. If the Justice Department decides to file criminal charges, that would be a separate trial.

Possible outcomes

Any settlement by the Justice Department could have political impact if voters see it as not large enough given the size of the spill and of BP, still one of the world?s biggest oil giants. The associate attorney general in charge of negotiations, Thomas J. Perrelli, also oversaw talks that led to the recent $26?billion foreclosure abuse settlement with major banks. Perrelli, a law school acquaintance of President Obama, is leaving the department March?9 after three years as its No. 3 official.

If the trial moves ahead, lawyers for the plaintiffs? steering committee and the Justice Department are expected to attack BP and rig owner Transocean, saying that their gross negligence and willful misconduct led to the blowout on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which caught fire and sank April 20, 2010, killing 11 people and eventually spilling as much as 4.9?million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

If found guilty of gross negligence, BP and Transocean could have to pay $4,300 a barrel instead of $1,100 a barrel in federal fines under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act for oil that was not recaptured. (Under one scenario, BP pays $3.5?billion. Worst case: roughly $17?billion.) A gross negligence finding would also hurt BP?s case against private plaintiffs and affect criminal charges the Justice Department is weighing against the company and several individuals.

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=6e6da5306d36778f3c2369a9738fd1d2

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Source: http://sellyouripod.com/how-to-ensure-success-in-trade-shows/

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Daily Tips for Business: Team-Building

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Source: http://dailytipsforbusiness.blogspot.com/2012/02/team-building_25.html

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Law Office of Brodsky & Smith, LLC Announces Investigation of ATS ...

It's tough out there

The U.S. economy began to rebound in 2011, but that was not enough to convince law firms to ramp up associate hiring. The National Law Journal has ranked the top 50 law schools by the percentage of 2011 juris doctor graduates who took jobs at the nation's largest law firms. The report identifies firm favorites -- the schools where NLJ 250 firms recruite [?]

Judge Peck Issues Opinion on Computer-Assisted Review

A federal judge has issued a much-anticipated opinion which he acknowledged "appears to be the first in which a Court has approved of the use of computer-assisted review" in electronic data discovery, but said that the technology "is not a magic, Staples-Easy-Button, solution appropriate for all cases."Visit Law Technology News [?]

In a Switch, Seventh Circuit Cites Dukes to Support Class Certification for Black Merrill Lynch Brokers

The 7th Circuit has ruled that a group of black financial advisers who are suing Merrill Lynch for racial discrimination can proceed with their class action, agreeing with the plaintiffs that the Supreme Court's Wal-Mart ruling could be used to support class certification rather than deny it. [?]

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TD Bank, which lost a $67 million jury verdict to one set of investors in Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme, has settled with another group to head off a trial set to start this week. The confidential agreement left a judge wrestling with whether to grant an injunction to stop a trial for the last defendant. [?]

Judges Weigh Disqualification for Former Big Firm Lawyers in NPE Patent Battles

As patent litigation brought by non-practicing entities continues, it's no surprise that big firm castaways are leaping in to get a piece of the action on the plaintiffs side. But representing NPEs carries risks for lawyers who earned their patent pedigrees at defense firms, as a pair of recent decisions shows. [?]

Littler Mendelson's Weiner, McGuire on BigLaw E-Discovery

Littler Mendelson's Paul D. Weiner, national e-discovery counsel, and Michael J. McGuire, chief information security officer, speak to LTN magazine's editor-in-chief, Monica Bay, about how the firm manages e-discovery, and compare its efforts to other BigLaw models. [?]

DLA Piper's Browning Marean on E-Discovery Proportionality

Browning Marean, senior counsel at DLA Piper, speaks to LTN magazine's editor-in-chief, Monica Bay, about the challenges of fashioning responses to discovery requests that are appropriate -- and proportional -- to a case. [?]

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D.C. District Judge John Facciola speaks with LTN magazine's editor-in-chief, Monica Bay, about how e-discovery training is at a crossroads, constrained by limited financial resources at the governmental level. He proposes several solutions to address these challenges, particularly when individuals are unable to meet face to face. [?]

Litigator of the Year Winner - David Boies

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Los Angeles attorney Pierce O'Donnell has reached a revised plea deal with federal prosecutors that would require him to serve 60 days in prison but allow him to retain his California Bar license. The deal was the second reached in a campaign finance violations case against the noted trial attorney. [?]

Source: http://www.lawadvice.ws/law-office-of-brodsky-smith-llc-announces-investigation-of-ats-corporation-marketwatch-press-release/

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What are physical therapy assistant programs | Guys Garage

If you are looking for a fulfilling and rewarding career in the area of healthcare, physical therapy assistant programs is a good choice to make. The program is specially designed to train health assistants to improve the mobility and fitness of the aged and those with injuries. As more and more people discover ways to stay stronger and live longer in life, there is the need for more people to enrol in this program to provide the services that are required.

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