Bloomberg News issues breaking news that in the case of In Re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans ruled yesterday that BP Plc ("BP") cannot collect from Transocean Ltd. ('Transocean") part of the $40 billion in cleanup costs and economic losses caused by the 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON oil well blowout and Gulf of Mexico spill.
Readers of this Blog and who attended my seminar in London on this tragedy will recall that London-based BP sued Transocean in April to recover a share of its damages and costs from the spill. BP said that the contract required indemnification even if there was gross negligence and obviously, BP disagreed.
Judge Barbier wrote in his decision: “BP is required to indemnify Transocean for compensatory damages asserted by third parties against Transocean related to pollution that did not originate on or above the surface of the water, even if the claim is the result of Transocean’s strict liability” or negligence or gross negligence." However, Barbier deferred ruling on “BP’s arguments that Transocean breached the drilling contract or committed an act that materially increased BP’s risk or prejudiced its rights.” As a result, BP must indemnify Transocean for pollution-related economic damage claims under its drilling contract, but any awards for punitive damages against Transocean or civil penalties under the U.S. Clean Water Act will not be covered by BP, the judge added.
You can view the complete Bloomberg News at this address => http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=5568437867421630472&gid=3058724&type=member&item=91509288&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebloomberg%2Ecom%2Fnews%2F2012-01-26%2Fbp-must-indemnify-transocean-for-some-damages-in-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill%2Ehtml&urlhash=4yJi&goback=%2Egde_3058724_member_91509288.
Thus, the decision leaves Transocean at risk for Clean Water Act penalties and possible punitive damages. If you are interested in contacting me, you may do so at miamipandi@comcast.net.
The Money Judgments Recognition Act Can Only Be Used as a Shield Not a Sword
In the case of Chevron Corp. v. Donziger, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that New York's Uniform Foreign Country Money-Judgments Recognition Act does not provide a potential judgment debtor a cause of action to challenge foreign judgments before enforcement of those judgments is sought. Thus, putative judgment debtors have no standing to bring such preemptive suits against the holders of judgments.
Following about 30 years of oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Ecuadorians brought a variety of claims against the company and obtained judgment in Ecuador. Chevron, a potential judgment-debtor, brought action under New York’s Uniform Foreign Country Money-Judgments Recognition Act, N.Y. C.P.L.R. 5301-5309, which allows judgment-creditors to enforce foreign judgments in New York courts, seeking a global anti-enforcement injunction against the Ecuadorians and their attorney to prohibit attempts to enforce the allegedly-fraudulent judgment entered by the Ecuadorian court. The district court granted the injunction. The Second Circuit reversed, vacating the injunction. The Recognition Act does not grant putative judgment-debtors a cause of action to challenge foreign judgments before enforcement of those judgments is sought. Judgment-debtors can challenge a foreign judgment’s validity under the Act only defensively, in response to an attempted enforcement.
A copy of the entire decision can be viewed at => http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/11-1150/11-1150-2012-01-26.html.
If you would like to reach me, you may do so by writing to me at miamipandi@comcast.net.
COSTA CONCORDIA Reportedly May Have Had a Steering System Failure
COSTA CONCORDIA Reportedly May Have Had a Steering System Failure
I received from a good friend a great link that tracks the movement of the COSTA CONCORDIA which can be viewed at this site => http://gizmodo.com/ship/.
If you review the tracking and the article that follows, it is suggested that when Captain Schettino was attempting his close pass to "wave" to the people on the island on the ship's port side, the ship was going too fast when it initiated the turn. As a result, the navigation data shows that the turn initiated by the Captain came too late and weak, which may indicate a steering failure before the first hit. It is argued that this idea is reinforced by the fact that the Captain did not try to back down hard instead of just utilizing the rudder to quickly turn the ship.
It would be interesting to hear other's views on this latest suggestion.
If you are interested in contact me, please feel free to do so at miamipandi@comcast.net.
Antillean Marine Given $1 Million Fine
WTVJ-TV (Channel 6, Miami, Florida) reports on Friday, January 20, 2012 that on that date, Judge Adalberto Jordan sentenced American Marine Management Services, operating as Antillean Marine, a fixture on the Miami River, to a $1,000,000 fine and five years probation for oil pollution and ballast water crimes. The Coast Guard discovered that the TITAN EXPRESS, a ship operated by the company, was leaking excessive oil and fuel from its engine. The Coast Guard said it became aware that the oily water separator did not operate properly and that it gave inconsistent readings. There was also oil inside of the ship's separator.
Referencing the pollution claims, officials say that the company's "oil record book" had several made-up entries and that the book did not efficiently account for the TITAN EXPRESS' waste. Another logbook in the engine room had a note written by an engineer that said, "Always pump out the bilge water. When finished, wash the pump with sea water for 20 minutes to clean out the line. If you don't do it, you'll bring pollution problems, especially to Miami."
The ballast water claims included the failure to report the water that is held in tanks at the bottom of ships to
increase maneuverability. The Justice Department said that Antillean Marine broke the law when they failed to report to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse, which works to prevent the introduction of exotic species into U.S. waters.
Judge Jordan ordered Antillean Marine to pay half of the fine to the South Florida National Parks Trust, a nonprofit environmental organization that works to preserve South Florida water ecosystems.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the complete report from WTVJ-TV, have any questions on these issues or are interested in contacting me, you may reach me at miamipandi@comcast.net.