The last couple of weeks have brought a lot of news – both good and bad – down here to the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Isaac was a double whammy; the storm itself destroyed homes and upended people’s lives, but it also stirred up a ton of BP’s oil. There’s believed to be as much as 1 million barrels of oil still polluting our waters, some 29 months after the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. That is simply not acceptable. The good news is that the people of the Gulf Coast – including our government officials – are showing a backbone and standing up to BP. The oil giant is trying to ram through a $8.7 billion settlement with thousands of residents and business owners harmed by its recklessness in the drilling rig disaster. As I noted last week, that sounds like a big number but it won’t come close for making right on the Gulf Coast – especially as recent events show the environmental carnage from Deepwater Horizon is an ongoing affair. My law firm – SmithStag LLC, which represents numerous clients with claims against BP, has joined with a second firm -- Krupnick, Campbell, Malone, Buser, Slama, Hancock, Liberman & McKee, P.A. -- ...
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