China to compensate for sea pollution|Society|chinadaily.com.cn

oil rig and response vessels at spill site Bohai Bay, China, 2011

China to compensate for sea pollution|Society|chinadaily.com.cn: "China will establish a state compensation system for pollution in the marine environment, according to a NPC (National People's Congress) deputy , the Shanghai Evening Post reported on Monday.
China's marine department will overhaul all new and expended projects on the Bohai Sea and improve the sea environment in the area, Lv Bin, official from China's State Bureau of Ocean was quoted by the paper.
The move comes after a series of oil spills that began on June 4, 2011 in Bohai Bay that destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of fishermen."

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CPRBlog: After Partial Settlement, Oil Spill Case on a Slow Boil

CPRBlog: After Partial Settlement, Oil Spill Case on a Slow Boil: by Robert Verchick

"On balance, the settlement appears to be a good thing. But this plate is just the appetizer. The main course—a pepper pot of federal civil claims and criminal charges—has yet to come. And that’s a dish that could really bust a gut.

Before I get to the federal claims, here’s why I like the settlement. The private claims—brought by shrimpers, restaurant owners, injured responders, the families of fallen rig operators and more—were incredibly diverse in factual elements and dogged by the uncertain standard that controls large punitive awards. That not only made their claims hard to value, but insured that any generous verdict would be sent into the deep-space of federal appeals, delaying for years the compensation that many families and small businesses need now."

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N.J. Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long required to retire | NJ.com

N.J. Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long required to retire | NJ.com: "TRENTON — With stacks of framed photographs piled on a polished wooden table in her office at the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long returned a phone call last week from a former colleague wishing her a happy birthday.
She had just turned 70 — the age when all judges in New Jersey must retire — and was packing her belongings from 34 years as a state judge, the last 13 on the state’s highest court."

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BP spill settlement promises fast payouts | NOLA.com

BP spill settlement promises fast payouts | NOLA.com:

by Rebecca Mowbray, The Times Picayune

"After reaching a deal Friday night to settle health and economic damage claims by individuals and businesses who were harmed by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP and plaintiff attorneys leading the litigation say the court-supervised claims process will begin immediately.
The plaintiffs say that the new process will be more transparent than the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Calculations will be made under formulas approved by the court, so people will be able to see exactly how their award was made and can dispute it if necessary. Few details are available about how the claims will be organized, but they take into account the types of damage and proximity to the coast. Each claim will be multiplied by a "risk transfer premium" that will differ by type of claims since no punitive damages were awarded by a court. The plaintiffs say that the risk transfer premium will ensure that their deal will pay more in compensation than what Feinberg did, but not enough details have been worked out from their agreement in principle to say what the multipliers are and how large the biggest multiplier is.
Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator Kenneth Feinberg, shown testifying before a U.S. Senate committee in 2011, will leave his post sometime this week.
Ken Feinberg, the administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which has been paying claims on behalf of BP using money from a $20 billion fund, will step aside sometime this week"

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Saintgate - N.F.L. Bounties Could Lead to Lawsuits - NYTimes.com

The New Orleans Saints offered rewards to players whose rough play knocked opposing teams' players out of the game. The implied consent that athletes grant when they play football (being tackled and thrown to the ground) does not include consent to intentional injury. Professional hockey has long been corrupted by the use of "enforcers" - players encouraged to play the role of thugs on the ice. It seems that the NFL may have tolerated similar behaviour. - GWC

N.F.L. Bounties Could Lead to Lawsuits - NYTimes.com: "According to two sports law scholars, the team, Williams and individual players could be held liable in court if an opponent can prove that a member of the Saints injured him on a play that is outside the norm for football and that the Saints player acted with reckless disregard for the opponent’s safety.

“As a general rule, those who participate in sports assume the inherent risk of injury therein,” said Matt Mitten, the director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School. “You break your arm? Suffer concussion? Broken leg? But what most courts have held is you do not assume the risk of an intentional or recklessly caused injury. Contact is an inherent element of N.F.L. football; it’s not enough just to contact someone.

“I would see something as a bounty, where you’re intending to injure someone so he’s knocked out of the game, or reckless, the deliberate disregard of a high probability of harm — those are the types of situations where the courts have said: ‘That’s not a risk that people assume. There is potential liability to those who suffer injury.’ ”"

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BP announces settlement with Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC), subject to final written agreement | Press | BP

The settlement - which does not include governmental claims - would bring an end to the "pseudo-fund" - the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, administered by the Feinberg Rozen law firm for BP. The agreement with the Plaintiffs Steering Committee is to be reduced to writing within 45 days. Only when we see the claims protocols will we be able to begin to assess what, if anything, has been accomplished. - GWC

BP announces settlement with Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC), subject to final written agreement | Press | BP: "The proposed settlement is comprised of two separate agreements, one to resolve economic loss claims and another to resolve medical claims. Each proposed agreement provides that class members would be compensated for their claims on a claims-made basis, according to agreed compensation protocols in separate court-supervised claims processes. The proposed agreement to resolve economic loss claims includes the financial commitment for the Gulf seafood industry and a fund to support continued advertising that promotes Gulf Coast tourism. "

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Gulf oil spill settlement reached; BP expected to pay out $7.8 billion | NOLA.com

photo: NOLA- Times/Picayune

Gulf oil spill settlement reached; BP expected to pay out $7.8 billion | NOLA.com: "BP and the private plaintiffs in the massive Gulf oil spill litigation have reached a settlement that BP estimates will cost $7.8 billion. But that is an uncapped amount, an the court still must supervise the payment of damages. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier also issued an order delaying the trial for a second time in light of the settlement."

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BP statement on the oil spill settlement in full - Telegraph

BP statement on the oil spill settlement in full - Telegraph:

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Accord Reached Settling Lawsuit Over BP Oil Spill - NYTimes.com

Accord Reached Settling Lawsuit Over BP Oil Spill - NYTimes.com:

"BP and the lawyers for plaintiffs in the trial over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have agreed to settle their case.

Judge Carl J. Barbier of Federal District Court in New Orleans issued an order late Friday night stating that the two sides “have reached an agreement on the terms of a proposed class settlement which will be submitted to the court,” and announcing that the first phase of the trial, scheduled to begin on Monday, is adjourned indefinitely while the next steps are worked out"
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The agreement calls for replacing the $20 billion fund created by BP to compensate victims of the spill, and to pay natural resources damages and state and local response costs. The fund, called the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and run by Kenneth R. Feinberg, a lawyer, would become a new fund administered by the court. Mr. Feinberg has paid more than $6 billion from the fund to some 200,000 individuals and businesses. The company announced that payments to people making claims under the Feinberg fund would continue to be paid during the transition.

“Ken Feinberg has overseen the GCCF since it began operating in August 2010, and we thank him and his team for their dedication and professionalism,” BP spokesman Robert Dudley said in the news release

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BP settlement talks collapse, sources say (Updated) | Loren Steffy | a Chron.com blog

Press reports say that settlement talks have faltered as lawyers are poised to begin the first phase of the liability trial in the BP oil spill cases. Inability to define the class of claimants is obstructing the ability to develop a global settlement: one that disposes of virtually all claims, which is the gold standard now for mass tort claims. - GWC

BP settlement talks collapse, sources say (Updated) | Loren Steffy | a Chron.com blog: "Settlement discussions have run hot and cold in the months leading up to the trial, and could still resume before the proceedings begin. Steve Herman, one of the lead attorneys on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee, insisted the talks were ongoing.

“Talks are continuing,” he said in a statement.

Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents as many as 12,000 spill-related clients, said one of the stumbling blocks has been how to resolve cases that haven’t been filed yet.

“The bulk of the cases are not in the litigation,” he said. “The PSC cannot guarantee BP global peace, so as far as BP’s concerned, it cannot settle.”"

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