The law firm Balch Bingham, which had been picked to represent the state of Alabama in its case against BP (NYSE:BP), has been dropped because of potential conflicts of interest.
Evidently the law firm represented Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) in a prior case unrelated to the oil spill, which is the source of the possible conflict.
The state of Alabama will be pursuing cases against Transocean and BP, plus Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) in order to attempt to recover lost tax revenue. All of these companies had a part they played in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
Interestingly, Alabama Governor Bob Riley isn't a proponent of the lawsuit, and would rather attempt to resolve claims out of court.
That makes sense in light of the time it could take to resolve the matter, when they need the money now. Why not try to arbitrate first, and if you can't get close, then why file a lawsuit?
No comments:
Post a Comment