Judge Appoints Plaintiffs' Committee in BP Litigation

A federal judge in New Orleans has named 15 attorneys to serve on the plaintiffs' steering committee in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) against BP PLC over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

More than 100 lawyers had submitted applications for the lead role, which requires attorneys to coordinate discovery and motions. Lawyers on the committee stand to earn the highest attorney fees. The MDL includes about 300 lawsuits asserting personal injury, wrongful death, economic and environmental claims plus claims brought by governmental agencies.

The appointments are good for one year only, after which attorneys must file new applications for the positions.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier approved these lawyers for the plaintiffs' steering committee:

• Brian Barr of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Echsner, Rafferty & Proctor in Pensacola, Fla., the preferred counsel for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

• Jeffrey Breit of Breit, Drescher, Imprevento & Walker in Norfolk, Va.

• Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein in San Francisco. She also serves on the plaintiffs' liaison committee for the personal injury and wrongful death claims against Toyota Motor Corp. in the MDL involving sudden acceleration by its vehicles.

• Philip Cossich Jr. of Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor in Belle Chasse, La., who represents Plaquemines Parish, La., Sheriff Jiff Hingle and District Attorney Charles Ballay and Orleans Parish, La., District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro Jr.

• Robert Cunningham of Cunningham Bounds in Mobile, Ala., who sought a position to represent the state of Alabama.

• Alphonso Michael "Mike" Espy of Orlando, Fla.-based Morgan & Morgan, a former U.S. representative from Mississippi who served as secretary of agriculture under President Clinton.

• Calvin Fayard Jr. of Fayard & Honeycutt in Denham Springs, La., counsel for the district attorneys in several Louisiana parishes.

• Robin Greenwald of New York's Weitz & Luxenberg, who was assistant chief in the Department of Justice's environmental crimes section during the Exxon Valdez investigation.

• Ervin Gonzalez of Coral Cables, Fla.-based Colson Hicks Eidson, whose partner, Lewis "Mike" Eidson, serves on the plaintiffs' liaison committee in the Toyota MDL.

• Rhon E. Jones of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles in Montgomery, Ala., who represents the state of Alabama and several cities in Alabama.

• Matthew Lundy, a partner at Lundy, Lundy, Soileau & South in Lake Charles, La., who has several cases pending over the environmental contamination caused by the Deepwater Horizon spill.

• Michael Palmintier, a partner at DeGravelles, Palmintier, Holthaus & Frugé in Baton Rouge, La.

• Paul Sterbcow, managing partner of Lewis, Kullman, Sterbcow & Abramson in New Orleans, who has been involved in the limitation of liability proceedings against Transocean Ltd. in Houston.

• Scott Summy of Dallas-based Baron & Budd, which represents the State of Louisiana.

• Mikal Watts, a partner at San Antonio, Texas-based Watts Guerra Craft, who was involved in the Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and Ford Motor Co. rollover litigation over defective tires.

Barbier also appointed an executive committee, which will schedule and coordinate the plaintiffs' steering committee. That committee comprises Barr, Summy and two attorneys who were appointed earlier as interim liaison counsel: James Roy of Domengeaux, Wright, Roy & Edwards in Lafayette, La., and Stephen Herman of New Orleans-based Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar.

The next hearing in the MDL is scheduled for Oct. 15.

Amanda Bronstad can be contacted at abronstad@alm.com .