Louisiana Fisherman Asks for Emergency Relief from a Federal Court to Stop BP from Forcing Volunteers to Enter Into One-Sided Master Charter of Agreements

NEW ORLEANS, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- This Sunday afternoon in New Orleans, Louisiana, commercial fisherman George Barasich stepped forward asking for emergency relief from a federal court to stop British Petroleum, plc ("BP") from forcing the volunteer corps of oil-spill responders to enter into onerous and one-sided "Master Charter Agreements" ("MCA") which will seriously compromise the existing and future rights and potential legal claims of these volunteers.  Barasich is President of the Commercial Fisherman's Association, Inc.  

Copies of the MCA drafted by BP's lawyers and Barasich's petition for Temporary Restraining order are available by contacting [email protected] or (850) 528-7668.  

"To be clear, the very people whose livelihood and culture have been put at great risk of destruction, such as Barasich and the men and women he represents, are being dictated by BP on the terms by which they will be 'allowed' to volunteer to protect the fishing grounds and oyster beds of Louisiana," said Stuart Smith, attorney, Smith Stag LLC of New Orleans, who is representing a group of Gulf Coast attorneys known as the Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery Group. "That BP would attempt to force this one-sided and egregious Agreement on volunteers in the midst of this environmental disaster shocks the conscience."

Attorney Smith said especially egregious provisions within the Agreement are:

• BP, which is mandated to take 100 percent responsibility for the oil clean-up, is demanding that the volunteers INDEMNIFY IT for any accidents that might occur from the volunteers' efforts (Art. 13(F));

• BP demands that the volunteers WAIVE their First Amendment  constitutional free speech rights about the volunteer's participation in the clean-up efforts of the disaster; for example, if a commercial fisherman signed this agreement he or she could not then speak to anyone about the disaster or clean-up efforts until BP first "approves" of what the volunteer wants to say (Art. 22);

• BP demands a FREE-RIDE on the volunteers' insurance policies so that if there is damage to a volunteer's vessel or other injuries, such as to a crew member, BP will be an "additional insured" and the financial responsibility for the damage will rest on the volunteer's insurance carrier, NOT BP; quite obviously, the volunteers paid good money for this insurance and BP should not be allowed after-the-fact to worm their way into that contract so that it can attempt to avoid further legal responsibility for the very volunteers it is asking for aid and assistance; (Art. 13(A)); and

• BP demands 30 days of notice before any volunteer is allowed to pursue legal claims against BP, and there are no exceptions made for emergencies (Art. 13(I) [sic (G]).

Barasich's petition was presented this afternoon to a Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, as well as to counsel for BP.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana was opened this afternoon by Judge Ginger Berrigan to receive petition of Louisiana commercial fishermen to nullify and strike the offensive language in the British Petroleum volunteer fishermen charter contract, said Attorney Stuart Smith.

District Judge Berrigan, after hearing from counsel for the fisherman and BP, indicated the language in question in the MCA was overbroad. Legal counsel for BP agreed to enter into a stipulated judgment holding that the offensive provisions are without effect.

“This is an amazing example of how well our civil justice system works for the hard-working people of America, such as Louisiana fishermen who most need it right now,” said Attorney Smith.

About:

Stuart H. Smith of the law firm Smith Stag, LLC, New Orleans, Louisiana has assembled a working group of lawyers from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to prosecute claims for those who have been affected by BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  Commercial fishermen and shrimpers have filed a class-action lawsuit against BP and owners of the oil rig for economic losses stemming from the disaster.  The lawsuit was filed late on Wednesday, April 28 in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

SOURCE Smith Stag, LLC

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