Beasley Allen Files Class Action on Behalf of Charter Fishing Industry

Charter fishing guides are suffering canceled bookings and lost revenues as a result of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

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Beasley Allen Law Firm

May 14, 2010, 09:30 ET

MONTGOMERY, Ala., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Beasley Allen has filed a class action lawsuit in United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (1:10-cv-00252) on behalf of plaintiff Deupree Outdoor Guide Services, Inc., individually and on behalf of commercial charter fishing guide businesses affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This class may include all Alabama residents who own and/or operate commercial charter fishing guide businesses that have suffered or will in the future suffer economic losses and/or damages as a result of the April 20 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Defendants named in the suit are BP, plc; BP Products North America, Inc., BP America Inc.; Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.; and Cameron International Corporation f/k/a Cooper-Cameron Corporation.

"These charter fishing guides depend on recreational and sports fishermen to earn a living," said Beasley Allen attorney Rhon Jones, head of the firm's Environmental Law section. "In addition, the services provided by these guides contribute heavily to the state's economy. Without a healthy marine life and open and accessible fishing areas, their livelihoods are placed in jeopardy."

The oil drilling platform, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20 and sank two days later. The wreckage continues to leak thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf waters every day. Environmental and economic damages are expected to be unprecedented. A 2006 National Marine Fisheries Service report said 6.2 million recreational anglers in the Gulf region spent $2.2 billion on more than 23 million fishing trips in 2006. An estimated 3.2 million recreational anglers took fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico during 2008. In 2009, travel in Alabama's Gulf Coast Region accounted for 35 percent of the state's tourism revenue, as well as 36 percent of the state's travel-related employment, and generated more than $3 billion in tourism-related expenditures for the state.

About Beasley Allen Law Firm

Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Beasley Allen is comprised of 44 attorneys and more than 200 support staff. Beasley Allen is a national leader in civil litigation, with verdicts and settlements of over $20 billion. Our environmental attorneys negotiated the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history. At $700 million for PCB contamination in Anniston, Alabama, involving Solutia, Monsanto and Pharmacia, it doubled the previous benchmark in this area of litigation. Also among the firm's successes is an $11.8 billion verdict against ExxonMobil Corp., for breach of contract and fraud. For more information about our firm, please visit our website at www.beasleyallen.com.