Southeast Louisiana's mostly grounded, commercial fishermen say they've been approached by lawyers since the BP oil spill but some of them are reluctant to participate in lawsuits so early in the disaster.
With billions of dollars expected in spill-related losses, more than 100 suits have been filed across the Gulf Coast for fishermen, seafood processors, restaurants, charter-boat firms, tourist interests, hotels, and condo and rental-property owners. And if the Exxon Valdez spill is any guide, litigation could drag on for years.
In Terrebonne Parish, "lawyers are at every community meeting that's being held, and they're speaking to people," said Kimberly Chauvin, owner of Mariah Jade Shrimp Company, a family-run, shrimp-trawling business in Chauvin. "Not all of the lawyers are here to help. Many of them are saying all the right things, but their intentions are about getting money for themselves. "
In one of the biggest suits, lawyers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Florida and Pennsylvania, called the Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery Group, are prosecuting claims for fishermen and others affected by the spill. That class action suit was filed on May 3 by plaintiffs, including the United Commercial Fisherman's Association, Inc., a group of 250 commercial shrimpers, oyster men, crabbers and fin fishermen, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
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