Day: February 2, 2011

Judge Barbier rocks! Rules “claims czar not independent of BP”

The administrator of the $20 billion compensation fund for Gulf oil spill victims is not independent from BP and must stop telling potential claimants that he is, a federal judge said in a ruling Wednesday that…cuts at the heart of one of Feinberg’s central arguments that because he’s independent people…should trust his decisions.

Barbier said Feinberg must clearly disclose in all communications that he is acting for and on behalf of BP in fulfilling its obligations as the responsible party under the Oil Pollution Act.

According to the AP story, “Barbier stopped short of ordering changes to a release form people who accept final payments from the fund must sign”:

He asked lawyers to submit additional briefs to the court on that, as well as address the question of whether BP is fully complying with the law in the processing of claims…

Barbier ordered all sides to issue additional briefs by Feb. 11 addressing the question of “whether and how BP as the responsible party is fully complying with the mandates of OPA, for example, in the processing of claims for ‘interim, short-term damages,’ or ‘final damages,’ methodologies for evaluation of claims, and the release forms required of claimants.”

It’s never too late to post good news; but, for more tonight, read the AP story.

Buddy switching parties – must be some kind of party for Buddy to get all made up!

"Pretty" Buddy as a Republican

After seeing the “news” posted on the front page of TPM, I had to go to the Louisiana Record to find the this hint of a story – and couldn’t help noticing how pretty Buddy looked in his picture, a sure sign of a “switcher” tho’ not necessarily of the political kind:

A report posted Tuesday afternoon on NOLA.com states that Louisiana Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell plans to switch his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican this week.

The report cites “multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.”

When reached for comment by The Record, Attorney General spokeswoman Sharon Kleinpeter said, “I do not have any information for you. Any such announcement would come from his campaign.”

"Plain" Buddy as a Democrat

It took some searching – as in typing “Buddy Caldwell switching parties” in the search box on NOLA.com – but I found Attorney General Buddy Caldwell switches to Republican and a photograph of a very different looking Buddy as a Democrat!

Caldwell announced the party switch Wednesday. He says he feels more comfortable with what the GOP represents nationally and locally, citing the federal health overhaul bill as an example.

Caldwell, who is up for re-election this year, becomes the latest in a long line of conservative Louisiana Democrats to leave the party…

His move follows recent switches by state Sens. John Alario of Westwego and Fred Mills of Parks, and state Reps. Simone Champagne of Jeanerette, Noble Ellington of Winnsboro and Walker Hines of New Orleans.

SLABBED reports, you decide if Buddy looks better as a Republican or a Democrat.

In this episode of Magnum JD: Bull Durham sets sail on the Good Ship Lollipop, asks Judge Feldman to dismiss Baldwin’s suit.

OTS Owner Bull Durham

Plaintiffs’ Complaint presents a tale of two people who were on board the Ocean Therapy Solutions (“OTS”) venture that was steering to market clean-up equipment in response to the British Petroleum Deep Water Horizon oil spill, but who voluntarily decided to jump ship prematurely and sell their OTS interests, and who are now suing Costner and others complaining that the price they negotiated and received for their OTS interests was less than they would have received if they had stayed on board.

Nothing like of bunch of self-serving grifters getting cute in a legal brief. Team Magnum is indicating his OTS partners Baldwin and Contogouris should have relied on the media instead of the internal representations made by guy running the show when deciding the sell their interest in OTS to Kevin Costner on the cheap. Case document 12 has all the gory details for the consideration of the Slabbed Nation.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r4bbgv1If8]

sop

Pete and Repeat sat on a fence – Hood repeats warning, Young repeats attempt at revirgination, Peytavin pumps another Peytavin – but too much snow to see the fence!

According to Mississippi Ag: BP claims process violates law(Mobile Press Register), Jim Hood has put paper behind Mississippi’s interest in a transparent, fair, and fast BP claims handling process:  (h/t Y’all)

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood continued Tuesday to assault the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, saying in a federal court filing that its activities violate federal and state law and again asking the judge to intervene in the claims process…

In the filing, Hood contends that Feinberg’s process, by freezing interim payments, increases the financial hardship on claimants and makes them more likely to sign away their legal rights.

Details of Hoods allegations are summarized in the Press Register story (h/t to reporter Dan Murtaugh) and detailed in Hood’s Memorandum of Authorities in Support of Statement of Interest on Behalf of the State of Mississippi (below in scribd format).

Judge Barbier shouldn’t need reminding a similar financial hardship resulted in claimants signing away their rights following Hurricane Katrina only to discover more damage later. Nonetheless, I’ll repeat myself and say that Attorney General Hood is now Twice Right and Judge Barbier should heed the warning.

Speaking of someone who shouldn’t need reminding, John Young should know better than to make another transparent effort at revirgination – but, alas, he does not and NOLA.com reports Continue reading “Pete and Repeat sat on a fence – Hood repeats warning, Young repeats attempt at revirgination, Peytavin pumps another Peytavin – but too much snow to see the fence!”

Guess what’s behind the door marked “office” – not unless Monty Hall led the search of Heebe-River Birch!

Judge “Ginger” won’t see 99 boxes of files on the wall behind the door simply marked “office” –  or a description of this surprisingly different “common space” in the Heebe-River Birch “tour guide“.

Of course, no one would want to call Judge Berrigan’s civil-right’s-focused-attention to the obvious “discriminating” taste of whoever decided to cram “the little people” in modules at the “expense” of this fine custom-designed space.

Surely, it’s not an absurd argument to claim that Oriental carpets of exceptional quality should only furnish the office space used by exceptional people – “high type folks” who can be trusted to sit on leather.

Below, a collection of gold-framed paintings hang over a custom-made desk with a leather executive chair.  Directly in front of the desk is Continue reading “Guess what’s behind the door marked “office” – not unless Monty Hall led the search of Heebe-River Birch!”