Litigation

Judges Facing Conflicts on Oil-Spill Litigation?

By Peter Hardin

It will be harder to find federal judges free of ethics conflicts to consider lawsuits tied to the Gulf oil spill, due to many of the judges’ overlapping financial interests with the oil and gas industry.

Thirty-seven, or more than half of the 64 active or senior judges in key Gulf Coast districts have financial ties to oil, gas and linked energy industries, according to an Associated Press investigative article that included review of judges’ 2008 disclosure forms.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who sits in New Orleans, said Friday he is getting rid of his oil and gas assets to steer clear of any perception of a conflict of interests.

In addition, a landmark environmental ruling by a three-judge panel recently was thrown out by the Fifth District U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because eight of the 16-member appeals court had recused themselves. The panel had said plaintiffs could go ahead with a lawsuit against utilities, chemical companies and the oil industry over damages that global warming caused (see Gavel Grab).

A post  in the Wall Street Journal law blog quotes a McGuireWoods attorney, Trent Taylor, as suggesting an appeal in this case to the U.S. Supreme Court might lead to a similar recusal situation. Some justices have stepped aside from hearing cases energy companies in the past due to ownership of stock, he writes.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 07, 2010 (boomark / email).