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Leading the News
White House seeks to increase spill costs for BP.Media coverage of the aftermath of the BP Gulf oil spill offered generally positive assessments of the White House's increasing demands on BP to take financial responsibility. The story was briefly noted on the network news. AFP (6/10, Oberman) reports the US "tightened pressure Wednesday on BP, setting a 72-hour deadline for the battered British energy titan to present updated plans for battling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill." Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, "who is leading the government response to the disaster, met with BP officials in Washington and ordered them to produce records of compensation claims filed in four stricken southern US states." The "stringent demands for greater transparency betrayed the growing mistrust between BP and President Barack Obama's administration more than seven weeks into the nation's worst ever environmental catastrophe." The CBS Evening News (6/9, lead story, 3:45, Couric) reported, "From the beginning, the Obama Administration has insisted it is in charge of the response to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico." Today, Adm. Allen "demanded BP be more open about how it's paying claims and come up with a better plan for capturing the gushing oil." The Wall Street Journal (6/10, Chazan, Power) reports the Obama Administration has also demanded that BP increase the costs it will be required to cover to include the salaries of laid-off oil industry workers. The increasing scope of its potential liabilities took an additional toll on BP's share price, which fell nearly 16% to $29.20. ABC World News (6/9, story 2, 2:30, Sawyer) reported, "And as they are being required to pay out, BP stock fell almost 16% today. The company has lost one-half its value since the rig explosion on April 20th." The Washington Post (6/10, Ahrens) reports, "More ominously, investors and traders rushed to dump their BP shares: Trading of the stock occurred at four times normal volume today." As a result, "the asset-rich company is now trading for less than its book value, which is essentially all the assets it has -- oil fields, oil rigs and so forth -- minus intangible assets and liabilities. In English, this means that investors and traders think that the company is now actually worth less than all the hard assets it owns." The AP (6/10, Skoloff, Henry) reports the "fishermen, businesses and property owners who have filed damage claims with the company angrily complained of delays, excessive paperwork and skimpy payments that have put them on the verge of going under." Investors "deserted BP amid fears that the company might be forced to suspend dividends, end up in bankruptcy and find itself overwhelmed by the cleanup costs, penalties, damage claims and lawsuits generated by the biggest oil spill in US history." Some locals "see dark parallels to what happened after Hurricane Katrina, when they had to wait years to get reimbursed for losses." The CBS Evening News (6/9, story 4, :35, Couric) reported, "Another viewer wants to know: Why hasn't the President declared the Gulf states a Federal disaster area releasing Federal assistance to governors?" CBS (Reid) added, "If this had been a natural disaster like a hurricane, that's exactly what would have happened. The states would be declared disaster areas and they would then be eligible for federal reimbursement. But in this case, BP is the responsible party so the governors aren't even asking the Federal Government for money, they're going straight to that deep pocket – BP." BP cleanup plan lacks health safeguards for workers. McClatchy (6/10, Taylor) reports BP's "plan to protect workers fighting the massive oil spill in the Gulf, which the Coast Guard approved on May 25, exposes them to higher levels of toxic chemicals than generally accepted practices permit." As a result, BP "isn't required to give workers respirators, to evacuate them from danger zones, or to take other precautions until conditions are more dangerous. The looser standards are due in part to federal regulations that don't specify safety thresholds for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs - the principal toxins that threaten the health of spill response workers, experts said." BP's plan "also fails to address the use of more than 1 million gallons of dispersants so far in the cleanup." Louisiana, Alabama note cases of oil spill-related illness. CNN (6/9, Landau) reported, "States are tracking the health consequences of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, including respiratory and skin irritation problems in Louisiana and Alabama, health officials said." As of Wednesday, Louisiana public health officials recorded "71 cases of oil spill-related illness," which included 50 oil rig workers. "Symptoms reported by workers included throat irritation, cough, chest pain, headaches, and shortness of breath." Notably, the majority of "people who reported oil-related sickness were 18 to 64 years old." Meanwhile, "in Alabama...15 cases of illness have been reported," however, the "Texas Department of State Health Services has not issued any warnings regarding the oil spill and is not aware of any related illnesses, a spokeswoman said." AFP (6/9) also covered the story. States aim to protect beachgoers. On its website, ABC News (6/9, Besser, Childs) reported, "In states with coastlines affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, top health officials are making efforts to protect beachgoers," and they are urging "the public to follow commonsense measures." Dr. Mary Currier, of "the Mississippi State Department of Health, said her state has instituted a beach monitoring program." In Alabama, "a strong advisory against swimming" was issued over the weekend "following a number of local reports of the presence of oil on the coast." Meanwhile, "Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros said her state is prepared to issue swimming advisories if oil sheen or mousse is detected on the water." The state has already sent out "tar ball advisories -- in short, those who see tar balls should not touch them, as they can cause rashes and other problems." Bill would mandate restitution for victims of some environmental crimes. National Law Journal (6/10, Ingram) reports, "legislation introduced Wednesday would mandate restitution for victims of some environmental crimes" by amending "the section of the US Code relating to when judges must impose restitution during sentencing" and directing "the US Sentencing Commission to review and amend the sentencing guidelines for crimes under the Clean Water Act." Potential claimants seeking lawyers. The Bradenton (FL) Herald (6/10, Kennedy) reports, "Potential claimants are meeting with lawyers to discuss their plight as a result of British Petroleum's oil well that continues to blacken the Gulf with the largest spill in US history." The article mentions various potential claimants, including seafood wholesalers, fishermen, and realtors. Class action suits filed against BP. WPDE-TV Florence, SC (6/9, Allen) reports, "Three class action lawsuits have been filed, asking the courts to force BP to take action now." While the suits seek economic damages of not less than $5 million, according to the lawyers who filed the suits, "monetary damages aren't the real issue." Instead they want BP and South Carolina "to start making plans for dealing with the spill, right now." Attorneys Ed Bell of Georgetown and Tommy Brittain of Myrtle Beach "say now that the spill has made its way into the Gulf Stream Loop, one strong nor'easter could eventually put tar balls on Grand Strand beaches." Despite scientists' evidence, BP continues to deny existence of oil plumes. The CBS Evening News (6/9, lead story, 3:45, Attkisson) reported, "It's marine scientists from Gulf state universities, not the government or BP, who have been flagging giant undersea plumes for weeks. University of Georgia researchers found one three miles wide. The University of South Florida an even bigger one. But BP, responsible for managing the fallout, appears to be in a perpetual state of denial. They insist all the oil is on top." Tony Hayward, BP CEO: "The oil is on the surface." Unidentified speaker: "Do you not believe these plumes exist?" Doug Suttles, BP COD: "Harry, there are not. ... No one has found any large concentrations of oil beneath the surface." Attkisson: "Too often, critics say, the best information isn't coming from BP or the government's unified command." Congress frustrated with lack of information on Gulf oil spill. As Administration officials testified before congressional panels on the Federal Government's response to the Gulf oil spill, media reports note that lawmakers expressed frustration with the lack of information from BP about the disaster. NBC Nightly News (6/9, story 4, 2:00, Costello) reported that in Washington, "the frustration from the Gulf washed across Capitol Hill today," and there was "confusion from members of both parties looking for basic information" such as the volume of the leak. Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama: "I'd like to get a better picture about the flow, how much is coming out." Costello: "That's still not clear, said the Interior Secretary, reluctant to rely on BP's numbers." Secretary Ken Salazar: "We will get to that right number because the American people need to know it." Costello: A "six-month ban on all deep water drilling, now in effect, is meant to allow a safety and environmental review. One Louisiana senator told NBC the review can't last long. With small businesses and thousands of Gulf area jobs on the line." Sen. Mary Landrieu, Louisiana: "If that pause lasts longer than 30 days, 60 days, maybe 90 days, what happens is you put this industry at great peril." The Los Angeles Times (6/10, Murphy, Simon) reports Federal officials "conceded Wednesday that efforts to contain the well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico may have boosted the amount of oil gushing out, but predicted they would be able to nearly double the quantity of crude collected by next week." Interior Secretary Ken Salazar "also reassured congressional representatives from the beleaguered gulf states that a six-month moratorium on drilling that many here have called economically ruinous could be lifted sooner if new studies and protections are put into place." Politico (6/10, Sherman) reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "moved to tighten control of the Democratic response to the BP oil spill, telling top lawmakers at a private meeting Tuesday she wants more coordination among the bevy of committees overseeing the Gulf Coast disaster." Pelosi "told lawmakers - including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, by speakerphone - that she wants the six House committees looking into the oil well explosion to produce legislation by July 4, aides said. Under that plan, the full House could act when it returns from its July recess." Pelosi's "plea for more coordination was an implicit acknowledgment that the House response so far has seemed unfocused, even chaotic." Journalists, scientists complain of lack of access, information surrounding spill. In a front page story, the New York Times (6/10, A20, Peters) reports journalists "have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials," and "to some critics of the response effort by BP and the government, instances of news media being kept at bay are just another example of a broader problem of officials' filtering what images of the spill the public sees." Scientists have also "complained about the trickle of information that has emerged from BP and government sources." Said Rep. Edward Markey, "I think they've been trying to limit access," adding, "It is a company that was not used to transparency. It was not used to having public scrutiny of what it did." Number of federal inspectors lags offshore oil projects. On its front page, the Washington Post (6/10, A1, Eilperin, Mufson) reports that the number of federal inspectors has not kept pace with the growing number of offshore oil explorations, and only 62 inspectors work "the entire Gulf of Mexico," which is "seven more than in 1985" or an increase of about 13 percent. In contrast, in 25 years "the number of exploration rigs soared and the number of deep-water oil-producing projects grew more than tenfold from 1988 to 2008." The Post says a "key question" since the Gulf spill is whether the MMS "could carry out the required minimum once-a-month inspections or do a thorough job in an increasingly complex area."
Civil Justice SystemJudge denies consumers class-action status for flash memory suit.Bloomberg News (6/9, Gullo) reports, "Samsung Electronics Co., Toshiba Corp. and other makers of flash-memory chips won a court ruling that bars a collective price-fixing lawsuit against them on behalf of US consumers." US District Judge Saundra Armstrong "denied a request by consumers' lawyers to certify a class action, or group, antitrust lawsuit seeking damages for indirect purchasers of flash-memory chips." The judge still "is weighing a request by lawyers for direct purchasers of flash-memory chips...to certify their lawsuit as a group case." InsurancePennsylvania regulators to investigate health insurers' practices.The AP (6/10, Scolforo) reports that on Wednesday, "Pennsylvania regulators said...they have detected a pattern of rate increases by health insurance companies that suggests insurers are trying to pad revenues before federal health reforms are fully implemented." According to Gov. Ed Rendell, "the Insurance Department was investigating the state's nine largest health insurers over the use of what he described as questionable health profiling tools." For example, "Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario said there was evidence that some companies recently have expanded their use of individualized medical questionnaires and drug profiling in the small-group insurance market," as well as "attempts to 'identify and drive up premiums for the most vulnerable groups.'" The Pittsburgh Business Times (6/10, Mamula) reports that "Pennsylvania has some of the weakest protections in the country against rate increases for small businesses, with no cap on increases for medical conditions, according to...Ario." Meanwhile, on June 7, "US Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius...announced the availability of $51 million in grants for states to create and strengthen the insurance rate review process." Reuters (6/10, Krauskopf) reports that Pennsylvania is now applying for an HHS grant before the submission deadline on July 7. Drug SafetyFDA warns Pfizer on failure to report drug complaints.The AP (6/10, Perrone) reports that the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to "Pfizer Inc. for failing to promptly report complaints with its drugs that may have involved serious injury." In the 12-page letter, dated May 26, the FDA "cites a number of product complaints which were not reported to government regulators within the required 15 days." The letter also "demands that Pfizer submit a plan for correcting the problems within 15 business days." The Wall Street Journal (6/10, Dooren) reports that this FDA warning letter to Pfizer is the second one this year. Two months ago, the company received an agency warning regarding pediatric clinical trials of the antipsychotic Geodon (ziprasidone). The Journal points out that the latest warning results from a 2009 inspection of Pfizer's headquarters, an inspection which the agency said was to ascertain Pfizer's compliance with reporting rules regarding adverse events after drugs are allowed on the market. Specifically, the letter said the agency discovered that some adverse-event reports were not reported until after its inspection was conducted. The drugs involved were Lyrica (pregabalin) and Lipitor (atorvastatin). Reuters (6/10, Heavey) reports that the Food and Drug Administration has asked to meet with Pfizer to discuss the violations. For its part, Pfizer promised to work with the FDA to address and remedy the problems. Employment/Workplace SafetyNew Jersey Supreme Court rules arbitrator can fashion discipline in labor dispute.The New Jersey Law Journal (6/10, Booth) reports that a New Jersey Supreme Court decision means that if an arbitration clauses in an employment contract "doesn't define 'just cause' for discipline, the arbitrator will fill in the meaning, and the parties are stuck with it." The court found that an "arbitrator did not exceed his authority by finding 'progressive/corrective discipline to be an integral part of the just cause concept.'" The court reinstated "an arbitrator's finding that suspension, not termination, was suitable punishment for high school custodian John Mizichko's" cleaning windows where female students were changing clothes. Medical Errors/HealthcareManufacturers of radiation therapy equipment to include fail-safe features within two years.The New York Times (6/10, A19, Bogdanich) reports that "manufacturers of radiation therapy equipment said at a patient-safety conference...Wednesday that within the next two years their new equipment and the software that runs it would include fail-safe features to help reduce harmful radiation overdoses and other mistakes." This "conference, convened by the Food and Drug Administration to discuss ways to reduce radiation overdoses, underdoses and misaligned exposures, was attended by regulators, technicians, medical physicists, doctors and vendors." The Times adds that "Dr. Simon Choi, network leader for radiological products at the F.D.A., praised the manufacturers for taking the step, but said questions remained about how quickly the changes would be made and whether older radiotherapy machines could be outfitted with the new software." Reuters (6/10) quotes David Fisher, executive director of the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance, as saying, "By committing to additional enhanced safeguards and safety checks, radiation therapy manufacturers are doing their part to ensure accuracy and appropriateness before the patient treatment begins." Product SafetyChinese drywall supplier's deal with manufacturer at issue in lawsuit.The Daily Business Review (6/10, Pagliery) reports, "Jurors heard opening statements Tuesday in the nation's first trial involving a domestic distributor of defective Chinese drywall as a Miami couple claimed" Banner Supply, which provided the Chinese drywall used to build their home, "covered up problems." The couple's attorney cited a confidential agreement between Banner and the drywall manufacturer, "which was kept secret until it was unsealed Friday," in which Banner agreed to "hold back information from other businesses and promised not to assist others in suing the manufacturer" in exchange for having its Chinese drywall replaced with US-made drywall. Los Angeles judge will handle Toyota acceleration cases.The AP (6/10) reports, "California Supreme Court Justice Ronald George issued an order late Tuesday asking the presiding judge of Los Angeles County to assign a judge for the" approximately "40 cases that have been filed against Toyota in state court over its vehicles' sudden acceleration problems." Should there be "a trial, it would be held near the automaker's US headquarters in Torrance." The lawsuits against Toyota filed in federal court "have been consolidated before a judge in Orange County, where a hearing is scheduled for June 25." Bloomberg News (6/10, Pettersson) reports, "George said it will be up to the coordinating trial judge to decide whether the cases seeking damages for personal injury or wrongful death should be managed separately from class-action suits alleging economic loss." Automakers with recalls concerned about image following Toyota experience.The Chicago Tribune (6/10, Hirsch) reports, "The speed with which Chrysler Group recalled 25,000 Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicles demonstrated how wary automakers have become of repeating the public relations debacle experienced by Toyota Motor Corp. over a series of large recalls and quality issues, analysts said." Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said that "manufacturers are especially sensitive to issues dealing with gas pedals and acceleration." Aaron Jacoby, who heads the automotive group at law firm Arent Fox law in Los Angeles, said, "Everybody has been paying much more attention since the Toyota recalls and product-liability issues." McDonald's paying three dollar refunds on cadmium-tainted Shrek glasses.The Chicago Sun-Times (6/9, Knowles) reported, "McDonald's Corp. is providing $3 refunds to consumers who purchased 'Shrek Forever After' drinking glasses that the restaurant chain recalled last week because they contained cadmium." The glasses cost $1.99 with a food purchase and $2.49 without. "To get the refund, customers must return the glasses inside a McDonald's store and fill out a refund slip." On Politics Daily (6/9), David Knowles writes, "on its website, McDonald's is insisting that the glasses it is now issuing cash refunds for were safe all along." UPI (6/9) also covered this story. House committee requests documents about glasses. Dow Jones Newswires (6/9, Ziobro) reports that House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman sent a letter to McDonald's Corp., asking it to reveal how it ensures the products it sells to children aren't hazardous. The committee also is requesting all the documents pertaining to the company's voluntary recall of Shrek glasses tainted with cadmium. The committee also asked ARC International North America Inc., which made the glasses, for information, including the origin of the paint used on the glasses. SecuritiesPonzi schemer Rothstein sentenced to 50 years.The Miami Herald (6/10, Weaver) reports that Scott Rothstein, "South Florida Ponzi schemer extraordinaire, received a 50-year prison sentence." US District Judge James Cohn "gave the disbarred lawyer more than what prosecutors requested for his crime as the mastermind of South Florida's biggest financial fraud." Rothstein, "convicted of running a $1.2 billion investment scam, had said he deserved no more than 30 years because he pleaded guilty, spilled his guts to the feds and starred in an FBI sting that took down a reputed Italian Mafia figure," but Judge Cohn "called Rothstein's investment scam a 'tsunami'." The AP (6/10, Anderson) reports that the sentence "was below the 100-year maximum Rothstein faced for five felony convictions, including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud." Judge Cohn "was particularly troubled that the former lawyer would use the judicial system for his scam, to the point of forging signatures of at least three federal judges on fake documents." Bloomberg News (6/10, Kolker, Nesmith) reports that Rothstein "sold discounted stakes in fraudulent settlements of sexual-harassment and whistleblower claims, which ranged from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, he admitted in January. He told investors they would collect the full proceeds when the cases settled, while taking money from new investors to pay back old ones." Also in the NewsHackers expose email addresses of Apple iPad users.The New York Times (6/10, Helft) reports that hacker group Goatse Security has "obtained the e-mail addresses of 114,000 owners of 3G Apple iPads, including those of military personnel, business executives and public figures, by exploiting a security hole on AT&T's Web site." According to communications network expert Michael Kleeman, "AT&T should never have stored the information on a publicly accessible Web site. But he added that the damage was likely to be limited." Those affected "included military personnel, staff members in the Senate and the House, and people at the Justice Department, NASA and the Department of Homeland Security," as well as "executives at The New York Times Company, Dow Jones, Condé Nast, Viacom, Time Warner, the News Corporation, and HBO." Elinor Mills wrote at CNET News.com (6/9) that "the leak could have affected all iPad 3G subscribers in the US," while specifically, "White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Diane Sawyer, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and New York Times CEO Janet Robinson" all appeared to have been impacted. This type of weakness in AT&T's site is said to be "fairly common," and "neither e-mail addresses nor SIM serial numbers are considered to be sensitive information," according to experts. Groups on left, right see Kagan nomination as opportunity.The AP (6/10, Davis) reports, "Across the ideological spectrum," President Obama's nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court "is a ripe opportunity for groups to push their agendas, mobilize their supporters and raise money. The organizations are pumping up the volume in the debate, knowing that their influence is measured largely by the intensity of their support or opposition. 'Ensure Elena Kagan gets a fair hearing,' blares a headline on the website of NARAL Pro-Choice America. 'The future of women's access to abortion hangs in the balance,' the group tells visitors to the site, asking them to urge senators to inquire about Kagan's stance on the Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion rights." The conservative Judicial Crisis Network "has similarly ominous warnings about what might happen if Kagan is confirmed," and the group's leaders "are using the Internet and social networking to get the word out to conservatives about what it calls Kagan's 'extreme left wing views.'" | |||||
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AAJ News Brief is a digest of the most important news selected from thousands of sources by the editors of Custom Briefings. The presence of advertising does not endorse, or imply endorsement of, any products or services by the American Association for Justice. This complimentary copy of AAJ News Brief was sent to haytham@puckettfaraj.com as part of your American Association for Justice membership. View Custom Briefings' privacy policy. Neither Custom Briefings nor the American Association for Justice is liable for the use of or reliance on any information contained in this briefing. For information about other member benefits, please contact American Association for Justice Member Service Center at (800) 424-2727. American Association for Justice | 777 6th Street, NW | Washington, DC 20001 Copyright © 2010 by Custom Briefings | 11190 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 130 | Reston, VA 20191 |