Alabama Attorney General Hires Balch & Bingham to Pursue Lawsuit Against BP

Story from the Montgomery Advertiser's Sebastian Kitchen, July 23, 2010.


This is an interesting turn of events because usually Balch and Bingham is almost always on the side of the corporations and protective of those interests rather than the other way around. The rumor mill is grinding out possible reasons for AG Troy King selecting this firm; among them that Balch is going to be his next employer when his term ends this year.

Governor Riley has to sign off on this contract to hire B and B and that does not seem very likely from his position stated in the story. The state is growing quite fat off of BPs money and we presume they will do little to upset the status quo and apply any measurable actions against BP in the near future.

Todd Stacy, press secretary for Gov. Bob Riley, said while BP is responsible for the disas­ter, that filing a lawsuit seems premature.

"There is no dispute that BP is responsible for this disaster and there is no dispute about the fact that BP is going to pay for its effects. However, right now, there is nothing to litigate because there is no dispute."

"If legal action becomes nec­essary, you can rest assured Governor Riley will aggressive­ly pursue it," he said. "However, right now, there is nothing to lit­igate.

Nothing to litigate because there is "no dispute" Mr. Riley? That is not what news stories from the Gulf have detailed--few small business owners feel they have been treated fairly by BP despite assurances they "would be made whole" by the company. Who is this lawsuit for--the citizens affected by the spill or the state and its lost revenues? Shouldn't it be for both?

It seems the great concern for the citizens and environment of Alabama is only convenient when the cameras are rolling and it makes for good PR in the national news markets.

We would like to inquire about the process used to select this particular law firm to represent the state and ask if there were any other firms in the running? Given their proclivity to represent big business and long history of defending the polluters why would they be the best choice? Who made that decision?

More questions than answers. The lack of transparency in Alabama government does not serve the taxpayers, who will ultimately be footing this legal bill, while the state and the lawyers will walk away with the settlement money,  rather than the coastal fishing businesses and small business owners who were the real losers in this oil spill.

Many of them will have slim chances of rebuilding their business in the near future, if at all, and are without the deep pockets of the state coffers to hire strong representation and have a fighting chance to be compensated for their damages.

The state is hungry for its share of lost revenue from tourism dollars and that seems to be their first priority with this potential lawsuit. Stand in line citizens of Alabama, once again you come in second.