Alabama AG Troy King Continues to Pressure BP and Feinberg

Alabama Attorney General Troy King further advances the opinion that he has grown a pair.

Mr. Kenneth R. Feinberg
Feinberg Rozen, LLP
The Willard Office Building
1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest
Suite 390
Washington, D.C. 20004-1008

TRANSMITTED VIA E.MAIL

Dear Mr. Feinberg:

I am in receipt of your August 9 and 19, 2010, e-mails transmitting a draft of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility Protocol for Emergency Advance Payments. I share the concerns Attorneys General Jim Hood and Buddy Caldwell conveyed in their letter to you dated August 16, 2010, and I join in them. Beyond their concerns, I remain disturbed by your refusal to incorporate more of the changes we, as Attorneys General, suggested to you in Biloxi. In fact, your latest draft demonstrates a regrettable and continued disingenuousness toward the process. Although provisions addressing final payments have been stricken from this latest draft, you appear to have largely ignored the basic principles and comments submitted by us in response to your original draft protocol.

Based on the lack of any forward progress made in your latest draft, as well as your actions and public statements since we met, it appears that the concerns of the Attorneys General and those of the citizens of our States have fallen on deaf ears. Indeed, I believe the current approach to the claims process is symptomatic of the overall strategy adopted by BP and the other responsible parties- with respect to their oil disaster and their unwillingness to fairly and adequately compensate the States and their citizens for the catastrophic damage the oil companies have caused. Their reactions, as well as yours' have left Alabama with little choice other than to initiate litigation to ensure that the State is made whole. We have done so.

Letter to Mr, Kenneth R. Feinberg
August 20.-20l0
Page Two

While I am hopeful that there will be opportunities to collaborate in the future with respect to any Final Protocol being developed for payment of individual and business claims, it appears that, at this time, there is little common ground between your views on the claims process and those of the State of Alabama and our citizens. Your comments in Biloxi made clear that you see your mandate far differently than I do. My job is to protect the interests of the State of Alabama and our citizens and that I fully intend to do, You have repeatedly stated that all claims decisions are your decisions. Your actions indicate that those decisions are not being guided by the best interests of Alabama or our citizens. I find that unfortunate. Should you ever mean what you have said and wish to engage n a meaningful discussion would welcome it. I call on you again to develop an equitable and reasonable claims process. Thus far you have not done so.

TK:oi

co: Attorney General Jim Hood

     Attorney General James Buddy Caldwell

It seems to be going around these sternly worded letters--Transocean just fired one off to BP accusing them of withholding information about the spill in their efforts to fully investigate the cause of the explosion of the rig that lead to the disaster in the Gulf. 

The new complaint by Transocean follows similar complaints by U.S. lawmakers about difficulties obtaining necessary information from BP in their investigations.

In a sternly worded letter to BP's attorneys, Transocean said the oil giant has in its sole possession information key to identifying the cause "of the tragic loss of eleven lives and the pollution in the Gulf of Mexico."

BP is calling it a "publicity stunt":

In a biting response late Thursday, BP told Transocean in a letter that Transocean's claims were "nothing more than a publicity stunt evidently designed to draw attention away from Transocean's potential role in the Deepwater Horizon tragedy."

BP would know a few things about "publicity stunts" and deflecting blame now wouldn't they?

(originally posted 8/21/2010)