Alliance for Justice Issues Report Updating the Fight for Justice for Gulf Residents

Washington, D.C., April 19, 2011– On the one-year anniversary of the devastating explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, Alliance for Justice has released an in-depth status report on the ongoing quest for justice for the hundreds of thousands victims of the resulting catastrophic oil spill. One Year After the Gulf Oil Spill: Is Justice Being Served? is the latest product of AFJ’s ongoing initiative to ensure justice for Gulf residents, which also includes the award-winning documentary film, Crude Justice. 

The report reviews in detail the complex legal environment and significant uncertainties confronting the spill’s victims, and pays particular attention to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, the $20 billion fund established by BP and administered by Kenneth Feinberg. Additionally, the consolidation of claims filed in federal district court in multi-district litigation under the supervision of Judge Carl Barbier is assessed and summarized, as is the lesser-known avenue for compensation, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.

The 60-page report is a comprehensive and unblinking snapshot of the current legal environment and compensation process, which remain controversial and which many Gulf residents and public officials believe to be inadequate and unresponsive. Many legal issues remain unresolved, even one year after the disaster, and are compounded by enormous uncertainties about the future of the Gulf ecosystem, the long-term effects on fishing, and the health impacts of the oil and chemical dispersants used in the clean-up. AFJ examines strengths and weaknesses in the compensation process and spells out nine specific recommendations, most of which are aimed at ensuring that BP’s fund is fair, transparent, takes long-term effects into account, and does not force victims to waive essential legal rights.

At the same time, because much of the legal action taking place in the courts is still in an early stage, and because so much remains unknown about long-term prospects for full recovery, the report calls for continued vigilance against injustice, particularly in light of the catastrophic legal battle that faced the victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, which took almost 20 years to resolve and which ended with a Supreme Court decision that severely reduced compensation for suffering Alaskans. As the report concludes, “ … at the one-year anniversary, the jury is still out on whether victims of the BP oil spill will receive justice.”

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The report may be downloaded here. To view the 17-minute award-winning documentary Crude Justice, click here.

To make arrangements to speak with AFJ’s legal experts about the quest for justice in the Gulf, contact Kevin Fry, AFJ’s director of communication, at (202) 464-7367, or Kevin@afj.org.

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Alliance for Justice is a national association of over 100 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. AFJ works to ensure that the federal judiciary advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans. It is the leading expert on the legal framework for nonprofit advocacy efforts, providing definitive information, resources, and technical assistance that encourages organizations and their funding partners to fully exercise their right to be active participants in the democratic process.