Obama trial lawyer pals corner BP cash meant to compensate victims, reel in rubes who wave future rights

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Obama's trial lawyer pals leave old-time class action rackets in the dust.

1/25/12, "Big fish in BP claims reel in suckers," New Orleans Times-Picayune, James Gill, opinion

"The class action lawsuit is a great leveler. It ensures that every American, rich or poor, can do his bit to help trial lawyers make money. Fair enough, say the lawyers. Plaintiffs, who could not afford to pursue their claims individually, get expert representation with no payment up-front. If the class eventually prevails, and the lawyers' cut runs into the millions, justice has been served all round.

The BP oil spill case is technically not a class action, for reasons too tedious to rehearse, but it resembles one in every important particular. Armies of attorneys are advancing consolidated claims, signing up plaintiffs and counting on a hefty cut from the loot which BP and the other defendants have out the wazoo....

Their concern for the victims became apparent a year ago, when they took out newspaper ads advising that a deadline was approaching for claims against one of BP's many co-defendants, rig owner Transocean. All those who hadn't done so should preserve their rights by joining the lawsuit immediately.

That included those in line for compensation from Ken Feinberg, head of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which has $20 billion of BP's money to distribute outside the court system. Keep your options open; you have nothing to lose by filling in this form and joining our litigation,

• the trial lawyers declared.

As Feinberg's clients now discover, they had quite a lot to lose. All they were preserving was their right to help make the trial lawyers rich. This is a deal that takes the old class-action racket to new levels. These suckers will have to pay for legal representation they do not need and could not benefit from.

When they receive compensation from Feinberg, they are required to waive any right to sue for damages.

• Yet they will still have to pay the plaintiffs' steering committee and pals."...via American Thinker

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