[StBernard] Hearing set for Murphy oil spill

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Mon Jan 1 20:55:31 EST 2007


Hearing set for Murphy oil spill
Chalmette residents want claims settled
Monday, January 01, 2007
By Susan Finch
Staff writer
For several thousand Chalmette residents whose homes were soaked by oil
spilled from the nearby Murphy Oil Refinery during Hurricane Katrina, a
16-month nightmare could end soon if a federal judge gives the go-ahead this
week for the company to pay $330 million to settle their damage claims.


U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon has set a "fairness hearing" in New Orleans
Thursday on the proposed settlement for the class action lawsuit. Should he
conclude from testimony that the settlement is fair and no one appeals his
ruling within a 37-day time limit, Murphy could start cutting checks and
scheduling closings to buy homes in the area nearest the refinery as soon as
Feb. 11, Murphy attorney Kerry Miller said.

One subject that won't be discussed in open court -- and will be determined
by Fallon after he weighs written arguments -- is a request that he order
Murphy to pay attorneys for the plaintiffs fees of $11.5 million, plus $2.6
million in costs, for their work to negotiate, obtain and oversee the
settlement for the class.

Sidney Torres III, a lead attorney for plaintiffs, said the oil spill class
action was quickly resolved to allow affected residents to rebuild and get
on with their lives.

Another thing the settlement offers, Torres said, is complete cleanup of the
oil damage. "The defendants are on the line for remediation at whatever
cost," he said.

Miller said that as of late last week, about 4,000 property owners had filed
proof of claim forms to get a share of the settlement money, and Murphy's
offer to purchase some damaged homes has drawn a lot of interest.

For individuals who haven't yet filed a claim, there's a Jan. 31 deadline to
get that done, Miller said. "If you want to get your payment promptly, you
need to get your proof of claim in," he said.

Miller said the settlement plan has drawn few complaints. As of Thursday
only 25 objections had come in, most involving individual compensation and
none attacking the plan's overall fairness, he said.

"That means 99 percent of the people in the class have accepted it."

Another good omen, Miller said, is that of 700 people who earlier dropped
out of the plaintiffs class -- but had not settled with the refinery -- all
but 250 had rejoined by a Dec. 8 deadline.

Notices were mailed to class members in November advising that Fallon had
approved Murphy's plan for distributing the $330 million and giving them an
opportunity to object.

Part of the total is $80 million Murphy paid last year to settle claims of
2,800 of the 6,500 property owners and renters in the affected area, bounded
roughly by Paris Road on the west, St. Bernard Highway on the south, the
40-Arpent Canal levee on the north and Jacob and Mary Ann drives on the
east.

Those who settled early with Murphy are getting paid less than what the
company is now offering to others similarly situated.

One of those people, chemical company salesman Howard Luna, said he took the
earlier offer because, "to me, a bird in the hand was worth two in the
bush." Luna and his wife had insurance on their home of 24 years, but
without the Murphy money, they wouldn't have had enough to rebuild, he said.


Those like Luna who settled with Murphy early on are not entitled to share
in the $330 million unless they lived or owned property in an area nearest
the refinery where Murphy is now offering property buyouts. If they fall
under that exception, they are entitled to additional compensation, whether
or not they choose to sell their property to the company, Miller said.

Plans for the rest of the $330 million settlement fund are as follows:

-- $160 million would go to pay property owners and renters for damage they
incurred from the oil spill.

-- $90 million would be set aside for cleanup, but that amount could
increase depending on how much work is needed.

The settlement area is divided into four zones depending on how much damage
was assigned to each. Murphy has offered to purchase the homes in the area
closest to the spill. The buyout area includes properties on Jacob, Despaux,
Ventura and Lena drives from St. Bernard Highway to the 20-Arpent Canal in
Chalmette.

Although the St. Bernard Parish Council has requested that Fallon force
Murphy to offer buyouts to all property owners on those four streets, it is
unclear whether those who own property from the 20-Arpent Canal to the
40-Arpent Canal would be offered any more than what is in the proposed
settlement.

But attorney Miller said the settlement provides if any money is left over
by June 1, after Murphy buys, demolishes and cleans properties, "we will go
beyond the buyout zone to acquire property."

Despaux Drive resident Chris Holmes, whose home lies just outside the buyout
zone, could benefit if that happens.

Holmes is one of several St. Bernard citizens who chose to file individual
lawsuits against Murphy. "I'm not in the class action at all," he said. "I
don't think it's (offering) enough."

Oil spill damage to his and neighboring streets, Holmes said, has created a
desolate area where he and his wife are the only people back in a block of
25 houses. The couple is living in a trailer in front of their
1,600-square-foot home, which was new in 1995.

. . . . . . .

Susan Finch can be reached at sfinch at timespicayune or (504) 826-3340.









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