The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 36 - July 8, 2015

FEATURE

City resumes pursuit of BP claim

BRADENTON BEACH – City Attorney Ricinda Perry has resumed her efforts regarding a $500,000 claim filed against BP in 2013 in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

On Tuesday, June 30, City Clerk Terri Sanclemente issued notice of a non-public shade meeting pertaining to the status of BP claim that will take place in the commission chambers at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8.

The shade meeting notice came two days before Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Thursday that an $18.7 billion settlement had been tentatively reached with BP. The settlement provides $1 billion to address approximately 400 claims filed by local governments.

According to Perry, the city’s claim is based on the premise that the oil spill negatively impacted Bradenton Beach tourism, which in turn impacted city tax revenues.

The cities of Holmes Beach and Anna Maria also filed similar claims, although none of the oil spilled in the Deepwater Horizon incident ever made its way to Anna Maria Island or its beaches.

“As soon as I advised Mayor Clarke of the matter, he told me to act on this,” Perry said on Wednesday. “In all likelihood, something promising will come out of it.”

In 2013, Deputy Clerk Karen Cervetto assisted Perry in preparing the documents she felt supported the city’s $500,000 claim.

“We figured the city had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Perry said.

According to Perry, former mayor Bill Shearon chose not to pursue the claim when he took office later that year.

With Clarke’s blessing, Perry and attorneys William Robertson and Kevin Dean will conduct the shade meeting that allows for a private discussion of the city’s claim-related legal strategies. Robertson is with the Kirk-Pinkerton law firm in Sarasota, and Dean is with Motley-Rice firm in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Shade meeting attendance will be limited to Perry, Robertson, Dean, Clarke, Vice Mayor Ed Straight, Commissioners John Shaughnessy and Janie Robertson (no relation to William) and a court reporter, who will transcribe the proceedings, which will be made public record when the litigation concludes.

Commissioner Jan Vosburgh is vacationing in Utah and plans to participate online via Skype.

Confidentiality requested

After Bondi’s Thursday morning announcement, Perry e-mailed each commission member a copy of the confidentiality agreement included in the federal court order and asked that it be signed and returned by the close of business on Friday.

Commissioner Robertson was the only member who failed to return a signed agreement on Thursday, and as of Monday afternoon, she had not yet complied with Perry’s request.

According to Clarke, Robertson notified the city clerk that she would be out of town from July 2 through 7, but he feels she should have provided additional contact information in the event that she was needed.

“It’s the electronic age, and she should be reachable,” Clarke said, noting that commissioners can access their city e-mail accounts from afar.

He also noted that Vosburgh is in Utah and managed to return her signed agreement the same day it was sent to her.

Bondi announcement

In 2013, Bondi filed a lawsuit seeking reimbursement for the economic damages the state suffered as a result of the spill. Her lawsuit was later consolidated with multidistrict litigation case #2179 in New Orleans.

A press release posted at the Attorney General’s website on Thursday said, “Attorney General Pam Bondi today formally entered a historic multi-billion dollar joint federal-state agreement in principle with BP Exploration and Production, Inc. to resolve the economic loss claims asserted by Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.”

Bondi was quoted as saying, “In 2010, our state – and the entire Gulf region – woke up to a story that shook the nation; an oil spill that not only threatened states that depend on the Gulf for their economic livelihood, but their very way of life.”

The press release states that Florida will receive $2 billion for economic loss claims, which is twice as much as any other state, and this will account for more than 40 percent of the total economic loss recovery.

Florida is expected to receive a total of at least $3.25 billion, including at least $680 million for natural resource damages and least $572 million from the RESTORE Act.

“The parties still need to finalize both a settlement agreement (for economic loss claims) and a consent decree (for natural resource damage and Clean Water Act claims), with the consent decree also subject to court approval. The state’s economic damages lawsuit will continue against Haliburton and Transocean,” the press release concludes.


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