Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Tampa attorney Steve Yerrid “special counsel” to oversee the state’s legal claims against BP.

In 1997, C. Steve Yerrid was one of 11 trial lawyers picked by then-Gov. Lawton Chiles to team up and sue cigarette makers. The settlement of the resulting lawsuit put limits on cigarette advertising and produced an ongoing stream of payments from the companies that has brought billions into state coffers.

Yerrid has now positioned himself at the head of the line as the state begins maneuvering to seek damages from BP in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. Within a few days after the rig’s explosion, Yerrid was on the phone with Gov. Charlie Crist, who later appointed the Tampa attorney as his “special counsel” to oversee the state’s legal claims against the oil company.

Yerrid, who is advising Crist pro bono, says it’s his job to make sure that Florida gets a fair share of the billions that BP is beginning to pay out to the spill’s victims. BP has set up a $20-billion fund to compensate commercial fishermen, shrimpers, beach hotel owners and anyone else impacted by the oil, but it’s unclear if $20 billion will be enough. “We’re not going for a quick fix to a long-term problem,” Yerrid says. “What I’m counseling the governor on is that we look at all of our options in a very careful and calculated way.”

After the crush of litigation that followed the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which was intended to prevent another crush of litigation after the next major spill. The law requires the responsible parties to cooperate with the government and set up claims facilities so victims can apply for compensation without having to sue. Litigation would only be needed if the sides couldn’t agree on what constitutes fair compensation.

Carl R. Nelson

Carl R. Nelson, who handles maritime cases for Tampa’s Fowler White Boggs, says the law would work a lot better if attorneys would just follow it. But in the case of BP, he says, many attorneys, from Florida to Louisiana, are suing first and “worrying about the law later.”

More than 250 cases have already been filed. “All of these lawsuits are just jockeying for position, Nelson says. “Eventually, all of the federal lawsuits will be consolidated into a single case somewhere and the judge will appoint a plaintiffs committee out of the group of plaintiffs lawyers to run the litigation. Those are the ones who make the biggest fees. Does that answer your question” about why there are so many lawsuits?

Nelson, who represented the owners of one of the vessels involved in a 1993 oil spill in Tampa Bay, is sitting this spill out — so far. “I am working with many folks telling them they don’t need me now,” he says. “I tell them to keep good records, assemble your claim, submit your claim to BP. And if you don’t have your claim satisfied ultimately then come back and see me and we’ll do something.”

Before Florida itself gets involved in any litigation against BP, Transocean, Halliburton or any of the other companies that might have liability from the gusher, the state will have to determine exactly what caused the blowout and what entities are responsible.

If it comes to litigation, Yerrid promises the state will be prepared.

BP's Legal Team

BP and the other companies involved in the oil leak have already hired hundreds of attorneys to handle the ever-growing number of Deepwater Horizon-related cases. The lawsuit tally so far is 250 and growing. Much of BP’s legal work is being coordinated by Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis, but Akerman Senterfitt has been chosen to handle BP’s civil litigation in Florida. Greenberg Traurig, meanwhile, is working for Cameron International, which made the oil well’s blowout preventer. Broad and Cassel has been hired by Halliburton, which cemented Deepwater Horizon’s drill into place.

Tags: Politics & Law