Fishing vessels belonging to Vietnamese lay idle in New Orleans. Photo by Triet Tran, Nguoi Viet Daily News.
The Bolsavik caught up with the plaintiff’s lawyer in the class action, filed on behalf of Vietnamese fishermen in the Gulf Coast, against BP seeking damages for loss of income and the community’s way of life arising out of the Deep Horizon oil spill.
The class action complaint alleges that “The damage caused to the Vietnamese communities in the gulf region is particularly devastating due to cultural and language obstacles that will make responsive efforts more challenging.”
Among the dozens of class actions, plus hundreds of other lawsuits, already filed, this one is believed to be the onlyone made exclusively on behalf of Vietnamese who live in the area. Read more here.
So the Bolsavik, in his capacity at Nguoi Viet, caught up with the attorney of record, Kinh-Luan Tran, on one of his moments back in Southern California, and asked about the case. Tran is the founding partner of Lee Tran & Liang, a 14 attorney litigation-only law firm in Los Angeles and Orange County. Tran is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has been recognized as among the “Best Lawyers Under 40” in America and “Top 20 Under 40” in California by a leading legal publication.
Q. In a few words, can you summarize the claims in this lawsuit?
A. This is a class action on behalf of Vietnamese fishermen in the Gulf Coast affected by the oil spill caused by the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The lawsuit alleges that BP PLC, Transocean Ltd., Cameron International Corporation and Halliburton Energy Services and others negligently failed to operate, inspect, and maintain the Deepwater Horizon rig, and inadequately responded to the explosion and resulting oil leak. This is believed to be the only lawsuit, among the 200+ filed so far, filed on behalf of the Vietnamese victims.
Q. Why not sue Minerals Management Service (or whatever its current name is), the federal agency in charge of regulating the oil industry? Shouldn’t they share the responsibility?
A. The responsibility of the corporate defendants is more obvious at this time. Suing the government will make the lawsuit unnecessarily more complex given issues such as governmental immunity, causation, and administrative hurdles. We also prefer to work with the federal government—rather than suing it—to go after the corporate defendants.
Q. How did this lawsuit come about? Did you seek plaintiffs or did the plaintiffs seek your legal representation?
A. Shortly after the oil spill, I came to the Gulf Coast to give joint presentations with Boat People SOS to the Vietnamese fishermen to inform them about their legal rights and the claims process. BPSOS has been establishing offices throughout the Gulf Coast to help the Vietnamese fishermen since Katrina and is very well respected there. The plaintiffs were those who attended my presentations or found me through radio or newspaper announcements. Direct solicitation is prohibited by various state laws or ethical rules.
Q. BP’s profits and revenue has plummetted. If your case wins, doesn’t this make it financially difficult for BP to clean up the oil spill?
A. No. BP is one of the biggest and most profitable companies in the world. Last year, it ranked 4th in the Fortune 500 list in revenue (behind only Shell, Exxon Mobile, and Wal-Mart) with $367 billions, with profits of over $21 billions. This year before the spill, it did even better with $9 billions in profits in the first three months alone.
Q. How will damages be calculated?
A. Through expert witnesses (economists, expert in fishing industry, environmental experts…). One thing is for sure, everyone recognizes that because there is a lot of cash transactions in this industry, tax returns alone would not be adequate to calculate financial damages.
Q. What kind of feedback have you received from Vietnamese living in the Gulf Coast?
A. Amazing. I have been invited to a lot of dinners at their homes. Because most of them have limited English skills, they are happy to be able communicate with an attorney who can speak their language and share their cultural background. The language barrier has been one of the main problems for them in the aftermath of Katrina and this pending oil spill.
