As the BP oil spill moves toward the Florida Panhandle, BP’s latest attempt at stemming the tide of the gushing oil has been put on hold as a saw became stuck in a pipe. Crews are trying to figure out if they can move the pipe in order to free the saw or if they need to bring another saw to loosen the stuck saw. Crews are trying to cut the riser pipe in order to cap the pipe and place a dome over it.
Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen noted that “the cleaner the cut, the tighter the seal we can make.” Allen also mentioned that there is no sign that the oil spill has reached the Florida Panhandle yet.
Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder held a press conference in New Orleans after meeting with the area’s state attorneys general. Holder announced that the federal government will launch a criminal probe into what he called “a wide range of possible violations.” Holder’s announcement came hours after President Obama made similar remarks following a meeting with former EPA Administrator William Reilly and former US Senator Bob Graham.

After meeting with the co-chairs of his BP commission (Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator William Reilly), President Obama promised to bring to justice those responsible for the BP oil spill disaster. Obama also stated that if the present laws are inadequate to prevent another oil spill, they have to be changed.
According to Politico, “This oil spill has made clear more reforms are needed,” Obama says, adding that the commission “take a comprehensive look at how the oil and gas industry operates.”

After a frustrating and fruitless Memorial Day weekend, BP has announced that it will attempt a new method to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This new method may initially cause more oil to gush into the Gulf but British Petroleum officials believe the method has a 60-70% chance of success. Previous attempts at stopping the environmental disaster has failed miserably. BP’s latest attempt, the “top kill” method failed and was abandoned over the weekend.
The new method involves removing damaged pipe from a leaking well off the Louisiana coast. BP’s latest efforts focus on capturing the spilled oil until it can drill two relief wells to permanently halt the spill.
Meanwhile, criticism and political pressure continues to mount in Washington. President Obama plans to meet today with former Florida Senator Bob Graham who is co-chairing a commission investigating the cause of the BP oil spill.
As government officials sift through British Petroleum documents, the news continues to be bad for the oil company. The Wall St. Journal is reporting today that BP sought 3 permit changes the week prior to the oil rig explosion. According to the WSJ, the three permits which were submitted in the span of 24 hours were quickly granted by the Minerals Management Service. One of the permits may have increased the chances of the blowout on April 20.
The NY Times reported over the weekend that there were serious safety concerns with the Deepwater Horizon rig far earlier than those described to Congress last week. The earlier problems involved safety concerns with the well casing and the blowout preventer, two key elements that triggered the oil rig explosion.

Judge Joseph Farina of Miami-Dade County Circuit Court has certified the country’s first class action lawsuit in the Chinese drywall debacle. However, the class is limited to those residing in the Keys Gate subdivision. The class may grow to include 152 homeowners who may be affected by the contaminated drywall that’s corroded electrical appliances and left a foul sulphur-like smell in homes containing the Chinese drywall.
According to the judge’s order, the following issues will be determined in the case:
* Whether the Chinese drywall in the plaintiffs’ homes is defective.
* Whether Banner Supply is liable in negligence or supplying and/or distributing the Chinese manufactured drywall.
* Whether all defendants are strictly liable for selling/distributing Chinese drywall.
* Whether the drywall damaged the plaintiffs’ homes.
* Whether the homes were purchased from South Kendall and/or its affiliates.
* Whether South Kendall and/or its affiliates breached the statutory implied warranty of liability in selling homes containing Chinese drywall.

A Congressional inquiry into the booming herbal dietary supplement industry has found that nearly all of those tested contained some form of contaminant material. Even worse, some manufacturers of the herbal supplements make claims they can’t support through scientific study such as the ability to cure cancer.
While the study found amounts of heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and arsenic in the herbal supplements studied, the amounts weren’t considered dangerous. However, nearly half of the drugs studied found pesticide residues that did appear to exceed standard safety levels.
The study was conducted by the Government Accountability Office and will be discussed during a Senate hearing today. The hearing is part of legislation designed to overhaul the nation’s food safety laws including the manufacturing and distribution of herbal supplements. Presently, these herbal supplements are not regulated by the FDA or any other governmental agency. However, of the 40 supplements in the governmental study, 9 of the products make unwarranted and illegal health claims such as reduction in blood pressure, Alzheimer’s cures, and the prevention of diabetes.

We’ve just created a Facebook page for the firm. While it’s in the beginning stages of development, the page will focus on the “other side” of our lives when we’re not busy representing our clients. We hope to put up some video profiles of firm members and their lives in the community helping others. We’ll also profile friends and organizations that do good work in our communities.
Saunders & Walker is a diverse bunch of professionals. Joe is an avid fisherman and a professional musician. Rick is a politician and very involved in the local community. Margy is an accomplished writer. Both David and Maria are ready to go to law school. Another Maria is heading to Eckerd College in the fall. Krista is an avid photographer. We’ll share their stories and how they view their work at the firm as an extension of their commitment to excellence and the community.

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston for promoting its epilepsy drug Topamax for uses which the FDA had not approved. The guilty plea is part of an $81 million settlement agreement reached with the federal government in April.
The FDA had approved Topamax for some epileptic seizures, the pharmaceutical company was guilty of promoting the drug for such off-label uses as bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence.
While doctors may prescribe a certain drug for off-label use, the drug company may not promote their drug for uses that have not been approved by the FDA.
With so many pharmaceutical companies paying multi-million dollar fines for off-label marketing, one has to wonder if the drug companies have decided that their risk/reward analysis makes them favor marketing campaigns that are against the law. It seems that the fines and penalties have not deterred the pharmaceutical companies from aggressively marketing their drugs for uses not approved by the FDA.

According to a story in today’s Miami Herald, a Miami distributor of drywall knew that it had received defective Chinese drywall four years ago. After contractors complained to Banner Supply of Miami, the Chinese drywall manufacturer agreed to replace the contaminated drywall with American made product. However, Banner never disclosed the defect allowing contractors to continue to use the drywall unaware of the hazardous defect in the Chinese drywall. The agreement between Chinese drywall company and Banner remain under court seal and are not available to the public.
Federal agencies have confirmed that the tainted drywall does indeed cause corrosion of electrical fixtures and household appliances. Human health dangers are still under investigation.
According to Scott Wolfson of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, such safety hazards in building materials must be disclosed to the public.
“That reporting obligation becomes effective when you have a violation of a safety standard — information that the product could or does pose a substantial product hazard or that a consumer would face an unreasonable risk of injury from the product,” Wolfson said.

While information about oil giant British Petroleum’s oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and its safety compliance measures are coming to us in drips and drops, the oil continues to gush into the fragile Gulf waters. The economic and environmental damage to the Gulf region will be potentially devastating. BP’s willingness to tell the public exactly what happened and why remains in dispute. Senators Barbara Boxer and Bill Nelson have asked BP to provide all available video footage they have concerning the oil gushing into the Gulf. BP has been reluctant to do so and has only provided partial information.
While our economy and eco-system remain at great peril due to the oil spill, BP continues to play coy games about what’s actually occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The federal government needs to hold them accountable for their actions and/or their lack of action. If the government fails to act, we all need to step up and demand accountability and action.

In a major development, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Ltd. Co. has agreed to resolve claims with Beazer Homes of Atlanta. While the Sarasota Herald Tribune hinted at the settlement yesterday, the Wall St. Journal announced the deal a few minutes ago. This is viewed as a major development in the ongoing litigation based in federal court in Louisiana under Judge Eldon E. Fallon.
On April 27th, Judge Fallon ruled that Knauf had to pay a Louisiana couple $164,000 in remediation damages not including attorneys’ fees and court costs. In another case, Judge Fallon ruled last month that Knauf owed 7 Virginia homeowners a combined $2.6 million.