State Considers Lawsuit Against BP
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
By: Tom Parkinson

Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum both say they're hopeful the state can avoid costly litigation. They say BP executives have assured them that all claims for damages resulting from the runaway oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico will be paid.

Both Crist and McCollum say Florida must be prepared if talks with the giant oil company break down so they’ve organized a legal team to investigate the state’s options.
Two former Florida attorney generals will be leading that team.
Jim Smith, who was attorney general between 1979 and 1987, joins his successor, Bob Butterworth, in leading the effort. Butterworth was attorney general from 1987 to 2000.
BP PLC owns the oil drilling rig that exploded and sank on April 20th killing 11 workers. The leak resulting from that accident is still dumping more than 200,000 gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico.