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Description of Consolidated Case No. 05-4206,
Patrick Joseph Turner, et al. v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc.
This litigation involves twenty-seven consolidated class action
lawsuits filed by residents of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana against
Defendant Murphy Oil USA, Inc. The incident at issue in all suits is a
discharge of oil that occurred at the Defendant’s Meraux, Louisiana oil
refinery sometime in the first week of September 2005. It is alleged that
shortly after Hurricane Katrina an oil tank discharged thousands of
barrels of oil into the area surrounding the refinery. Plaintiffs are
homeowners and residents in the area near the oil refinery, and they
allege property damage, personal injuries, and mental anguish resulting
from the discharge.
The first of these cases was filed on September 9, 2005. On October 5,
2005, Chief Judge Helen Berrigan ordered that all future cases relating to
this incident were to be assigned to Judge Eldon E. Fallon, and would be
automatically consolidated under case number 05-4206, Patrick Joseph
Turner, et al. v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc.
On January 30, 2006, after considering evidence presented in a two-day
hearing, the Court certified these cases to proceed as a class action.
Please see the Court’s Order and Reasons
and Class Boundary Map.
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