Barbier, C Hon

<h1 class="entry-title">=</h1><div>see dude ranch orientations LEC GMU</div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/corporations-pro-business-nonprofits-foot-bill-for-judicial-seminars/">
</a></div><div><a href="https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/corporations-pro-business-nonprofits-foot-bill-for-judicial-seminars/">https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/corporations-pro-business-nonprofits-foot-bill-for-judicial-seminars/</a></div><div>...</div><div>Another attendee of the 2009 “Criminalization of Corporate Conduct” seminar was Barbier, the Eastern District of Louisiana jurist presiding over a high-profile BP civil trial, which is being held without a jury in New Orleans.Barbier is in charge of considering whether BP owes billions of dollars in fines for gross negligence leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil platform explosion and spill. The disaster killed 11 people and contaminated a large swath of the Gulf Coast.In 2011, Barbier dismissed a wrongful-death claim in a suit brought against ExxonMobil and Chevron USA by the widow of a worker who was exposed to radioactive materials found on the companies’ equipment.Barbier’s ruling in favor of the oil companies came two years after he attended the corporate conduct seminar, funded in part by ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute, according to documents. The judge did not respond to requests for comment.</div><div>==</div><h1 class="entry-title">
</h1><h1 class="entry-title">Pro-business organizations sponsor expense-paid seminars for federal judges</h1>

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     <div class="byline"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="sep">By</span> <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="http://thelensnola.org/author/centerforpublicintegrity/" title="View all posts by Center for Public Integrity" rel="author">Chris Young, Reity O'Brien and Andrea Fuller</a></span><span class="nickname" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">, Center for Public Integrity</span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2013-03-28T14:33:16+00:00">March 28, 2013 </time><span class="small_comments">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></b></font></div>
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Conservative foundations, multinational oil companies and a

prescription drug maker were the most frequent sponsors of more than 100

expense-paid educational seminars attended by federal judges over a 4

1/2-year period, according to a Center for Public Integrity

investigation.

Among the seminar titles were “The Moral Foundations of Capitalism,”

“Corporations and the Limits of Criminal Law” and “Terrorism, Climate

& Central Planning: Challenges to Liberty & the Rule of Law.”

Leading the list of sponsors of the 109 seminars identified by the

Center were the conservative Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, The

Searle Freedom Trust, also a supporter of conservative causes,

ExxonMobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and

State Farm Insurance Cos. Each were sponsors of 54 seminars.

Other top sponsors included the conservative Lynde and Harry Bradley

Foundation (51), Dow Chemical Co. (47), AT&T Inc. (45) and the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce (46), according to the Center’s analysis.

<aside class="module pull-quote right half">Critics complain that

many of the privately funded conferences serve state and federal judges

a steady dose of free-market, anti-regulation lectures that could

influence judges’ rulings from the bench.</aside>

Sponsors pick up the cost of judges’ expenses, which often include

air fare, hotel stays and meals. The seminars in the Center’s

investigation took place from July 2008 through 2012.

The Center identified 185 federal district and appeals court judges

who reported attending one or more of the seminars over the period,

according to disclosure forms, or about 11 percent of the more than

1,700 federal judges in the United States.

Among the participants: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiqO0-aFUe2AdDljNTVaUEViaU5qbHM4Zk1EY3ZORGc#gid=0">U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana</a>.

One of the two seminars he attended in 2009, “Criminalization of

Corporate Conduct,” was sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute

and other business interests. Barbier is now presiding over the BP oil

spill trial.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerry A. Brown, who serves in the Eastern District of Louisiana, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiqO0-aFUe2AdDljNTVaUEViaU5qbHM4Zk1EY3ZORGc#gid=0">also attended two seminars</a>: “Economics Institute for Judges” in 2009 and “Antitrust Law and Economics Institute for Judges” in 2012.

Two schools — George Mason University, located in Virginia just

outside Washington, D.C., and Northwestern University based in Evanston,

Ill., — hosted more than two-thirds of the seminars.

Roughly three-fourths of the more than 800 sponsors listed in

documents were individuals, including a number of judges who took trips,

raising the possibility that they may have offset the cost of the

sponsorships with their donations. Most of the remaining underwriters

were companies and foundations.

Determining exactly how much was paid by which sponsor is difficult

to determine — amounts are not required to be reported under the

disclosure rules.

Judicial conferences are billed as educational retreats intended to

improve judges’ understanding of the law and economics. Judges and

seminar hosts say the conferences, which feature lectures and panel

discussions, provide helpful information that refines their legal

expertise.

But they’ve long drawn scrutiny for how they are funded and organized.

Since the 1990s, critics have complained that many of the privately

funded conferences serve state and federal judges a steady dose of

free-market, anti-regulation lectures that could influence judges’

rulings from the bench.

Those concerns quieted in 2007, when the Judicial Conference of the

United States, a group of senior circuit judges who oversee the U.S.

Courts, implemented a policy requiring judges and seminar hosts to

disclose information about the conferences.

<h4>Well-traveled jurists</h4>

The most-traveled judges, according to reports filed online by the

judges, were U.S. District Judge Charles R. Wolle of the Southern

District of Iowa and Chief Judge Thomas B. Bennett of the Northern

District of Alabama Bankruptcy Court. Each reported attending nine

seminars.

Wolle is a “senior status” judge, meaning he is semi-retired. He did not respond to requests for comment.

The next-most-traveled judges were:

<ul><li>U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real of the Central District of

California and Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of

Appeals 9th Circuit, covering the Western states, who each took eight

trips;</li><li>E. Grady Jolly, a federal appeals court judge for the 5th Circuit

which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and U.S. Bankruptcy

Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the District of New Jersey, who each took six

trips;</li><li>U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of the Southern District of

Texas, Chief Magistrate Judge Thomas J. Shields of the Southern District

of Iowa and senior-status U.S. District Judge Frederic Block of the

Eastern District of New York, each of whom took five trips.</li></ul>

O’Scannlain declined to comment for this story. In an email, Kaplan

wrote that the “seminars offer a valuable opportunity for new judicial

appointees to enhance their knowledge and skills in complex areas of the

law,” including economics.

Wolle, Real and O’Scannlain are all listed as seminar sponsors, though records do not indicate how much they contributed.

The Center identified instances where judges who attended seminars

underwritten by certain firms and trade groups later issued rulings in

the funders’ favor.

<h4>EPA loses case...</h4>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_BarbierCarl Joseph Barbier (born 1944)<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#cite_note-1">[1]</a> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_judge" title="United States federal judge">United States federal judge</a>.

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#Early_life_and_education">1 Early life and education</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#Career">2 Career</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#Judicial_service">3 Judicial service</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#References">4 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#External_links">5 External links</a></li></ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2> Early life and education</h2>

Born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans,_Louisiana" title="New Orleans, Louisiana" class="mw-redirect">New Orleans, Louisiana</a>, Barbier received a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts" title="Bachelor of Arts">B.A.</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeastern_Louisiana_University" title="Southeastern Louisiana University">Southeastern Louisiana University</a> in 1966 and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juris_Doctor" title="Juris Doctor">J.D.</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_University_New_Orleans_School_of_Law" title="Loyola University New Orleans School of Law" class="mw-redirect">Loyola University New Orleans School of Law</a> in 1970. He was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_clerk" title="Law clerk">law clerk</a> to William Redman, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Circuit_Courts_of_Appeal" title="Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal">Louisiana Court of Appeal</a>, Fourth Circuit from 1969 to 1970, and to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Cassibry" title="Fred Cassibry" class="mw-redirect">Fred Cassibry</a>, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana from 1970 to 1971.

<h2> Career</h2>

Barbier was in private practice in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans,_Louisiana" title="New Orleans, Louisiana" class="mw-redirect">New Orleans, Louisiana</a> from 1971 to 1998.

<h2> Judicial service</h2>

On May 19, 1998, Barbier was nominated by President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton" title="Bill Clinton">Bill Clinton</a> to a seat on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana" title="United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana">United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana</a> vacated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okla_Jones" title="Okla Jones" class="mw-redirect">Okla Jones</a>. Barbier was confirmed by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate">United States Senate</a> on September 28, 1998, and received his commission on October 1, 1998.

In August 2010 he was appointed to hear the cases in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill" title="Deepwater Horizon oil spill">Deepwater Horizon oil spill</a>. It is expected that at least 300 cases will be consolidated in his court.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#cite_note-2">[2]</a>

On November 14, 2011, Barbier ruled that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Petroleum" title="British Petroleum" class="mw-redirect">BP</a>, the company that leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, must face federal maritime lawsuits by Alabama and Louisiana.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#cite_note-3">[3]</a>

<h2> References</h2>

<ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#cite_ref-1">^{</a></span}> Editorial, Aspen Publishers (1995-12-31). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=1PW0pzLlL2cC&pg=RA5-PA3">Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, vols 1 and 2 through 2011-1 Supp</a>. Aspen Publishers. pp. 3–5. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780735568891" title="Special:BookSources/9780735568891">9780735568891</a>.<span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft.pages=3%E2%80%935&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D1PW0pzLlL2cC%26pg%3DRA5-PA3&rft.genre=book&rft.au=Editorial%2C+Aspen+Publishers&rft.aufirst=Aspen+Publishers&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.isbn=9780735568891&rft.aulast=Editorial&rft.date=1995-12-31&rft.pub=Aspen+Publishers&rft.btitle=Almanac+of+the+Federal+Judiciary%2C+vols+1+and+2+through+2011-1+Supp&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Carl Barbier" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#cite_ref-2">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/oil-spill-lawsuit-consolidation-12059/">"BP Oil Spill Lawsuits Centralized in New Orleans"</a>. AboutLawsuits.com. 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2010-08-11.<span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft.pub=AboutLawsuits.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.btitle=BP+Oil+Spill+Lawsuits+Centralized+in+New+Orleans&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aboutlawsuits.com%2Foil-spill-lawsuit-consolidation-12059%2F&rft.genre=book&rft.date=2010-08-07&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Carl Barbier" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Barbier#cite_ref-3">^{</a></span}> Fisk, Margaret Cronin; Johnson, Allen Jr. (November 15, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-15/bp-must-face-gulf-spill-claims-from-alabama-and-louisiana.html">"BP Must Face Gulf Spill Claims From Alabama and Louisiana"</a>. Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 15, 2011.<span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessweek.com%2Fnews%2F2011-11-15%2Fbp-must-face-gulf-spill-claims-from-alabama-and-louisiana.html&rft.genre=book&rft.au=Fisk%2C+Margaret+Cronin&rft.aufirst=Margaret+Cronin&rft.pub=Bloomberg+News&rft.btitle=BP+Must+Face+Gulf+Spill+Claims+From+Alabama+and+Louisiana&rft.aulast=Fisk&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.date=November+15%2C+2011&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Carl Barbier" class="Z3988" /></li></ol>

</div>

<h2> External links</h2>

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=2808&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na">Carl Barbier</a> at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biographical_Directory_of_Federal_Judges" title="Biographical Directory of Federal Judges">Biographical Directory of Federal Judges</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain">public domain</a> publication of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Judicial_Center" title="Federal Judicial Center">Federal Judicial Center</a>.</li></ul>

    
        
    
    
            
    <div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Categories" title="Help:Categories">Categories</a>: </font><ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1944_births" title="Category:1944 births"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">1944 births</font></a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Living people</font></a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Judges_of_the_United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana" title="Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana</font></a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:United_States_district_court_judges_appointed_by_Bill_Clinton" title="Category:United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton</font></a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:People_from_New_Orleans,_Louisiana" title="Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">People from New Orleans, Louisiana</font></a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Southeastern_Louisiana_University_alumni" title="Category:Southeastern Louisiana University alumni"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Southeastern Louisiana University alumni</font></a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Loyola_University_New_Orleans_College_of_Law_alumni" title="Category:Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni</font></a></li></ul><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Carl Barbier</b> is an <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Federal_judge" title="Federal judge">Article III federal judge</a> for the <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana" title="United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana">United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana</a>.  He joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Federal_judges_nominated_by_Bill_Clinton" title="Federal judges nominated by Bill Clinton">Bill Clinton</a>.

<h2> Early life and education</h2>

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Barbier graduated from Southeastern

Louisiana University with his Bachelor's Degree in 1966 and later from

Loyola University New Orleans School of Law with his Juris Doctor Degree

in 1970.<a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Carl_Barbier#cite_note-bio-0">[1]</a>

<h2> Professional career</h2>

Barbier began his legal career as a Law clerk for former Louisiana

State Appeals Judge William Redman in the Fourth Circuit Louisiana Court

of Appeals from 1969 to 1970, and then clerked for former <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Federal_judge" title="Federal judge">federal judge</a> <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Fred_Cassibry" title="Fred Cassibry">Fred Cassibry</a> in the <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana" title="United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana">United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana</a> from 1970 to 1971. From 1971 to 1998, Barbier was a private practice attorney in the State of <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Louisiana" title="Louisiana">Louisiana</a> from 1971 to 1998.<a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Carl_Barbier#cite_note-bio-0">[1]</a>

<h2> Judicial career</h2>

<h3> Eastern District of Louisiana</h3>

On the recommendation of Senators <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Landrieu" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Mary Landrieu">Mary Landrieu</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Breaux" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:John B. Breaux">John Breaux</a>, Barbier was nominated to the <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana" title="United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana">United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana</a> by President <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Federal_judges_nominated_by_Bill_Clinton" title="Federal judges nominated by Bill Clinton">Bill Clinton</a> on on May 19, 1998, to a seat vacated by <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Okla_Jones" title="Okla Jones">Okla Jones</a>. Barbier was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 28, 1998, and received commission on <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/C1998#October" title="C1998" class="mw-redirect">October 1, 1998</a>.<a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Carl_Barbier#cite_note-1">[2]</a>===
<h1 class="title-news entry-title">

                    Carl Barbier, Judge Who Owned Bonds In Gulf Oil Spill Companies, Will Handle Most Spill Lawsuits
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                          <p>
                                           <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="bold color_1A1A1A author vcard"><a class="fn" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/10/carl-barbier-gulf-oil-spill-lawsuits-judge_n_677686.html?view=print&comm_ref=false#">MICHAEL KUNZELMAN</a></span> <span class="vborder-dashed margin_0_5">&nbsp;</span>
            
           <span class="updated" title="2010-08-10T18:25:02-04:00">08/10/10 05:25 PM ET</span> 
           <span class="vborder-dashed margin_0_5">&nbsp;</span>
           <span class="ap source-org vcard"><img src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/v/ap_wire.png" alt="AP" height="18" width="18" /></span>
          
          
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                           <p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in New

Orleans was picked Tuesday to preside over more than 300 lawsuits filed

against BP PLC and other companies over the Gulf oil spill, in a move

that should please many of the plaintiffs' lawyers and their clients.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's order said 77

cases plus more than 200 potential "tag-along" actions will be

transferred to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier with his consent.

The judicial panel's order says the federal court based in

New Orleans is the best place for the litigation even though some

attorneys had favored Houston, Miami, Gulfport, Miss., and other cities.

"Without discounting the spill's effects on other states, if there is

a geographic and psychological 'center of gravity' in this docket, then

the Eastern District of Louisiana is closest to it," the panel wrote.

BP favored Houston, where its U.S. operations are based, but some of

the plaintiffs' attorneys who appeared before the seven-member panel

last month in Boise, Idaho, said that might appear unfair to spill

victims.

BP spokesman Scott Dean said the company respects the panel's decision.

"We look forward to the cases proceeding as expeditiously and

efficiently as possible in the selected venues," Dean said in a

statement.

Separately, the judicial panel transferred three lawsuits filed by BP

shareholders over stock losses to U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison in

Houston.

However, Barbier will be handling the bulk of the cases spawned by

the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which killed 11

workers and left millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf Of

Mexico.

Many of the suits were filed on behalf of shrimpers, commercial

fishermen, charter captains, property owners, environmental groups,

restaurants, hotels and others who claim they have suffered economic

losses since the spill. Relatives of workers killed in the blast also

have sued.

Rig owner Transocean Ltd., well contractor Halliburton Co. and

Cameron International, maker of the well's failed blowout preventer,

also have been named as defendants in many of the suits.

Transocean said it supports the decision.

"The purpose of multidistrict litigation is to consolidate,

coordinate, and streamline related litigation filed in different federal

forums, while promoting coordination with state litigation. We look

forward to this ruling doing just that and, accordingly, we will

continue to address the issues in their appropriate venues," the company

said in a statement.

The panel said it is "quite comfortable" with its selection of

Barbier, describing him as an "exceptional jurist," even though some

companies already have tried to disqualify him from hearing some cases.

"We have every confidence that he is well prepared to handle a litigation of this magnitude," the panel wrote.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused last month to order

Barbier to recuse himself from dozens of spill-related suits even though

he owned corporate bonds issued by two of the companies sued in the

cases. Barbier said his ownership of debt instruments issued by

Halliburton and Transocean didn't give him a financial interest in the

companies.

Only four New Orleans-based federal judges are available to hear the

cases because some of the court's judge have recused themselves, in part

because of their oil and gas industry investments.

Daniel Becnel Jr., a Reserve, La.-based attorney whose legal team has

filed more than a dozen suits over the spill, downplayed the notion

that many southeast Louisiana jurors would be inclined to favor

plaintiffs over companies.

"Just as many people are working for the oil and gas industry," he said.

The judicial panel discounted the argument that New Orleans and

Houston "might not present a level playing field for all parties."

"When federal judges assume the bench, all take an oath to administer

justice in a fair and impartial manner to all parties equally," the

panel wrote.

Tony Buzbee, a Houston-based lawyer who represents several Deepwater

Horizon rig workers, had favored Texas as the venue for the cases but

also considers New Orleans a fair forum for the cases to be heard.

"I know Judge Barbier is held in very high regard," he said. "It's

good that it was decided quickly and sent to a respected judge. Now it's

time to get to work."

Robert Wiygul, an Ocean Springs, Miss.-based environmental lawyer who

has filed several suits over the spill, said the $20 billion claims

fund BP set up at the White House's urging will eliminate some of the

claims in federal court and challenge lawyers to decide if their clients

are better off resolving their claims outside the courtroom.

"That's not good for the lawyers, but it may be good for the people," he said.

</div>