Animal Welfare Institute v. BP America, Inc., Civ. No. 10-1866 (E.D. La.)
Case Summary:
On behalf of conservation and animal protection organizations we challenged BP’s and the U.S. Coast Guard’s in-situ burn operations for oil containment in the Gulf of Mexico related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which posed risks to endangered and threatened sea turtles in violation of several federal environmental laws. In response to our lawsuit, the defendants implemented an observer program ensuring that each burn team includes qualified biologists, and also adopted protocols for turtle search, rescue, and rehabilitation – to ensure that endangered and threatened sea turtles were identified and removed from the area before any burns were commenced.
Plaintiffs: Animal Welfare Institute, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, and Turtle Island Restoration Network
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Status:
We obtained a favorable settlement that resolved all of the legal issues raised in our complaint. Case closed.