Via JMG: British Petroleum Is Trying To Pay Off Gulf Fishermen Over Oil Spill

The Attorney General of Alabama has ordered British Petroleum to stop distributing settlement agreements to his state's fishermen. The contracts offer each fisherman up to $5000 up front if they agree not to sue BP over their lost livelihoods due to the oil spill.

The attorney general said he is prohibited from giving legal advice to private citizens, but added that "people need to proceed with caution and understand the ramifications before signing something like that. "They should seek appropriate counsel to make sure their rights are protected," King said. By the end of Sunday, BP aimed to sign up 500 fishing boats in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida to deploy booms. BP had distributed a contract to fishermen it was hiring that waived their right to sue BP and required confidentiality and other items, sparking protests in Louisiana and elsewhere. Darren Beaudo, a spokesman for BP, said the waiver requirement had been stripped out, and that ones already signed would not be enforced. "BP will not enforce any waivers that have been signed in connection with this activity," he wrote in an e-mail. But King said late Sunday that he was still concerned that people would lose their right to sue by accepting settlements from BP of up to $5,000, as envisioned by the claim process BP has set up. He said BP's push was particularly strong in Bayou La Batre.

BP's potential liability for the disaster has been estimated (at the moment) to be as high as $7B. But don't worry, even with a 45% drop in 2009 profits, last year they still walked away $14B in the black.reposted from JMG