Posted by The Up Energy lawsuit has received a lot of press. In fact, it has been covered in many national news shows. While some of the information is accurate, there are also some who criticize the lawsuit as a “get rich quick” scheme that will not address the current problems with Up Energy. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what the lawsuit is all about and whether or not it can help you.
Up Energy Lawsuit
The lawsuit was filed by two former Up employees. The lawsuit claims that an Energy deregulation official ordered up the sale of millions of gallons of natural gas to a gas company owned by Johnnie Pickens. The official did so without fully understanding the impact on the environment of such a transaction, according to the complaint.
The problem with the lawsuit is that it focuses too much on the company than the individuals who made the decisions.
Plaintiffs attorney Mark Varenhorst says that the corporation was largely responsible for the downspout of the oil. But, Mr. Varenhorst adds, “That’s only if you’re talking about the top executives. Those aren’t the ones who decided to pump up your gas.”
The company has strongly denied any liability in the case.
“There is absolutely no merit to the complaint,” said spokesman Rob Pompey. “This is a case that we’re dealing with an up and coming investor, and not an up and coming investor from 20 years ago. There’s nothing to worry about.”
One of the issues in the lawsuit is concerned with pertains to the amount of natural gas sold.
Mr. Varenhorst says that most of the natural gas that was sold is now lost. The reason for this is because Up Energy drilled an old compressor station that no longer produces oil.
Instead, most of the gas is now being piped from tanks to Up Energy’s facilities in Louisiana. This, Mr. Varenhorst maintains, is no longer an environmentally sound way to get oil. “You’d have to ask those guys why they did it, or what do they need oil for?”
A representative of Up Energy did not return a phone call seeking comment.
However, the company has filed its answer with the court, denying all of the claims in the lawsuit. Among the claims being challenged is the claim that Up Energy failed to disclose the danger of oil spills. Mr. Varenhorst says that Up Energy was well aware of the oil spill problem in the Gulf of Mexico.
However, he says that Up Energy did not “warn” the general public of the danger of the oil. “We didn’t warn them of the danger, obviously, but we did inform them that it could happen.”
If the claims are found to be true, then the company faces a number of other claims that it is responsible for.
For example, it is the case that it didn’t notify the proper authorities about the dangerous oil spill and explosion, which led to the death of a crane operator and injured another man.
Furthermore, if the claim for damages goes beyond negligence, fraud and breach of contract, then the company could be liable for punitive damages. In addition, if you’re injured because of the spill, then you might be able to collect damages from the property owners for punitive damages.
However, even if the legal issues can be resolved in the case, many lawyers feel that it’s best to go for an out of court settlement. The reason is that it allows the oil company time to come to an agreement with the plaintiffs. Many oil and gas companies have tried this route with limited success.