The Montgomery Advertiser talked to owners of a number of Alabama restaurants about the difficulties they are facing in the wake of the BP oil spill, and through the claims process. Owners of Montgomery's Capitol Oyster Bar were forced to close their doors after 15 years in business, when customers avoided seafood following the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last April. Others, like owners of Destin Connection seafood market, and Birmingham's Fish Market restaurant, are still trying to recover from consumer fears and high seafood prices driven by limited availability.

Lawsuits filed against BP PLC and its business partners by Alabama Attorney General Troy King are progressing well and give the state an advantage over others, according to an attorney representing the state. Rhon Jones, of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, said Alabama is the only state with a case pending before the New Orleans-based federal judge with responsibility over all litigation filed over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

It was announced this weekend that federal cases involving defective hip implant parts manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will be consolidated in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio under U.S. District Judge David A. Katz. The hip implant parts were recalled August 26 after research indicated patients who received the parts required a much higher than usual rate of revision surgeries.

The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that Alabama Attorney General Troy King has issued a "consumer alert" about the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which is handling claims related to the BP oil spill disaster. According to the paper, the alert, issued this morning, says claims administrator Ken Feinberg has been misleading oil spill victims about the claims process.

Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. attorney Rhon Jones, who heads the firm's Environmental Law section, has been chosen to help direct litigation related to the BP oil disaster. Jones is one of 15 lawyers out of more than 100 who applied to oversee the consolidated litigation as part of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC). The BP litigation, which involves hundreds of cases against the oil giant and other defendants, was consolidated under U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans in August.

Beasley Allen attorney Rhon Jones has been selected as one of the 15 attorneys who will lead the multidistrict litigation (MDL) resulting from the BP oil spill. Jones was selected from among more than 100 lawyers to serve on the Plaintiff Steering Committee (PSC).