GTLA members demand safe water for Georgians

After twelve years of hard work, GTLA members Joel Wooten, Robert Killian, John Bell and Pam James continue to give. In 1995, the team of attorneys filed suit against Allied/LCP Plant on behalf of Glynn County. The company was found to have been knowingly polluting the Purvis Creek and Turtle River with PCBs and Mercury. The sites of the pollution became Georgia’s first Superfund Site, a site designated by the federal government as a locations of uncontrolled hazardous waste.

The case was settled in November of 2006 for a total of $50 million plus additional clean-up for the Glynn County water making it the largest environmental litigation in Georgia history. The outstanding work of this team of lawyers earned them the Ogden Doremus Award for Excellence in Environmental Law this past September.

And still this team of attorneys continue to serve this cause. Yesterday, December 11th, they presented $100,000 to several organizations involved in consumer and environmental protection.

Deborah Sheppard, the Executive Director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper one of the organizations to receive the donation said, “These funds will support the Altamaha Riverkeeper and the Altamaha Coastkeeper’s work to protect our coastal, estuary and marsh systems. We are fortunate to have attorneys whose skill and dedications created this legal victory which makes LCP accountable for their damage to the Glynn marshes. Their generous support of our coastal organizations is greatly appreciated.”

Justine Thompson of GreenLaw, another recipient of the donations said, “These attorneys filed this case back in January 1995 and began what was an epic twelve-year battle. We applaud their relentless pursuit of environmental justice on behalf of the health of our citizens, and are grateful for their gifts back to the community.”

The Voters in Washington State Cast their Ballots for Consumer Rights

All eyes were on the state of Washington yesterday. Consumer advocates around the nation waited anxiously as voters turned out to voice their opinions by casting ballots on Referendum 67. It seems that Washington, like many other places, has had problems with insurance companies denying or delaying fair and just claims. The referendum allowed the people to decide what should happen.

Referendum 67 basically stated that if an insurer, acting in bad faith, unreasonably denies a legitimate claim, that insurer could be liable for up to triple the amount of damages. An article in today’s Seattle Times said that the Insurance Industry spent a record-breaking $11,400,000 in an attempt to defeat the referendum. More than half of that amount came from the usual suspects-- State Farm, Farmers Group, Safeco Insurance and Allstate Insurance.

Trial Lawyers were among the Consumer Advocates supporting the bill. “Trial lawyers argued the new law would help level the playing field between consumers and insurance companies. They said that under present law, which only allows consumers to sue for actual damages, it benefits companies to lowball and drag out claims.”

Apparently the consumers agreed. Roughly 60% of voters approved Referendum 67. It would seem that unscrupulous business practices by insurance companies do indeed have consequences.

The Insurance Lobby has vowed to attempt to overturn the voice of the people in their next legislative session. But for now, the people of Washington State should enjoy their victory. The people have cast their ballots—and the rights of consumers have emerged victorious.