A federal judicial panel in Boise, Idaho, wrestled Thursday with perceptions of bias and conflict among both judges and geography in figuring out where to consolidate more than 300 lawsuits filed against BP PLC and other companies in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Some of the 23 attorneys who appeared before the seven-member U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation suggested that sending the cases to the oil-and-gas hub of Houston, favored by BP, might appear unfair to the Gulf fishers, property owners, restaurateurs and others suing for spill-related economic losses. The clear favorite among plaintiffs and the U.S. Justice Department is New Orleans federal court, which is closest to the disaster and has the most pending cases. The judicial panel is expected to announce its decision in August. Some attorneys questioned whether New Orleans was a good choice, considering only four of New Orleans-based judges would be available to hear the case, in part because of recusals due to their oil and gas industry investments. In addition, many people in Louisiana could ultimately benefit from a major oil spill settlement. "The highest-profile litigation that has ever been in this country will require a jurist above reproach," said Elizabeth Cabraser, a ...
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