Montgomery, AL: A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Alabama restaurant owners along the Alabama Gulf Coast for losses resulting from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Many of these businesses receive substantial income from tourists, vacationers and commercial and sports fishermen.
The suit is filed in federal court in the Southern District of Alabama on behalf of plaintiff Tacky Jack's Restaurant, and seeks to represent those individuals and businesses that have incurred damages related to the disaster. The suit alleges negligence and wanton misconduct. Defendants named in the suit are BP, Halliburton, and Cameron International.
The oil drilling platform, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20 and sank two days later. The wreckage continues to leak thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf waters every day. Environmental and economic damages are expected to be unprecedented.
In 2009, travel in Alabama's Gulf Coast Region accounted for 35 percent of the state's tourism revenue, as well as 36 percent of the state's travel-related employment. Travel related expenditures in Alabama's Gulf Coast region in 2009 totaled $3,222,382,869.
