BP oil spill damage to tourism industry results in lawsuits by Floridian victims
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tarballs resulting from the BP oil spill have begun to come ashore east of Pensacola, and ecotourism businesses in South Florida may already be feeling the impact. Some in the industry say that advanced bookings have dramatically decreased since the oil spill began while the number of cancellations have steadily climbed. Captain Rich Smith, owner of Homestead-based Angling Adventures, said, "All of our businesses are, in some way or another, affected because people aren't calling because they don't know what's going to happen."
In response to the thousands who are being economically impacted daily by the oil spill damage, Motley Rice LLC filed a putative class action lawsuit in Florida on Thursday, June 3, 2010, against BP and other drilling defendants on behalf of oil spill victims who are suffering from a serious loss of revenue and potential earning capacity. Motley Rice, along with co-counsel, has also filed similar lawsuits in Mississippi.
Click here to read the full article featured in South Florida Business Journal.