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Amplify Energy Oil Spill Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Big Fish Bait & Tackle filed a class action lawsuit against Amplify Energy Corp.
- Why: The fishing supply store claims Amplify failed to have proper safeguards in place or respond appropriately to an oil spill which struck the Southern California coast this month.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
Amplify Energy Corp. failed to react in a timely manner to an oil spill which spewed up to 130,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean earlier this month, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Big Fish Bait & Tackle claims Amplify waited more than three hours after an alarm first sounded to contain a flow of oil gushing out of the San Pedro Bay Pipeline off the coast of Southern California.
The Seal Beach, Calif. fishing supply store alleges further that Amplify failed to alert the US Coast Guard to the oil spill for around an additional three hours.
“The fate of Orange County, California, a tourism powerhouse, responsible for billions of dollars in revenue from those destined to experience the rich beach culture and way of life in Southern California, is now polluted,” the class action lawsuit states.
Big Fish Bait & Tackle wants to represent a Class of persons or businesses along the California coast from Oceanside to Long Beach that suffered economic damages as a result of the oil spill.
Big Fish Bait & Tackle claims it has seen a dramatic drop in business since the oil spill and is facing economic hardship by having to discard non purchased and expired live and frozen fishing bait.
The company says it is between a rock and a hard place by having to now decide how much live and frozen bait to purchase as fishing in the area remains closed because of the oil spill.
“Should Big Fish Bait & Tackle choose to purchase too little (bait), out of an abundance of caution, the business suffers; should it choose to purchase more than demand supports, the business suffers,” the class action lawsuit states.
The oil spill only occured in the first place because Amplify did not properly inspect the pipeline or have a method to reasonably monitor it to ensure it had not been damaged, the class action lawsuit alleges.
Amplify’s ‘Woefully Insufficient’ Electronic Monitoring of Pressure Changes Lead To the Oil Spill Going Undetected, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
Big Fish Bait & Tackle claims Amplify was not able to sense if the pipeline was damaged due to “woefully insufficient” electronic monitoring of any pressure or flow changes.
“Defendants’ failure to detect, notify, and respond to the oil leak turned what could have been a painful, but manageable event, into marine environmental crisis,” the class action lawsuit states.
Big Fish Bait & Tackle claims Amplify is guilty under California law of negligence and of strict liability for hazardous activities, and that it violated the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
Big Fish Bait & Tackle is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with statutory, exemplary, punitive, and treble damages for themselves and all Class Members.
Amplify has been on the receiving end of several class action lawsuits since the oil spill, including one from Laguna Beach property owners who claim the company failed to adequately maintain the pipeline, and from a Huntington Beach disc jockey who says his business has suffered as a result of subsequent beach closures.
Have you been financially damaged by the San Pedro Pipeline oil spill? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Richard D. McCune, David C. Wright, and James G. Perry of McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP and Stephen G. Larson, Stephen E. Bledsoe, and Rick Richmond of Larson LLP.
The Amplify Energy Oil Spill Class Action Lawsuit is Beyond Businesses Inc. v. Amplify Energy Corp., et al., Case No. 8:21-cv-01714, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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