by ANASTASIA USTINOVA (Houston Chronicle)
BP Chief Executive John Browne is scheduled to give a deposition Friday in London, but lawyers in Texas are still working to block the order requiring his testimony about the Texas City refinery blast.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and four business groups have filed a brief supporting BP in the appeal before the Texas Supreme Court, saying that the running battle to push Browne to testify would hurt the Texas business community.
Brent Coon, an attorney representing workers suing the company, said this was an effort to put political pressure on Supreme Court justices who, he said, rely on the campaign contributions from businesses.
"They are applying political pressure to something that should not be political," Coon said during a conference call.
BP spokesman Neil Chapman said he had no comment beyond what the company has previously said about the deposition. BP has said previously that Browne has no personal knowledge about the incident.
Coon said he will question Browne on Friday morning in a law office in London about corporate policies affecting the refinery. A blast there killed 15 and injured scores of others on March 23, 2005.
Browne's deposition comes before the jury selection Monday for the civil lawsuits filed by Clarence Kinard and E.J. Godeaux, contract workers injured in the Texas City blast.
BP has avoided trials by settling cases related to the 2005 refinery explosion. It's not uncommon for a CEO to give a deposition, according to Gerald Treece, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law.
He said that the Texas Supreme Court is unlikely to overrule Browne's deposition.
"They cannot just say, 'You can't talk to our CEO,' " said Treece, who expects BP to settle the case.
And Coon "has to prove that the defendant was colossally indifferent of the rights of the plaintiffs." State District Judge Susan Criss, who is overseeing several cases related to the Texas City refinery explosion, ordered Browne to give a deposition. The October order was delayed by a BP appeal. Browne is expected to step down in July. Exxon Mobil was joined by the Texas Chemical Council, Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas Association of Manufacturers and Texas Association of Business in its "friend of the court" or amicus brief, which argued that the deposition would set a precedent in the business community.
"We feel that the district court, in ordering Mr. Browne's deposition, is eroding clear Texas jurisprudence on when a company CEO can be deposed," Mark Boudreaux, an Exxon spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and four business groups have filed a brief supporting BP in the appeal before the Texas Supreme Court, saying that the running battle to push Browne to testify would hurt the Texas business community.
Brent Coon, an attorney representing workers suing the company, said this was an effort to put political pressure on Supreme Court justices who, he said, rely on the campaign contributions from businesses.
"They are applying political pressure to something that should not be political," Coon said during a conference call.
BP spokesman Neil Chapman said he had no comment beyond what the company has previously said about the deposition. BP has said previously that Browne has no personal knowledge about the incident.
Coon said he will question Browne on Friday morning in a law office in London about corporate policies affecting the refinery. A blast there killed 15 and injured scores of others on March 23, 2005.
Browne's deposition comes before the jury selection Monday for the civil lawsuits filed by Clarence Kinard and E.J. Godeaux, contract workers injured in the Texas City blast.
BP has avoided trials by settling cases related to the 2005 refinery explosion. It's not uncommon for a CEO to give a deposition, according to Gerald Treece, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law.
He said that the Texas Supreme Court is unlikely to overrule Browne's deposition.
"They cannot just say, 'You can't talk to our CEO,' " said Treece, who expects BP to settle the case.
And Coon "has to prove that the defendant was colossally indifferent of the rights of the plaintiffs." State District Judge Susan Criss, who is overseeing several cases related to the Texas City refinery explosion, ordered Browne to give a deposition. The October order was delayed by a BP appeal. Browne is expected to step down in July. Exxon Mobil was joined by the Texas Chemical Council, Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas Association of Manufacturers and Texas Association of Business in its "friend of the court" or amicus brief, which argued that the deposition would set a precedent in the business community.
"We feel that the district court, in ordering Mr. Browne's deposition, is eroding clear Texas jurisprudence on when a company CEO can be deposed," Mark Boudreaux, an Exxon spokesman, said in an e-mail.
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