Thousands of plaintiffs are in line to sue pipeline company after criminal convictions.

A Texas oil company found guilty of criminal charges relating to a 140,000-gallon oil spill at Refugio State Beach now faces a class action brought by thousands of fishermen, oil workers and property owners.

Plaintiffs' counsel say the verdict in the criminal trial will help their case against Plains All American Pipeline. The case was filed in federal court in April, five days after the criminal trial started in Santa Barbara County.

"We think it is critically important that the criminal jury has determined beyond reasonable doubt that Plains knowingly engaged in or caused the discharge or spill of oil into the waters of the state," said Robert J. Nelson of Lieff Cabraser Heimann Bernstein LLP, co-lead counsel representing the claimants.

"Our view is that the verdict has a preclusive impact on our case," he added. "We'll see what happens when we make that motion to our court."

U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez in Los Angeles originally denied the plaintiffs' counsel's requests to certify a class of oil workers and property owners. He eventually allowed them to join an already-certified class that includes fishermen. All of the plaintiffs are represented by Cappello & Noël LLP, Lieff Cabraser Heimann Bernstein LLP, Keller Rohrback Law Offices LLP, and Audet & Partners LLP.

While Plains was found guilty of one felony, knowingly engaging in or causing the discharge of approximately 140,000 gallons of crude oil onto Refugio State Beach, and eight misdemeanors, the jury hung on two felony charges with only one juror dissenting. People v. Plains All American Pipeline LP, 1495091 (Santa Barbara Super. Ct., filed May 16, 2016).

The jury hung 11-1 on two of the most serious counts, an indication the state might be tempted to retry those charges, said Paul Kiesel, partner at Kiesel Law LLP, which was not involved in the litigation.

"With 11 to one, there's a high probability of retrial on those counts," Kiesel said.

The criminal verdict came Friday after a grueling four-month trial in which four jurors were dismissed for various reasons, including one for talking to a prosecutor, who was also banned from the courtroom. While it is too soon to say if the attorney general or district attorney would retry the criminal case, the one felony conviction appears to bode well for the civil plaintiffs.

"It's very significant that they were found guilty of some of the criminal charges," said Mary Alexander of Mary Alexander & Associates PC, which was not involved in the case. "The guilty verdicts can be used as evidence in the civil case. It's important because in the criminal case it's beyond a reasonable doubt and you have to have a unanimous jury with a higher burden of proof."

Nelson said the plaintiffs also intend to use witness testimony from the criminal trial in the civil trial.

"We hope to take advantage of many aspects of this criminal trial, not just the verdicts," Nelson said.

An estimated 5,000 residential and beachfront properties are included in the property group. The properties are along a 130-mile stretch along the Pacific coast from Santa Barbara County to Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County, some with private easements to beaches affected by the oil spill. Keith Andrews et al. v. Plains All American Pipeline, LP et al., 15-CV4113, (C.D. Cal., filed April 17, 2018).

The fishing industry group consists of commercial fishermen and wholesale and retail business owners that purchased and sold seafood in areas impacted by the spill. The oil company group is comprised of oil company workers employed or contracted to work for off-shore drilling operations off the coast of Santa Barbara.

Gutierrez denied plaintiffs' motion to allow businesses owners providing attractions, accommodation and transportation to tourists visiting the Santa Barbara County coast to join the class.

Nelson said he and other plaintiffs' counsel intend to schedule discovery hearings after they are certain no appeals or retrials will occur in the criminal case.