A dispute is brewing over which firms will lead oil spill litigation

Questions about who will steer the Huntington Beach oil spill litigation against Amplify Energy has several powerhouse plaintiffs' lawyers vying for the job after three firms made the first move to lead the cases in federal court.

Amplify Energy, which has denied any wrongdoing, has retained Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Three plaintiffs' firms -- Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP, Aitken Aitken Cohn and Bentley & More LLP -- filed a motion to consolidate all the class actions and be named interim class counsel. Groups that would be linked together are a commercial ocean and beach activities class; a commercial fishers class; a commercial sea operations class; a general commercial class; and a homeowners and residents class.

While the three firms said in filings they followed the local court rules to meet and confer before bringing the motion, there appears to be some dispute with other plaintiffs' counsel.

"Plaintiffs' counsel in all related cases had phone meetings in an attempt to establish an interim leadership group moving forward, but the calls did not result in any consensus as to which law firm(s) would act as interim lead class counsel. Thus, meet and confer telephone calls did not eliminate the need for this motion," reads the motion filed Thursday by Kelly W. Weil of Cotchett Pitre, Wylie A. Aitken of Aitken Aitken Cohn and Gregory Bentley of Bentley & More LLP. Their motion for leadership is backed by Bottini and Bottini Inc.

The three firms respectively represent a surfing school, a whale watching charter business, commercial boat captains, property owners and a restaurant.

The crude oil spill was detected off the Orange County coast on Oct. 2 near Huntington Beach. Federal officials have said the spill might have been caused by the dragging anchor of a cargo ship tearing a pipeline 5 miles offshore. Beaches were temporarily closed, but have since reopened. Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp. faces a slew of proposed class actions filed by mariners, commercial fishers and beachfront business and property owners, who say they will suffer economic losses.

While some cases filed against Amplify Energy have been assigned to other judges, U.S. Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California could take over the entire litigation.

The three firms stated that they have conducted investigations, put Amplify Energy on notice to preserve evidence, spent time in the affected regions, hired expert witnesses, filed early discovery requests and coordinated with other lawyers to avoid duplication of efforts. The firms also stated that they are best suited to lead, citing their successes in litigating environmental cases and class actions against large companies including Experian, Vizio Inc., Toyota, and Southern California Gas Co.

But Thursday's filing prompted bids from other plaintiffs' lawyers to lead the litigation. The Amplify Energy litigation involves some of the biggest plaintiff lawyers in the state: Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Pendfield LLP, Saveri Law Firm, Milberg LLP, Larson LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP.

Stephen G. Larson of Larson LLP, who is collaborating with McCune Wright Arevalo LLP to represent a class of bait and tackle companies, confirmed that he, in conjunction with other firms, will also seek a leadership role.

"This is a significant case and there are a lot of highly qualified people involved. Wylie Aitken is a dear friend of mine. I knew Joe Cotchett for years, as well as Elizabeth Cabraser," Larson said. "There are a good number of people who can play this role, so Judge Carter will figure it out. We're working on it, and a lack of filing from us doesn't reflect a lack of interest to have things worked out."

Gary A. Praglin of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy said he will work collaboratively with all the firms. "We were just the first to file. I don't want to say we're the only team in town. There are lots of good firms in this case," he said.

Lexi J. Hazam, a partner at Lieff Cabraser who teamed up with Alexander Robertson of Robertson and Associates, confirmed Friday she also would apply to be leadership counsel with A. Barry Cappello of Cappello & Noel LP in Santa Barbara. Hazam is colead for individual plaintiffs with Robertson in the Thomas and Woolsey wildfire litigation, and is lead counsel with Cappello in actions filed by certified classes of property owners and fishers against Plains All American Pipeline in connection with the 2015 Refugio oil spill near Santa Barbara.

Aitken said Friday he and his colleagues believed that applying for leadership was the most efficient way to move the cases forward. He said he and Bentley know the landscape of Orange County and its culture and have significant contacts with local leaders, businesses and government officials. He denied any intent to exclude anyone from discussions, and said that while some might see the latest move as inappropriate, "we just want to move forward, and appointing interim lead is the best way, for now."

Aitken agreed that the proceedings regarding the Refugio oil spill are relevant and helpful to the judge who will make the final call.

"We have a group of lawyers who are very, very experienced, but that's not to say others aren't," Aitken said. "We feel very strongly about our openness, ability to work with others, and our ability to be very inclusive, and to let others really have the chance to participate. Sometimes, we don't see that happen, but I think we all have been working together."

Asked to respond to the potential requests by other firms to take the lead, Aitken said: "As my mom always told me, 'It's a free country.'"