Judge won’t toss suit over old oil leak

BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge refused on Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit that environmental groups filed against a New Orleans company responsible for a decade-old oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan ruled a trial is necessary to decide whether plaintiffs led by the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance have a right to sue Taylor Energy Co.

The company has claimed federal regulators agree nothing more can be done to stop its leak off Louisiana. But Morgan concluded there is a “genuine factual dispute” over whether Taylor can and should do more to mitigate its impacts.

Since 2004, oil has been leaking at the site where a Taylor-owned platform toppled during Hurricane Ivan.

Authorities estimate the leak could last a century if left unchecked. The Coast Guard has ordered the company to design and install a better system for collecting oil before it reaches the water’s surface.

Taylor Energy sold all its offshore leases and oil and gas interests in 2008, four years after founder Patrick Taylor died. The company says it is no longer active in the offshore industry and it only exists to continue addressing the leak.

Morgan, however, said that position isn’t consistent with the company’s argument that many leak-related documents must remain under wraps to protect valuable trade secrets.

A trial for the case is scheduled to start on Oct. 5.