GALVESTON – Two maritime businesses have pursued legal action in response to a 2014 oil spill in Galveston Bay, recent Galveston federal court records show.
A lawsuit filed Mar. 22 against Kirby Inland Marine, LP claims that Joseph Comeaux, doing business as Joe’s Bait & Crab, and Delino Comeaux, doing business as Bolivar Yacht Basin Bait Camp, were negatively affected by the event in question, which resulted from a collision between the M/V Miss Susan, the Kirby 27705, the Kirby 27706, and the M/V Summer Wind.
The Miss Susan, the Kirby 27705, and the Kirby 27706 purportedly belong to the defendant, whom the United States Coast Guard blames for the spill.
The collision caused the aforementioned spill of more than 168,000 gallons of oil into the waters and ecosystem of Galveston Bay, the suit says. It further states that the oil caused deleterious effects on the fauna occupying or transiting the waters and surrounding ecosystem.
“The oil spill negatively impacted the fish, oysters, and crabs of Galveston Bay, and the reputation of those products in the public’s perception,” court documents say. “The plaintiffs’ harvests and sales were seriously impacted by the oil spill.”
According to the complainants, they filed claims with the Office of Price Administration to no avail.
A jury trial is requested.
Attorney Brenton J. Allison of the law firm Gilman Allison, LLP in Pearland is representing the plaintiffs.
Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 3:17-CV-0097