Frank, a Washington attorney and founder of the Center for Class Action Fairness, and Palmer, a solo practitioner in Carlsbad, Calif., were fired by three of their clients on Nov. 22. Those objectors, Florida property owners now represented by Ronnie Penton, a solo practitioner in Bogalusa, La., voluntarily withdrew their appeals of both the $9.6 billion settlement resolving economic damages claims and a smaller deal over medical claims associated with the 2010 spill’s cleanup, citing their prior counsel’s “unauthorized and unapproved actions and conduct.”
In filings made Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Frank and Palmer voluntarily dismissed their remaining clients – a father and son — citing the risk of potential sanctions threatened against their clients by lead plaintiffs counsel in both settlements. They denied accusations from plaintiffs counsel that their clients weren’t legitimate class members.
