AZA Hits Back on DQ Motion in Hurricane Zeta, Transocean MDL

The law firm Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing has responded to a motion from plaintiffs firm Arnold & Itkin asking the judge overseeing multidistrict litigation involving Hurricane Zeta, Transocean and its offshore employees to kick AZA off the case because of an alleged conflict of interest, arguing in a response filed Wednesday there’s no merit to the claim.

AZA argues that Arnold & Itkin’s latest motion seeking to disqualify it from representing Transocean is merely an attempt to distract from allegations AZA made regarding conduct that AZA described as an inappropriate “billing scheme” involving Arnold & Itkin, medical expert witnesses and a private equity firm that is allegedly providing funding for the litigation. In the underlying case, 23 workers who were aboard the Deepwater Asgard drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico when Hurricane Zeta hit in October 2020 allege the decision by Transocean Offshore Drilling, Triton Voyager Asset Leasing and BOE Exploration to keep the rig operating caused physical and psychological injuries.