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The St. Joe Company Applauds Legislation to Clarify the Intent of Oil Pollution Act of 1990

^{Published on 2010-09-29 14:30:16 - Market Wire}
 

WATERSOUND, Fla.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE) today announced its support for new federal legislation that clarifies the intent of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (aOPAa) a" ensuring that the OPA preserves the rights of victims of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (athe incidenta) to pursue their claims in state court.

"We applaud the legislation and its effort to give victims the opportunity to pursue their claims in the most effective manner possible"

The legislation, the Oil Spill Victims Redress Act, was introduced yesterday by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The legislation makes clear that victims of an oil spill can recover for their loss from any of the companies involved in the spill, and not only the company or companies considered aresponsible partiesa under the OPA. Further, the legislation ensures that the OPA does not preempt or foreclose existing forms of relief for victims of the incident under state law.

St. Joe President and CEO Britt Greene commented on the introduction of the OPA legislation, praising the bill as an important step for all victims harmed by the oil spill. aWe applaud the legislation and its effort to give victims the opportunity to pursue their claims in the most effective manner possible,a said Greene.

St. Joe is among those victims attempting to pursue incident-related claims in state court. On August 4, 2010, the Company filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court for the State of Delaware against Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (aHalliburtona). St. Joe asserts only state law claims against Halliburton and does not assert any claims under the OPA. Halliburton contends that it cannot be sued in state court and that it is not liable to victims for oil spill damages because it is not a aresponsible partya under the OPA.

aWe believe the positions being taken by some parties responsible for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill clearly indicate they hope to use the OPA as a shield a" to avoid responsibility for the incident and the catastrophic damages that it caused,a said William A. Brewer III, partner at Bickel & Brewer and lead counsel for the Company. aThis legislation makes abundantly clear that which should have been obvious to anyone reading the existing language of the OPA a" that victims have an election to pursue remedies in federal or state court.a

Brewer added, aHalliburtona™s actions seem to evidence a clear attempt to turn the OPA on its head a" hijacking an act that was meant to provide remedies for oil spill victims.a

About The St. Joe Company

The St. Joe Company, a publicly held company currently based in WaterSound, is one of Floridaa™s largest real estate development companies and Northwest Floridaa™s largest private landowner. St. Joe is primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber. More information about the Company can be found on its website at [ www.joe.com ].

About Bickel & Brewer

Founded in 1984, Bickel & Brewer has earned a reputation as one of the most successful law firms in the United States practicing exclusively in the field of complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution. With offices in New York and Dallas, Bickel & Brewer represents a wide spectrum of industry leaders a" from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations a" facing the most challenging of legal issues. Visit Bickel & Brewer at [ www.bickelbrewer.com ].

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are aforward-looking statementsa within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about our beliefs, plans, goals, expectations and intentions. Forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty, and there can be no assurance that the results described in such statements will be realized. Such statements are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or reissue any forward-looking statements. Risk factors that may cause the actual results to differ are described in this press release and in various documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

© 2010, The St. Joe Company. aSt. Joea and the aTaking Flighta design are service marks of The St. Joe Company.