Seaman Injured in Deepwater Horizon Cleanup Seeks to Avoid Arbitration

NEW ORLEANS - A seaman alleging that he was injured from exposure to toxins while working on the oil spill cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico is opposing his employer's efforts to compel arbitration. Whittinghill v. Abdon Callais Offshore, L.L.C., No. 2:10-cv-01984 [In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, MDL No. 2179] (E.D. La.).

Clay Whittinghill contends that his employment contract falls outside the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act and that his employer, Abdon Callais Offshore, cannot compel him to engage in …