Lawyer Fired From BP Claims Program Sues Company

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An attorney who was fired by the court-supervised administrator of BP's settlement with Gulf Coast businesses and residents is suing her former employer and the London-based oil giant.

In a defamation lawsuit filed Monday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, Christine Reitano argues that claims administrator Patrick Juneau fired her "for no reason at all" several days after her husband resigned in June from his own job working on the settlement program.

In July, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier appointed former FBI Director Louis Freeh to investigate allegations that Reitano's husband, Lionel Sutton III, improperly received a portion of settlement proceeds for claims he referred to a law firm before joining Juneau's staff.

Reitano's suit accuses BP of defaming her with "scandalous, false and reckless allegations."

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