Jack M. Weiss, who serves as the Chancellor of the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, has appointed 25 distinguished members of the legal community from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi to serve as impartial Appeals Judges for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). Included in the appointments to serve as an impartial GCCF Appeals Judge is Judge Robert J. Burns, Sr., (ret.) of Metairie, Louisiana. Burns is a former Chief Judge of the 24th Judicial District Court of Louisiana and served as a Judge Pro Tempore of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal.
On March 24,2011, GCCF Claims Administrator Kenneth R. Feinberg appointed Weiss to serve as the Appointing Authority for GCCF Appeals Judges after an intensive process by which Weiss identified distinguished members of the legal community (e.g., retired federal or state judges, respected legal academics, professional mediators or arbitrators).
In announcing the appointments, Weiss stated, “The Appeals Judges selected are highly competent, respected and experienced men and women from the Gulf states most affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. I am confident that the Appeals Judges will be impartial and that they will use their experience and sound judgment to decide GCCF Appeals with fairness and in keeping with the law. These outstanding professionals should be commended for their willingness to serve the citizens of our region.”
