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Mississippi Sues BP Oil Fund Administrator, Seeking Access To Records

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is suing BP oil spill fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg, in an attempt to force open the books at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

Here's part of a Newscastreport filed by Jeffery Hess with :

Hood says he has heard hundreds of complaints from coast residents about how claims have been distributed, and has been denied access to Claims Facility documents.

Feinberg has repeatedly defended the claims process pointing out that the facility has paid out over than $4 billion to more than 150,000 Gulf Coast claimants.

Hood says he wants to examine the documents because he believes there has been a lack of transparency over how the funds are distributed.

Speaking with an AP reporter by phone Tuesday, Feinberg's only comment on the case was, "Our lawyers will respond in the ordinary course."

A BP document that was released last week recommended the company cease making payments on all claims for future losses stemming from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, making an exception only for oyster farmers.

The state attorney general's lawsuit comes one day after a Canadian think tank named Mississippi as the world' best place to invest in gas and oil.

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Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.