In Rare Move, Appeals Panel Yanks Case From Houston Federal Judge

A Houston federal judge who has been accused of unfairly stalling a federal whistle-blower lawsuit for years has been removed from the case by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for ignoring its instructions. The appeals court concluded that Hughes would have "substantial difficulty in setting aside his previously-expressed views" and that "reassignment would be advisable to preserve the appearance of justice, given the long delays, repeated errors, and cursory reasoning in the district court's opinions to date." The workers, who were employed by the Minerals Management Service - an Interior Department agency - claimed that they discovered unauthorized deductions related to Shell's operation of offshore drilling platforms that bilked the United States out of at least $19 million in royalties from 2001 to 2005. In 2011, the district court granted summary judgment to Shell on the grounds that the False Claims Act prohibited the auditors from bringing the suit on the government's behalf as whistle-blowers and that the claim already had been revealed publicly.