BP Escapes US Lawsuits Over Post-Gulf Spill Drilling Ban
BP Plc does not have to face U.S. lawsuits by energy and drilling companies over losses they suffered from an offshore drilling ban imposed soon after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans agreed with BP that federal law absolved the British oil company from liability for the Obama administration's decision to halt drilling and impose a moratorium on permits for new wells. The decision issued late on Thursday removes one of BP's last legal overhangs from the April 20, 2010 blowout of its Macondo well and the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, a disaster that killed 11 workers. BP has incurred $55.5 billion of costs for the spill, according to a March 4 regulatory filing by the company.
Appeals Court Not to Revisit BP Oil Spill Compensation Decision
A U.S. appeals court will not revisit a decision to reject BP Plc's bid to block businesses from recovering money over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, even if those businesses could not trace their economic losses to the disaster. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March voted 2-1 to authorize payments on so-called business economic loss claims, and said an injunction preventing payments should be lifted. BP asked the entire 5th Circuit to rehear the case. However, the 5th Circuit voted 8-5 to let the March ruling stand, according to a court filing made public on Monday. In a statement, BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company is disappointed in the decision, and is considering its options.
US Appeals Court, Says BP Bound by Gulf Spill Accord
A divided U.S. appeals court has rejected BP Plc's bid to block businesses from recovering money over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, even if they could not trace their economic losses to the disaster. By a 2-1 vote, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans late Monday upheld a Dec. 24 ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, authorizing the payments on so-called business economic loss claims. It also said an injunction preventing payments should be lifted. The decision is a setback for BP's effort to limit payments under a multi-billion dollar settlement over the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and rupture of BP's Macondo oil well. That disaster killed 11 people and triggered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill.
BP Loses Bid to Block Seafood Fund Payments
A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday denied BP Plc's request to halt payments from the $2.3 billion fund it created to compensate commercial fishermen for financial losses after the British company's 2010 offshore oil spill, according to court records. BP had sought to block the payments after alleging that some individuals supposedly injured by the spill, clients of attorney Mikal Watts, did not exist. The company said it has already paid out more than $1 billion from the so-called Seafood Compensation Fund. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, who is overseeing litigation stemming from the spill, denied the motion on Wednesday, according to an entry on the court docket.
