Oil Spill Response: Responder Immunity Analyzed
On February 16, 2016, Judge Carl J. Barbier of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted summary judgment in favor of the various commercial oil spill response companies involved in the federal government’s response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The responders had been sued by numerous individuals claiming that they incurred damages, including personal injury and/or medical monitoring claims for exposure or other injury resulting from the post-explosion and spill clean-up efforts. Plaintiffs fell into five categories: (1) crew involved in the Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program…
Court: BP Employees Can't Be Charged Under Seaman's Manslaughter Law
A federal court ruled on Wednesday that BP well site leaders on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig cannot be charged with seaman's manslaughter in the deaths of eleven workers that died during the 2010 rig explosion because they were not seamen. A federal grand jury in Louisiana had indicted Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, the top ranking BP employees on the rig, with 23 counts, including 11 counts of seaman's manslaughter. The United States District Court for the Eastern District…
BP on Gulf Oil Spill Trial
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana yesterday ruled on the issues raised in the Phase 2 trial of the Deepwater Horizon case: the quantification of oil spilled and BP’s source control efforts following the accident. The Court found that 3.19 million barrels of oil were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico and therefore subject to a Clean Water Act (CWA) penalty. In addition, the Court found that BP was not grossly negligent in its source control efforts. No penalty has yet been determined. The decisions in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials represent steps in the process of assessing a CWA penalty. The third phase of the CWA trial, currently scheduled to begin in the Court on Tuesday, 20 January, 2015, will address the penalty to be assessed.
Transocean Steers Clear of BP Punitive Damages
Transocean Ltd. informs it has received a decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on phase one of litigation related to the April 20, 2010 Macondo well incident involving the Deepwater Horizon. [Background:a US judge has ruled BP was "grossly negligent" in the lead-up to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. • Contractual indemnity: The Court found that BP's contractual agreement to indemnify Transocean for compensatory damages is valid and enforceable. • Liability for punitive damages: The Court's finding that Transocean was not grossly negligent means that the company is not liable for punitive damages.
Transocean in U.S. Federal Court on BP Obligations
Transocean Files Motion for Summary Judgment in U.S. Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. (TODDI), a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd., today filed a motion for summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana requesting the court to compel BP to honor its contractual obligation to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Transocean for damages associated with BP's failure to contain flow from its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The contract between BP and Transocean for the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig contains industry-standard reciprocal indemnity provisions that apportion risk and quantify liabilities between the two companies.
Hornbeck Announces Dismissal of Securities Class Action
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. announced that the class action lawsuit previously filed against the Company and certain of its senior executives, relating to disclosures under the securities laws, has been voluntarily dismissed by the lead plaintiffs without any payment by the Company or its insurers. An order granting the dismissal of the case has been entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Hornbeck Offshore Says Class Action Lawsuits Without Merit
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. announced that it has recently learned that purported class action lawsuits were reportedly filed against the Company and one or more senior executives or directors, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana related to disclosures under the securities laws. Based on its initial review of one of the complaints, Hornbeck Offshore believes that such lawsuits are without merit and intends to defend these suits vigorously. As a public company, Hornbeck Offshore maintains insurance coverage to address such matters. Management remains focused on the operation, development and growth of the Company.
