environmental restoration

BP Challenges Settlements in Gulf Oil Spill

The ad, scheduled to be published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, accuses “trial lawyers and some politicians” of encouraging Gulf Coast businesses to submit thousands of claims for inflated or nonexistent losses.

“Whatever you think about BP, we can all agree that it’s wrong for anyone to take money they don’t deserve,” the ad says. “And it’s unfair to everyone in the Gulf — commercial fishermen, restaurant and hotel owners, and all the other hard-working people who’ve filed legitimate claims for real losses.”

In April, Judge Carl J. Barbier of Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana upheld a court-appointed claims administrator’s interpretation of the multibillion-dollar settlement it reached with a group of lawyers for plaintiffs.

The oil company, based in London, appealed the decision. A three-judge panel from the Fifth Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is scheduled to hear the case on July 8.

BP’s ad claims Judge Barbier’s ruling “interprets the settlement in a way no one intended” and results in settlement payouts to businesses that did not suffer any spill-related losses.

“Even though we’re appealing the misinterpretation of the agreement, we want you to know that the litigation over this issue has not in any way changed our commitment to the Gulf,” it says.

Geoff Morrell, BP spokesman, said the ad was consistent with the company’s effort to keep the public informed of its economic and environmental restoration efforts.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers claim BP simply undervalued the cost of settlement.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/business/energy-environment/bp-challenges-settlements-in-gulf-oil-spill.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

U.S. Judge Approves Settlement in BP Class Action Suit

The order only addressed the settlement of economic and property damage claims, not a separate medical benefits settlement for cleanup workers and others who say the spill made them sick.

BP has estimated that it will pay $7.8 billion to settle more than 100,000 claims in the class action litigation.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier initially approved the deal in May, but held a “fairness hearing” in November to weigh objections from about 13,000 claimants challenging the settlement to resolve some of BP’s liability for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

London-based BP’s Macondo well spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 87 days. The torrent fouled shorelines from Texas to Alabama and eclipsed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in severity.

Lawyers for some affected parties had objected to the deal, reached in March between BP and lawyers representing plaintiffs ranging from restaurateurs, hoteliers, and oyster men who lost money from the spill. They argued that some claimants would be underpaid or unfairly excluded.

But in a 125-page order approving the settlement, Barbier called the deal “fair, reasonable and adequate,” citing the low number of class members who objected or opted out.

BP welcomed the approval order in a statement, adding that the settlement resolves the majority of economic and property damage claims stemming from the accident.

“Today’s decision by the Court is another important step forward for BP in meeting its commitment to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf and in eliminating legal risk facing the company,” BP said.

Separate from the class action claims, BP has been locked in a year-long legal battle with the U.S. government and Gulf Coast states to settle billions of dollars in civil and criminal liability from the explosion.

In a settlement with the U.S. government announced last month, BP agreed to pay $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct. The government also indicted the two highest-ranking BP supervisors aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig during the disaster, charging them with 23 criminal counts including manslaughter.

The class action case is In Re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-2179.

(Reporting by Terry Baynes in New York; Editing by Gary Hill)

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/12/21/business/21reuters-bp-spill-settlement.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

BP Challenges Settlements in Gulf Oil Spill

U.S. Judge Approves Settlement in BP Class Action Suit

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