US Attorney General Eric Holder announced [5] Nov. 15 that British Petroleum [6] (BP) has agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct for its role in the devastation caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill [7]. Holder emphasized [8] that the settlement includes a roughly $1.25 billion criminal fine, and announced that two BP supervisors aboard the Deepwater Horizon during the spill have been charged with 23 criminal counts—including manslaughter, a result of the 11 workers killed in the April 2010 explosion. As part of the agreement, BP has agreed [9] to plead guilty to 11 of the felonies related to the workers' deaths, a charge of obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanors.
The deal includes payment of about $2.4 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation [10], $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences [11] and roughly $500 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission [12]. Holder went on to say that the criminal investigations of BP by the Department of Justice [13] are still ongoing and that the current criminal settlement, which still needs to be approved by a federal judge, does not include the damages sought by the government under the Clean Water Act, the Migratory Bird Act and other federal laws.
Last week the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana heard arguments [14] regarding approval of a class-action settlement agreement [15] between BP and various individuals and businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon incident. There, attorneys on both sides urged Judge Carl Barbier to approve the settlement agreement, under which BP is expected to pay approximately $7.8 billion.
In May Barbier signed a case management order [16] outlining the structure for the upcoming trial of Gulf oil spill claims, scheduled for January 2013. The judge divided the trial into two phases. In phase one, or the "incident" phase, the court will address issues arising out of the various parties' conduct leading to the incident and appropriation of their negligence. Barbier gave preliminary approval [17] to the proposed settlement agreement earlier that month. In April BP and a group of plaintiffs' attorneys sought Barbier's preliminary approval [18] on the settlement, which they had reached [19] in March.
From Jurist [20], Nov. 15. Used with permission.
See our last post on the crimes of British Petroleum [21].
