Tag Archives: BP

In New Orleans courts, the legal gusher BP cannot contain

But the source of much of BP’s ire lies with a legal donnybrook over a settlement designed to compensate individuals and businesses for economic harm caused by the spill. BP alleges that many of the 256,478 claims filed — by a parade of fishermen, hotels, surf shops, law firms, nursing homes, strip clubs and others — are unjustified or even fraudulent. Read more here  todayszaman.com  13:46

Energy giant, BP, has failed in a judicial bid to stop payments from a fishing compensation fund.

The company claimed that some of the claimants did not suffer at all from the disastrous 2010 oil spill, and that in some cases names have being invented. Read more here  08:20

Shut up, and Pay up. BP gets slick in trying to undermine gulf oil spill settlement

It would be perfectly proper for BP, the giant British oil company, to feel a sense of corporate remorse. “Buyer’s remorse,” however? That’s a different story. In full-page ads, BP ridicules payouts it believes are undeserved, including $8 million to famed chef Emeril Lagasse and $173,000 to an escort service. Read more@latimes  13:38

PAY UP! BP has lost an appeal to cancel the terms of its multi-billion-dollar settlement with businesses

bp projectsafeA US federal appeals court on Saturday upheld the terms of the original 2012 settlement. The UK oil giant has supported compensation for businesses harmed by the disaster. But it argued that the terms of the existing deal meant that some huge sums were being paid for false claims. In 2012, BP agreed to make payments to those who suffered economic losses as a result of the disaster aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which triggered the worst offshore oil spill in US history. Read more@bbc  12:16

Hang on to your oil booms! BP makes first major Gulf of Mexico oil discovery since Deepwater Horizon

BP has reported a “significant oil discovery” in the Gulf of Mexico, its first major find since the deadly rig explosion that triggered the worst environmental disaster in US history. more@guardian  10:08

BP sues lawyer over oil spill claim filings saying he fraudulently claimed to represent 40,000 deckhands

The lawsuit alleges more than half the Social Security numbers on Watts’ client list were fake. BP says $1.3 billion remains in the fund to repay commercial fishing vessel owners, captains and deckhands for losses from the spill. BP is asking a judge to give some of that money back to the company. more@journalstar  15:41

BP Declares Total War on Trial Judge in Gulf Spill Case

The assault on U.S District Judge Carl Barbier concerns one particular battle in a larger legal war, and the oil company’s aggressive strategy could come back haunt it on other fronts. more@businessweek  13:26

Apalachicola Bay Oyster Restoration to get $4.1 Million in Funding

New help is on the way for Florida’s ravaged oyster industry, and fisheries and marine projects hurt by the BP oil spill in 2010, according to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). [email protected]  16:09

Appeals court to review approval of BP settlement

NEW ORLEANS     (AP) — A year ago, lawyers for BP and Gulf Coast residents and businesses took turns urging a federal judge to approve their settlement for compensating victims of the company’s massive 2010 oil spill. On Monday, however, the one-time allies will be at odds when an appeals court hears objections to the multibillion-dollar deal. [email protected] 12:56

Sheeeit Judge! It was only 3.26 million barrels! (I think he’s lyin’)

BP’s Macondo well spilled only 3.26 million barrels of oil during the 87 days that followed the April 20, 2010 blowout that sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 workers, a witness for the company testified Thursday. Martin Blunt, an assistant professor of petroleum engineering at Great Britain’s Imperial College, said his estimate takes into account the geology of the area of the Gulf of Mexico where the Macondo reservoir was located, unlike the 5 million or more barrels estimated by expert witnesses for the Justice Department. more@nola 11:27

“BP then made the situation worse,” Plaintiff Lawyer Brian Barr said. “By lying about the amount of flow from the well.”

In the frantic days after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP lied about how much oil was leaking from its Macondo well and took too long to cap it, plaintiffs’ lawyers said on Monday at the opening of the second phase of the company’s trial. more@planetark 11:36

BP oil spill trial: NOLA.com reporters cover it live from the courthouse

bird-oil-2Monday, Sept. 30, marked the beginning of the second phase of the  civil trial against BP and its partners in the ill-fated Macondo oil well. The news team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune will cover every day of the trial. Find comprehensive updates and analysis on our Gulf Oil Spill page, and follow business reporter Mark Waller and environment reporter Mark Schleifstein on Twitter or in the window below. [email protected] 11:24

Gulf oil spill settlement claims administrator says BP’s allegations of fraud are ‘spurious,’ ‘unfounded’

Patrick Juneau, court-appointed administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill claims settlement program, came out swinging in a response to BP allegations that his payment program is rife with fraud, charging the company with making “spurious allegations of breaches of duty” and “broad, unfounded criticisms of the program’s internal controls and fraud detection processes.” [email protected] 12:46

BP Bashes Oil Spill Victims to Distract From Own Criminal Behavior

In recent corporate public relations attempts, BP has tried to shift the public’s focus from its corporate wrongdoing and outright criminal behavior to criticizing BP’s victims and their legal representatives. According to a privileged, plaintiff’s attorney work document, BP has dumped more than $500 million into PR, attacking “judges, special masters and claimants’ lawyers—trying to change the focus from its tragic track record of ignoring safety and deepwater despair.” more@ecowatch       NOAA Inaction in the Gulf  of Mexico

BP Tries to Overturn Gulf Oil Spill Settlement – Is Anyone Surprised?

untitledbp deathBP’s massive 2010 Gulf oil spill virtually destroyed the Gulf of Mexico economy. Fisheries, tourist-related enterprises, and the businesses dependent on them went belly-up in the hundreds of thousands. continued@vetrenstoday

BP asks judge to temporarily halt Gulf oil spill settlement payments amid misconduct probe

BP PLC argues in a court filing that it shouldn’t be required to take the risk that hundreds of millions of dollars in claims payments could be “tainted by fraud, corruption and malfeasance.”untitledbp death

continued@washingtonpost

BP asked a US appeals court on Monday to scuttle a “feeding frenzy” trial lawyers attempting to secure money for themselves and their clients

“Not only is the claims administrator’s misinterpretation contrary to the plain language of the settlement agreement and the intent of the parties, but it has ignited a feeding frenzy among trial lawyers attempting to secure money for themselves and their clients that neither deserves,” continued@channelnewsasia

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries closures around Grand Terre Islands prompt BP outcry

The LDWF’s actions drew a response from BP today, who issued their own press release claiming that actions such as these hurt the image of the state, and once again reassured the public that they believe Gulf seafood is safe to eat. [email protected]

BP mounts offensive in spill settlement dispute

bp projectsafeWith an ad blitz and a tersely worded letter, BP is mounting an increasingly aggressive campaign to challenge what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses following its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In letters that started going out Tuesday, BP warns lawyers for many Gulf Coast businesses that it may seek to recover at least some of their clients’ shares of the multibillion-dollar settlement,,,, [email protected]

Good News for Some Local Gulf Fishermen and Property Owners

bp projectsafewjhg.com – Potentially good news for both recreational and commercial fisherman, as well as local property owners. You still have time to file for an oil spill claim against BP. continued

Empty nets in Louisiana three years after the spill

Yscloskey, Louisiana (CNN) – At least he’s got some company. There’s not much else going on at his dock these days. There used to be two or three people working with him; now he’s alone. The catch that’s coming in is light, particularly for crabs. “Guys running five or six hundred traps are coming in with two to three boxes, if that,” said Stander, 26. Out on the water, the chains clatter along the railing of George Barisich’s boat as he and his deckhand haul dredges full of oysters onto the deck.  continued

US witness claims BP gas explosion cover-up

Published on Apr 20, 2013  Just off the coast of the US state of Texas is where the Deepwater Horizon oil platform blew up exactly three years ago.  Vast amounts of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico causing one of the biggest-ever environmental catastrophes.  Now Al Jazeera’s been seeing video, which energy giant BP never wanted shown. And there’s accusations of a cover-up.  Al Jazeera’s John Terret reports from New Orleans.

Gulf health questions linger after oil leak

BP is doing exactly what big corporations are expected to do, Muth said: Launch a massive public relations campaign to show that everything’s back to normal on the Gulf Coast. Some things are, he said, but the extent of the damage remains an unknown. continued

Gulf Fishermen advocating for no tax on BP settlement money

The Plaquemines Gazette – At a meeting last week of the St. Bernard Parish Council, life-long shrimper George Barisich, President of the United Commercial Fishermen Association urged the council to pass a resolution that supports the untitledbp deathexemption of commercial fishermen from paying taxes on BP settlement money. continued

Armies of lawyers to face off in Gulf of Mexico oil spill trial

One of the biggest legal circuses on Earth — the trial of BP over the extent of its responsibility for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill — is scheduled to open in New Orleans  on Monday, featuring 34 leading lawyers in the jam-packed federal court and hundreds of others listening to video feeds in rooms nearby. Read more

BP: Government overestimated size of spill

NEW ORLEANS — BP has urged a  federal judge to rule the company can’t be penalized for millions of gallons of  oil that spewed from its blown-out well but was captured before it could spill into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

BP The deadline for claim forms to be filed for the settlement’s Seafood Compensation Program is Jan. 22. fishing vessel owners, captains and deckhands

bp projectsafeThe deadline for claim forms to be filed for the settlement’s Seafood Compensation Program is Jan. 22. BP agreed to pay $2.3 billion for seafood-related claims by commercial fishing vessel owners, captains and deckhands. Read More

BP Deepwater Horizon disaster – Who are they trying to protect with this mosquito prosecution?

BP is hoping that everyone has forgotten the facts. The field crew were arguing over the abnormal negative tests and the move to proceed forward. Schlumberger crew was brought in earlier to assess the “dangerous situation”. Kaluza being inexperienced in offshore, called BP HQ on the eve of the blowout.  http://bklim.newsvine.com/_news/2012/11/21/15341451-who-are-they-trying-to-protect-with-this-mosquito-prosecution?email=html

BP asks for Gulf spill deal ok despite objections – calls for BP to pay $2.3 billion for seafood-related claims by commercial fishing vessel owners, captains and deckhands

IT AIN”T ENOUGH!    Nov. 1 is the opt-out deadline. BP says only a minuscule percentage of eligible claimants have asked to be excluded so far. The settlement calls for BP to pay $2.3 billion for seafood-related claims by commercial fishing vessel owners, captains and deckhands. Several objectors argued the seafood program doesn’t adequately account for uncertain future risks to Gulf fisheries. “The continuing decline of the fisheries and the possibility of a fishery collapse or closure expose commercial fishermen to significant future risk,” wrote an advocacy group called Gulf Organized Fisheries in Solidarity & Hope, or GO FISH. BP countered that objections about the seafood program are based on “anecdotal and unreliable evidence, unsubstantiated allegations, and mere speculation.” The agreement also calls for paying medical claims by cleanup workers and others who say they suffered illnesses from exposure to the oil or chemicals used to disperse it.http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/bp-asks-for-gulf-spill-deal-ok-despite-objections/article_252e8b63-6f76-5634-ac42-268af12fb3f1.html

Coast Guard report: Sheen at Deepwater Horizon disaster site is BP oil

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/coast-guard-report-sheen-at-deepwater-horizon-disaster-site-is-bp-oil/2012/10/11/0092db40-1391-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html