On September 4, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that BP PLC’s actions in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 constituted gross negligence. This ruling opens BP up to potential enhanced civil penalties under the Clean Water Act as a result of the oil spill. Financial analysts reported that the ruling could result in penalties against BP of up to $18 billion.
In a 153-page opinion, Judge Barbier said that BP made “profit-driven decisions” in the aftermath of the April 20, 2014, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, allowing millions of barrels of oil to spill into the Gulf. Judge Barbier found that the spill was the result of BP’s gross negligence and willful misconduct. He assigned 67% of the blame for actions leading to the spill to BP, and assigned 30% of the blame to Transocean, owner of the rig. Judge Barbier assigned 3% of the blame to Halliburton.
BP has announced that it strongly disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal.
The complete opinion can be found on PACER, Case No. 2:10-md-02179-CJB-SS (Doc. 13355). For assistance with your claim for the BP oil spill, call (504) 599-8500.
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