BP ordered to begin paying contested claims in Deepwater spill

HOUSTON (ICIS)–BP must start again paying damage claims from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill even if the claimants cannot directly prove they were affected by the disaster, a US appellate court ruled on Tuesday.

BP said that it will appeal the matter to the highest court in the US.

“We are disappointed and will seek review by the US Supreme Court of this ruling,” BP said in a statement.

Last week, BP announced its intention to ask the Supreme Court to review decisions by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the settlement programme for those affected by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company’s announcement came after the Fifth Circuit Court denied a request in an 8-5 vote to rehear a case regarding alleged fraudulent claims in the settlement programme.

Currently, certain businesses can file for presumed losses resulting from the 2010 disaster, a framework for the Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) that BP had previously agreed to.

In response to allegations of fraudulent claims in the programme, BP sought for a change to requiring direct proof of damages from the oil spill. A panel of the Fifth Circuit Court denied that request in a 2-1 vote in March.

BP had asked that the full Fifth Circuit Court rehear the case, but the court denied that request in the 8-5 vote, stating that all parties had agreed to the criteria for causation in the settlement programme.

BP had also asked the Fifth Circuit Court not to issue its mandate until the Supreme Court has considered the matter. Once the appellate court issues a mandate on the case, the suspension of payments to those claims that do not meet more stringent standards is lifted.

That mandate was issued on Tuesday by the court, saying that BP had to restart the payments.

As of 30 April, BP has paid nearly $13bn to individuals, businesses and governments in the aftermath of the accident, according to the company’s website.

The April 2010 blowout of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon took the lives of 11 workers and caused an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that took months to contain.

The litigation in question is in Re: Deepwater Horizon, US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, cases 13-30315, 13-30329, 13-31220, 13-31316.