Deepwater Horizon litigation

Litigation commenced almost immediately after the explosion and oil spill. By May 27, 2010, Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon, said in testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that it was defendant in 120 lawsuits, of which more than 80 were class actions seeking payment for financial losses covered by the Oil Spill Pollution Act. The company said that most of these early plaintiffs were "fishermen, hotel operators, landowners, rental companies, restaurants and seafood processors, who claim a current or potential future loss of business in the aftermath of the oil spill." Judge Barbier is trying the case without a jury, as is normal in United States admiralty law. On December 15, 2010 The US Department of Justice filed a civil suit against BP and other defendants for violations under the Clean Water Act in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, this was consolidated with the other cases. captioned United States of America v. BP Exploration & Production Inc. et al., Civ. Action No. 2:10-cv-04536. In April 2011, BP filed $40 billion in lawsuits against rig owner Transocean, cementer Halliburton and blowout preventer manufacturer Cameron International. The oil firm alleged failed safety systems and irresponsible behaviour of contractors had led to the explosion, including claims that Halliburton failed to properly use modelling software to analyze safe drilling conditions. In April 2023, The Guardian reported that BP had engaged in "scorched earth" legal tactics in fending off litigation from cleanup workers and others impacted by the spill, many of whom are low-income and suffer from long-term health effects. ==Department of Justice lawsuit==

On December 15, 2010, The United States Department of Justice filed a civil and criminal suit against BP and its partners in the oil well, Transocean and Halliburton, for violations under the Clean Water Act in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The plaintiffs included Gulf states and private individuals. The case was carefully watched, because a ruling of gross negligence would result in a four-fold increase in Clean Water Act penalties, and would leave the company liable for punitive damages for private claims. Any fines from gross negligence would hit BP's bottom line very hard, because they would not be tax-deductible. The company paid no federal income tax to the U.S. government in 2010 because of deductions related to the spill. DOJ claims On August 31, 2012, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed papers in federal court in New Orleans blaming BP PLC for the Gulf oil spill, describing the spill as an example of "gross negligence and willful misconduct." BP rejected the charges, saying "BP believes it was not grossly negligent and looks forward to presenting evidence on this issue at trial in January." The third phase began in January 2015, and focused on all other liability that occurred in the process of oil spill cleanup and containment issues, including the use of dispersants. Test jury trials followed to determine actual damage amounts. Gross negligence ruling On September 4, 2014, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled in the Clean Water Act trial that BP was guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct under the Act. He described BP's actions as "reckless," while he said Transocean's and Halliburton's actions were "negligent." He apportioned 67% of the blame for the spill to BP, 30% to Transocean, and 3% to Halliburton. Fines would be apportioned commensurate with the degree of negligence of the parties, measured against the number of barrels of oil spilled. Under the Clean Water Act fines can be based on a cost per barrel of up to $4,300, at the discretion of the judge. The number of barrels was in dispute at the conclusion of the trial with BP arguing 2.5 million barrels were spilled over the 87 days the spill lasted, while the court contends 4.2 million barrels were spilled. BP issued a statement strongly disagreeing with the finding, and saying the court's decision would be appealed. Barbier ruled that BP had acted with “conscious disregard of known risks" and rejected BP's assertion that other parties were equally responsible for the oil spill. His ruling stated that BP "employees took risks that led to the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history,” that the company was “reckless,” and determined that several crucial BP decisions were “primarily driven by a desire to save time and money, rather than ensuring that the well was secure.” In July 2015, BP made settlement, paying some extra penalties. ==Claims settlement==

On March 2, 2012, BP agreed to settle roughly 100,000 claims filed by individuals and businesses affected by the spill. A ruling of gross negligence would result in a four-fold increase in Clean Water Act penalties, which would cause the penalties to reach approximately $17.6 billion, and would increase damages in the other suits as well. In October 2012, Judge Barbier rejected a request filed by Houston attorney Armistead Easterby to extend the deadline to opt out of the class action. On January 13, 2013, Judge Barbier approved a medical-benefits portion of BP's proposed $7.8 billion partial settlement. People living for at least 60 days along oil-impacted shores or involved in the clean-up who can document one or more specific health conditions caused by the oil or dispersants are eligible for benefits, as are those injured during clean-up. In January 2014, a panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an effort by BP to curb payment of what it described as "fictitious" and "absurd" claims to a settlement fund for businesses and persons affected by the oil spill. BP said administration of the 2012 settlement was marred by the fact that people without actual damages could file a claim. The court ruled that BP hadn't explained "how this court or the district court should identify or even discern the existence of 'claimants that have suffered no cognizable injury.'" BP originally projected that its settlement costs would be $7.8 billion. As of late October 2013 it had boosted this estimate to $9.2 billion, and said it could be "significantly higher." In September 2014, Halliburton agreed to settle a large percentage of legal claims against it over the Deepwater spill by paying $1.1 billion into a trust by way of three installments over two years. In May 2015, a panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined BP and claimants had the right to appellate review of claim awards. In that same decision it held that non-profits were eligible to receive claim payments. On 2 July 2015, BP and five states announced an $18.5 billion settlement to be used for Clean Water Act penalties and various claims. ==BP guilty plea==

On November 14, 2012, BP and the US Department of Justice reached a settlement under which BP agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments, the largest of its kind in US history. BP also agreed to plead guilty to 11 felony counts related to the deaths of the 11 workers. The Justice Department also filed criminal charges against one BP employee in April 2012 and against three BP employees in November 2012. Two employees have been indicted on manslaughter charges for acting negligently in their supervision of key safety tests performed on the rig prior to the explosion and failure to alert onshore engineers of problems in the drilling operation. Two employees are charged with obstruction of justice and for lying to federal investigators. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the criminal investigation is not yet over and that more company officials could be charged. In addition, the U.S. government temporarily banned BP from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity". The plea was accepted by Judge Sarah Vance of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on 31 January 2013. The settlement includes payments of $2.394 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, $1.15 billion to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences for oil spill prevention and response research, $100 million to the North America Wetland Conservation Fund, $6 million to General Treasury and $525 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. BP still faces payouts fines under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment and payouts to impacted states. The settlement has also not resolved what may be the largest penalty related to the spill, the fines under the Clean Water Act. The potential fine for the spill under the act is $1,100 to $4,300 a barrel spilled, meaning the fine could be as much as $21 billion. On January 3, 2013, the US Justice Department announced "Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties". $800 million goes to the Gulf Coast restoration Trust Fund, $300 million to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, $150 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $150 million to the National Academy of Sciences. MOEX Offshore 2007 agreed to pay $45 million to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, $25 million to five Gulf state and $20 million to supplemental environmental projects. ==References==