"Gulf of Mexico oil spill trial delayed for settlement talks; Judge says progress made in discussions" by Harry R. Weber | Associated Press, February 27, 2012
NEW ORLEANS - A judge has delayed the federal trial over the nation’s worst offshore oil disaster by a week, saying yesterday that BP was making some progress in settlement talks with a committee overseeing scores of lawsuits, according to people close to the case.
Oh, all plugged up already?
Two people with knowledge of the talks said the decision was made yesterday during a conference call between parties in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill case and US District Judge Carl Barbier. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the call.
They said the judge told those on the call that BP and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee were “making some progress’’ in their settlement talks. The steering committee is overseeing lawsuits filed by individuals and businesses following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf. The blast killed 11 workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from the blown-out well, soiling miles of coastline....
The trial may not yield major revelations about the causes of the disaster, but the outcome could bring much-needed relief for tens of thousands of people and businesses whose livelihoods were disrupted by the spill.
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"Proposed BP settlement won’t close oil spill case" March 04, 2012|By John Schwartz
NEW YORK - Now it gets complicated.
The late-night announcement on Friday of a proposed $7.8 billion deal in the BP civil trial for 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is not the end of the case, but the beginning of a new phase with many unanswered questions.
The next steps in the process will take time, and the terms of the settlement itself will have to be approved by Judge Carl J. Barbier. Plaintiffs will be able to opt out of the settlement. It is far from over.
The proposed settlement between BP and the lawyers appointed to lead the litigation for individual and business plaintiffs will shut down the current claims process and create a new fund, administered by the court. It will use money set aside by BP for a $20 billion fund that was being used to pay claims of economic loss and other expenses.
The announcements from BP and the plaintiffs’ group leave some important questions unanswered. Will the federal government be next to settle? And what will happen to the people who have current claims pending at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility?
The federal claims stand to be far larger than those of private claimants and could bring billions of dollars into the US Treasury in civil environmental fines under statutes such as the Clean Water Act, and potentially even more in criminal penalties.
Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, said that the deal with private plaintiffs leaves much to be done. “We are pleased that BP may be stepping up to address harms to individual plaintiffs, but this by no means fully addresses its responsibility for the harms it has caused,’’ he said.
Nothing in the Friday deal, he said, “compensates the public for the significant damages to its natural resources and environment, and BP has yet to pay a penalty for its violations of law.’’
In an earlier statement Friday, he said, “Although we remain open to a fair and just settlement, we are fully prepared to try the case.’’ He said the department would “continue to work closely with all five Gulf states to ensure that any resolution of the federal law enforcement and damage claims, including natural resources damages, arising out of this unprecedented environmental disaster is just, fair and restores the Gulf for the benefit of the people of the Gulf states.’’
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told Congress on Wednesday that “we are prepared to go to trial’’ in the case.
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