A federal appeals court says BP PLC and a minority partner in the blown-out Macondo well cannot avoid Clean Water Act fines for the 2010 oil spill by blaming another company’s failed equipment.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in an appeal by BP and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. from a 2012 ruling by federal Judge Carl Barbier.
A three-judge panel says the oil came from their well, so they are liable. It said it cannot just blame Transocean’s failed blowout preventer.
Loyola University law professor Blaine LeCesne describes the companies’ argument as “ridiculous and really desperate.”
Transocean Ltd. owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the blowout preventer. It pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor Clean Water Act violation and agreed to pay a $1 billion fine.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Canceled FEMA Review Council Vote Leaves Flood Insurance Reforms in Limbo 
Berkshire Utility Presses Wildfire Appeal With Billions at Stake 
UBS Top Executives to Appear at Senate Hearing on Credit Suisse Nazi Accounts 
LA County Told to Pause $4B in Abuse Payouts as DA Probes Fraud Claims 
Want to stay up to date?
Get the latest insurance news
sent straight to your inbox.